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8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 136
I S S N 2 0 0 5 -
2 1 6 2
G-20 Host An Honor A Duty
Asia Initiative Takes Flight WithFlurry Of Summit
wwwkoreanet
11NOVEMBER
2009
Opening a communicative spacebetween Korea and the world
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 236
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 336
4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 5
52 Korea through the Lens
bull Colossal Sea Link
54 Travel
bull The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pam-
pas Grass
bull Korearsquos Taste Masters ndashJoin Top Chef at His
lsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
bull Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept
Secret
62 People
bull Korean Design Makes a Splash in London
bull The Gift of Communication
66 Foreign viewpoints
bull In Search of Real Korean Green Tea
Brother Anthony
06
NOVEMBER 2009
VOL 15 NO 11
PublisherKim He-beom
Korean Culture and
Information Service
Chief EditorKo Hye-ryun
Editing amp Printing
JoongAng Daily
webmasterkoreanet
DesignJoongAng Daily
All rights reserved No part of this publication may beeproduced in any form without permission from Korea nd the Korean Culture and Information Service
The articles published in Korea do not necessarily rep-
esent the views of the publisher The publisher is notable for errors or omissions
etters to the editor should include the writerrsquos full namend address Letters may be edited for clarity andorpace restrictions
f you want to receive a free copy of Korea or wish toancel a subscription please e-mail us
A downloadable PDF file of Korea and a map and glos-ary with common Korean words appearing in our textre available by clicking on the thumbnail of Korea on
he homepage of wwwkoreanet
Cover Photo
The Incheon Bridge
opened last month
nking Incheon Inter-ational Airport and
he city of Songdo
06 Cover Story ndash Korea at the G-20
bull A New Era of Leadership
bull Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
12 News in Focus
bull As Emotional Reunions End Their Future Is Still in
Doubt
16 Diplomacy
bull Leersquos Asian Diplomatic Push
20 Global Korea
bull To Fix Brand Help the Needy
bull Seoul Centers Are Oases for Expat Residents
bull Taking Korean Flavors Home
bull Team Rushes to Help Victims of Earthquakes in
Indonesia
26 Green Growth
bull Environment Reporters Visit Praise Korearsquos Green
Policies
28 Culture
bull Saving Korearsquos Living Culture
bull 100 Years of Pride in Korean Culture
bull Play It Again Yon-sama Winter Sonata
bull Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
bull Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
bull Brotherly Folktale in US Text
44 Korean Literature
bull Trapped in Tranquil Domesticity
Oh Jung-hee bull Poetry ndash The Windrsquos Private Life
48 Korean Artist
bull Italy Honors Devoted Violinist and Concert
Master for His lsquoLife of Musicrsquo Kim Min
50 Sports
bull Out of the Park Times Twenty
bull U-20 Team Hits Quarterfinals But Canrsquot Top
African Champs발간등록번호11-1110073-00001 6-06
CONTENTS
54 28 50 16
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 7
The world looks to Korea as it becomes the first non-G8country to chair the Group of 20 and steer economic policy
A New Era of Leadership
Leaders o 20 o the worldrsquos top economies in-
cluding Korean President Lee Myung-bak letmost
o the three men seated in the center gather at a
round table on Sept 25 to begin the G-20 fnan-
cial summit in Pittsburgh the United States
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 9
Leaders participating in
the G-20 summit pose
or a photo Sept 25 at
the convention center
in Pittsburgh President
Lee Myung-bak is second
rom let in the ront
row
Korearsquos hosting the G-20 summit could beas momentous as the rsquo88 Seoul Olympics
signifies that Korea has finally and completely steered itself away from the periphery of Asiato the center of the worldrdquo the president said
Following the speech a brief question-and-answer session was arranged with Cheong WaDae correspondents and foreign journalistswhich was also broadcast live
During the conference Lee stressed that hisgovernment would make efforts to persuadethe North to give up its nuclear arms instead of relying on the policies of larger powers
ldquoUntil now Korea just followed others andwas passive in international society and did nothave a sayrdquo Lee said ldquoNow we are a member of the G-20 We will be the chair nation and thehost next year and the world will treat us dif-
ferently It will no longer be possible to discussa global iss ue without including Koreardquo
A senior Lee administration official saidKorearsquos hosting of the G-20 in November nextyear would be a breakthrough in the countryrsquosdiplomatic history
ldquoLeersquos leadership in past G-20 summits inWashington and London has been widely praisedrdquo the official said ldquoThe president madeclear his position against trade protectionisminitiating lsquostandstillrsquo pledges among the par-ticipants at the Washington G-20 summit notto erect any new trade and investment barriers
This has been seen as one of the most signifi-cant achievements of the forumrdquo
Shortly after the Washington summit lastyear South Korea launched aggressive effortsto host a G-20 summit Lee ordered a task forceto be established and appointed Sakong Il thenhis special economic advisor to head the G-20Summit Coordinating Committee
Sakong traveled around the world as Leersquosenvoy to persuade major G-20 nations in clud-ing the United States Britain France Germa-ny China and Japan to support Korearsquos bid andthe 10 months of passionate diplomacy paidoff
ldquoThis is not [an unexpected] windfallrdquo asenior South Korean official added noting t hat
US President Barack Obama was the mostsupportive of Korearsquos bid At the London sum-mit in April Obama suggested that Koreashould host the 2010 summit and the proposalwas widely endorsed by G-20 members heexplained
Marcus Noland deputy director and seniorfellow at the Washington-based Peterson Insti-tute for International Economics told mediathat Korearsquos hosting the summit next year willbe an opportunity akin to the Seoul Olympicsin 1988
ldquo[This] is an opportunity for Korea to dem-
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
Following an agreement between leadersof the worldrsquos major economies to insti-tutionalize the Group of 20 as a perma-nent council on global economic coop-
eration Korea was selected to host a summit inNovember next year
The leaders of the worldrsquos 20 largest econo-mies will meet in Canada in June and Korea inNovember for economic policy coordinationPresident Lee Myung-bak and Canadian PrimeMinister Stephen Harper announced in a jointpress conference in Pittsburgh the UnitedStates broadcast live on Sept 25
ldquoFirst let me informour citizens that it wasdecided to hold the 2010G-20 summit in Korea inNovemberrdquo the Korean
president said at the press conference addinghat the decision passed unanimously Canada
will host the fourth G-20 meeting in June onhe sidelines of the G-8 summit there The June
summit will be co-hosted and co-chaired by Korea Harper said
G-20 leaders will gather once a year for aroutine summit starting in 2011 In the interimyear of 2010 Canada and South Korea will hostwo rounds in June and November respec-ively Korea assumes the forum chair next
yearThe Group of 20 Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors mdash known as t he G-20for short mdash was created in response to thefinancial crisis of the late 1990s and to growingrecognition that emerging economies were notadequately included in the core of global eco-nomic discussions and governance
The first heads-of-government-level G-20financial summit took place in Washington inNovember 2008 to address the aftermath of thefinancial meltdowns that hit the world earlierhat year Another round of meetings took
place in London and the September meeting in
Pittsburgh was the third of its kindDuring the latest meeting the leaders
agreed to transform the forum into the worldrsquosmain body for coordinating economic policyThe G-20 economies comprise 85 percent of he gross world product 80 percent of worldrade and two-thirds of the world population
With this decision the G-20 will replace theexisting Group of Eight the forum of industri-alized nations that long dominated the worldeconomy The shift from G-8 to G-20 is alsodesigned to reflect the changing global econo-my and emerging countries such as China
India and Brazil as well as KorealdquoToday leaders endorsed the G-20 as the
premier forum for international economiccooperationrdquo the White House said in a state-ment ldquoThis decision brings to the table thecountries needed to build a stronger more bal-anced global economy reform the financialsystem and lift the lives of the p oorestrdquo
Upon returning home President Leearranged a special press conference and encour-aged Koreans to view their country as a centralmember of the global order In a media eventtelevised live around the nation on Sept 30 Leedisclosed a vision for a greater Korea
Noting that Korearsquos hosting of the Group of 20 Summit in November next year would be anopportunity to upgrade the countryrsquos positionin the global community Lee said Koreansmust work together to improve the nationrsquos sta-tus
In the special speech tit led ldquoParadigm shiftfor moving toward center stage from the
periphery of the international arenardquo Lee saidKoreans were about to begin a new era in theirhistory
Lee did not hide his excitement over thedecision to locate the G-20 Summit i n Novem-ber 2010 in Korea The president said that asmany of his foreign counterparts congratulatedhim he was proud to be leader of Korea
ldquoI am standing here today because I want totalk about the fact that Koreans are great andthat the world is now rec ognizing that factrdquo Leesaid He added that Koreans have made tre-mendous accomplishments over the past cen-tury
ldquoSignificantly our hosting of the G-20 sum-mit falls during the year marking the 100th
anniversary of the forced annexation of Koreaby imperial Japan I am filled with mixed feel-ingsrdquo he said ldquoDuring the past century we suf-fered the pain of watching our destiny fall intothe hands of world powers because we were tooweak
ldquoKorea has now however become one of the leading players in the international com-munity recognized by advanced countriesrdquo
Lee said it was especially significant forKorea to host the summit right after it hadbecome the center of economic policy makingldquoThe projected hosting of the summit basically
A P P h o t o T h e C a n a d i a n P r e s s
S e a n K i l p a t r i c k
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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0 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 11
The frst couples o Korea
and the United States pose
or a reception on Sept
24 at the Phipps Conserva-
tory in Pittsburgh From
let Korean President Lee
Myung-bak US President
Barack Obama Korean
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok
and US First Lady Mi-
chelle Obama
onstrate its strengths to the rest of the worldand that can only have a positive impact onKorearsquos economy in the long runrdquo Nolandsaid
The scholar attributed Korearsquos successfulbid to the hard work of the Lee administrationand the growing stature of the Korean econo-my Korea has experienced the worldrsquos fastestrecovery and has taken a leading role in s ettingan agenda that includes green developmentand anti-protectionism
ldquoDiplomatically Korearsquos hosting of the G-20next year is a big dealrdquo he said ldquoKorean policy makers are considered highly capable and therest of the world is looking for good things tocome out of the summit t hat Korea will hostrdquo
Korearsquos five influential business organiza-ions also hailed the hosting of the summit
ldquoThe selection of South Korea as a venue for theG-20 summit next year means the nationrsquos roles rapidly expanding in the international com-
munityrdquo the business groups said in a jointstatement ldquoIt was one of the greatest achieve-ments for the nationrsquos diplomatic historyrdquo
The business groups included the Federa-ion of Korean Industries and the Korea Cham-
ber of Commerce and Industr yNext yearrsquos G-20 summit schedules are also
arranged in order to make optimal use of ascarce resource the global leadersrsquo time InJune Canada was scheduled to host the G-8summit and hosting the G-20 within the sametime frame is expected to significantly curtailthe amount of travel world leaders have toundertake
In November Japan also hosts the APECsummit and Korearsquos hosting of the G-20 in thesame month will serve the busy schedules of state heads best By Kim Soo-ae
President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a ldquogrand bar-gainrdquo in which North Korea will swap dismantlementof core parts of its nuclear arms programs for secu-
rity assurances and international economic aid and theplan has won global support including that of the UnitedStates and Japan Cheong Wa Dae said
The proposal was made during Leersquos recent trip to theUnited States in a speech at the US Council on ForeignRelations in New York on Sept 21 Lee said it was time tostop rewarding the North for bad behavior and a grand
bargain must be pushed forward by Seoul WashingtonBeijing Tokyo and Moscow The five nations must consulteach other clearly agree on the final route to disarmingPyongyang and create an action plan Lee said
ldquoWe need an integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issuerdquo Lee said ldquoThroughthe six-nation talks we need to push forward a lsquograndbargainrsquo to dismantle the core parts of the Northrsquos nucleararms programs and at the same time to provide security assurances and international assistance to the Northrdquo
Lee said his government has already consulted with theUnited States about the plan Cheong Wa Dae officials
later said China Russia and Japan also supported LeeDuring his visit to Seoul on Oct 9 Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama made public his backing forLeersquos ldquogrand bargainrdquo During the South Korea-China-Japan summit in Beijing on Oct 10 Lee sought Chinarsquossupport for his proposal and the three nations agreed tocooperate to bring the North back to the stalled talks
A Lee aide explained the proposal seeks to seal an over-all deal because past step-by-step approaches have proveninefficient The official also said the previous ldquocomprehen-
sive package dealrdquo was more focused on what to give theNorth while Leersquos proposal is based on reciprocity
ldquoFive countries of the six-nation talks except for theNorth have reached a consensus on the overall deal andwe are currently discussing the specifics of the negotia-tions with the Northrdquo he added
During his New York speech Lee stressed the Northmust not feel the process is a threat to its regime ldquoBy givingup its nuclear programs the North will be able to form newrelationships with the United States and the internationalcommunity and that will be the only path for the Northrsquossurvival and developmentrdquo Lee said By Kim Soo-ae
Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
Last monthrsquos meeting of G-20 politicalleaders in Pittsburgh was cause for bothoptimism and responsibility to sustainearly signs of a global recovery Follow-
up measures of the summit will fall primarily on Korea as the chair an d host of a G-20 meet-ing in 2010
This development will mark a significantturning point in global governance as Koreawill be the first non-G8 country to hold thoseresponsibilities since the G-20 emerged as a
venue for addressing global financial issues Italso places the burden of proof on Korea toshow that an expanded forum beyond the G8
can provide effective global leadershipKorea championed global coordination to
promote a macroeconomic stimulus that willprovide $5 trillion for the next two years andpromoted $11 trillion through internationalfinancial institutions to counteract the effectsof the global financial crisis on developingcountries Korea has also stood against pro-tectionist tendencies sponsoring ldquostandstillrdquoand ldquorollbackrdquo pledges among G-20 countriesas G-20 Summit Coordinating CommitteeChairman Sakong Il explained in the Centerfor US-Korea Policyrsquos May newsletter
As a former CEO Korean President Lee
Myung-bak is well-qualified to promote mea-sures for an early exit from the crisis UnderLeersquos leadership Korearsquos own efforts to pro-mote economic recovery are strongly in linewith those of the Obama administration in nosmall part because Lee conceives of US-Koreaeconomic coordination as an opportunity toexpand the two countriesrsquo alliance
In his speech to the Council on ForeignRelations in New York Lee emphasized thathe and President Obama have ldquoagreed thatthis alliance wil l no longer just be about ensur-ing securityrdquo but ldquoa comprehensive strategic
alliance that encompasses economic socialcultural educational scientific and techno-logical cooperationrdquo This suggests that Leeconceives the success of South Korearsquos G20leadership as directly tied to expanded alli-ance coordination with the United States andit suggests that such coordination has a raison
drsquoecirctre that extends far beyond deterring NorthKorea
Another component of Leersquos agenda withthe United States is the pending Korea-USFree Trade Agreement which has been stalleddue to provisions that deal with the politically sensitive auto sector As the International
Institute for StrategicStudie s rsquo Ste ve nSchrage has arguedKorearsquos successfulstewardship of theG-20 and Congressio-nal ratification of the
KORUS FTA should go hand-in-hand ulti-mately to enhance the US-Korea strategiclead on global economic issues
Korearsquos great challenge and opportunity isto show that the G-20 can remain effectiveeven as the crisis subsides and to ensure thatthis is not a ldquocrisis wastedrdquo
Mo Jong-ryn of Yonsei University arguesthat the rise of the G-20 mdash and South Korearsquosassumption of leadership in it mdash is an oppor-tunity to redress Asiarsquos past underrepresenta-tion and its economic weight in the interna-tional community But such an opportunity will be wasted unless Asians themselves deliv-
er in providing a distinctive and effectiveagenda
Korea must infuse its G-20 chairmanshipwith effective leadership if the group is tocement its role as the main venue for expand-ed economic coordination Korearsquos handlingof its G-20 chairmanship is a make or break opportunity on many different levels Thecountry needs to show that it can live up to thetask by catalyzing global coordination of exitstrategies from the crisis and by addressingglobal imbalances between developing andindustrialized countries By Scott Snyder
Scott Snyder directs The
Asia Foundationrsquos Centeror US-Korea Policy He
can be reached at ssny-
derasiafound-dcorg
Korean Leadership Essential to EnsuringLast 12 Months Was Not a lsquoCrisis Wastedrsquo
If Korea is to solidify the role of the G-20to set world policy it must present a robustagenda during its chairmanship next year
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
[ J o i n t P r e s s C o r p s ]
November 2009 korea 11
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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2 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 13
News in Focus
For hundreds of Koreans from either side of theborder the time flew by far too fastFrom Sept 26 to 28 97 South Koreans werebriefly reunited with 233 family members living
on the opposite side of the border followed by a secondreunion from Sept 29 to Oct 1 of 98 North Koreans and428 of their relatives from the South Most had beenseparated during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953while some others had been captured as prisoners of waror when they i nadvertantly crossed the borderAs in past reunions emotional farewells dominated thefinal moments Hands helplessly reached out through thewindows of the bus leaving Mount Geumgangsan wherethe reunions took place as families touched each otherfor what could easily have been their last encounterThis was the 17th reunion of separated families sinc e theconclusion of the Korean War and it was the culminationof a sudden series of conciliatory gestures by North Koreawhich first broached the idea in AugustAccording to the Unification Ministry which handlesinter-Korean affairs in Seoul more than 20000 family members had been reunited in the previous 16 meetingsThe first session was held in 1985 But the next reunion
didnrsquot come until 2000 the year of the first inter-Koreansummit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jungand North Korean leader Kim Jong-il From then onfamilies met at least once each year until 2007Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administrationinter-Korean relations soured The last face-to-facereunion took place in Oc tober 2007 days after the secondinter-Korean summit between then South Korean Presi-dent Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Families have also beenable to take part in seven remote video conferencesAs North Korea grew more and more provocative con-ducting nuclear and missile tests s evering inter-Koreanmilitary communication lines and restricting cross-bor-
As Emotional Reunions EndTheir Future Is Still in DoubtTime is running out as many on the waiting list have already passed away
[ K P P A ]
Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future
family reunions
Separated families bid their emotional fare-
well at the end of their reunion at Mount
Geumgangsan on Sept 28
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 15
News in Focus
der land passage for South Koreans it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in2009But North Korea changed its tune in the summer OnAug 17 Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eunchairwoman of the Hyundai Group which handles inter-Korean exchange projects and agreed to set up a reunionof the families around the Chuseok holidays at MountGeumgangsan Those holidays fell on the first weekendof OctoberFour days later South Korearsquos National Red Cross whichorganizes the reunions officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings the two sidesagreed to bring the families togetherA computer randomly selected 300 candidates for thereunion and the South Korean Red Cross chose the finalist of 100 based on age and condition Three pulled out
at the last minute citing health issuesThe latest round of reunions was expected to provide abreakthrough in inter-Korean relations In the early partof the meetings North Korea even asked the South toextend ldquoa goodwill measurerdquo since the North went out of ts way to help resume family reunions
The Lee administration in Seoul has halted uncondi-ional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North insteadinking aid to denuclearization efforts Yoo Chong-hahe South Korean Red Cross chief said Jang Jae-on his
North Korean counterpart didnrsquot specify whetherPyongyang wanted rice or something else S eoulrsquos stanceon rice and fertilizer however had been that this aidshould be based on a government-level agreement sincet may be too costly for NGOs which are busy providing
medication for the elderly and childrenYoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the samepage on the spirit of the reunionsldquoHe said he agrees with the idea based on the humanitar-
ian spirit [that] better inter-Korean rela-tions would be a boon to family reunionsrdquoYoo told South Korean pool reporters atMount Geumgangsan at the time ldquoWewant more of the reunions regardless of the ups and downs of political relationsrdquoOfficials in the South offered mixed reac-tions to the Northrsquos request for aidWon Sei-hoon head of the National Intel-ligence Service in S eoul said that he wouldconsider appropriate measures for NorthKorea in response to the ongoing family reunions He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he wouldconsult with relevant government depart-ments regarding aid and would considerproviding it as long as strategic materialswere not involvedBut others were hesitant Vice UnificationMinister Hong Yang-ho said ldquoOur basicposition is that we donrsquot link inter-Koreanexchange or aid to North Korea with thefamily reunionsrdquoCheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo echoed the sentiment though hequalified his remarks by saying ldquoWhen itis deemed necessary the South Koreangovernment will provide humanitarianaid But wersquore already supplying medicinefor infants and seniorsrdquoAfter the tears dried other questions arosefrom the latest reunion meetings Yoo theRed Cross head in Seoul said he pressedJang his North Korean counterpart tocome up with a regular schedule for thereunions so that more could meet theirlost relatives But the Koreas didnrsquot followup on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions and no date for the nextround has been setAccording to the Ministry of Unification
nearly 130000 South Koreans had placedtheir names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year but 50000have already passed away Of the survi-
vors more than seven out of 10 were intheir 70s or 80sOn average there have been fewer thantwo reunions per year in the past nineyears and only a limited number fromeach side can take part While logisticalproblems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families cap-ping the number at 100 falls well short
sometimes with tragic consequences One 75-year-oldSouth Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train afterhe wasnrsquot chosen for the reunionCritics also say the South Korean government shouldconsider age and the availability of direct family memberson the other side of the border The Red Cross has beenusing random computer lotteries to ensure fairness Theselection is preceded by the Red Crossrsquos compiling of a listof 300 individuals after checking their health and theirwillingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan But thelottery process rules out consideration of age and doesnrsquotaccount for whether the individualsrsquo direct family mem-bers are even alive in the NorthAn official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledgedthat some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives
because their parents or siblings have all already passedawayAs critics and the government debate what to do withfuture reunions a senior S outh Korean government offi-cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-ian aid without preconditions to encourage the North tocontinue engagementKim Deog-ryong the presidentrsquos special advisor fornational unity said at an academic forum in Seoul onOct 7 that the South shouldnrsquot tie humanitarian issueswith politicsldquoFortunately North Korea appears to be seeking toimprove [inter-Korean] relationsrdquo Kim said calling the
The randomselectionprocess for thereunions issomewhatcontroversial
family reunions at Mount Geumgangsanpart of ldquodefinite changes and improve-mentrdquoHe also stressed that rice and fertilizer aidis directly related to the livelihood of theNorth Koreans and supplying these prod-ucts is necessary so that North Korealdquowould continuously engage in dia-loguerdquoIn recent months North Korea has alter-nated between a moderate stance and ahostile one It has released detainedAmerican and South Korean citizens andlifted border restrictions for S outh Kore-ans even while claiming its uranium
enrichment program for nuclear weaponsdevelopment had entered its final phaseand saying the United States has to changeits hostile policy on Pyeongyang beforethe North could consider dismantling itsnuclear programsAgainst this backdrop the Koreas man-aged to reunite separated families for thefirst time in two years But whether thesemeetings will be held on a regular basisand whether they will help improve inter-Korean relations remains to be seen
By Yoo Jee-ho
Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting forfamily reunions (through August 2009) Unit persons
Source The Unifcation Ministry
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives top and above The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort left
[ Y O N H A P ]
The South hasproposedregular reunions butthe North hasyet to respond
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 19
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2336
46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 236
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 336
4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 5
52 Korea through the Lens
bull Colossal Sea Link
54 Travel
bull The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pam-
pas Grass
bull Korearsquos Taste Masters ndashJoin Top Chef at His
lsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
bull Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept
Secret
62 People
bull Korean Design Makes a Splash in London
bull The Gift of Communication
66 Foreign viewpoints
bull In Search of Real Korean Green Tea
Brother Anthony
06
NOVEMBER 2009
VOL 15 NO 11
PublisherKim He-beom
Korean Culture and
Information Service
Chief EditorKo Hye-ryun
Editing amp Printing
JoongAng Daily
webmasterkoreanet
DesignJoongAng Daily
All rights reserved No part of this publication may beeproduced in any form without permission from Korea nd the Korean Culture and Information Service
The articles published in Korea do not necessarily rep-
esent the views of the publisher The publisher is notable for errors or omissions
etters to the editor should include the writerrsquos full namend address Letters may be edited for clarity andorpace restrictions
f you want to receive a free copy of Korea or wish toancel a subscription please e-mail us
A downloadable PDF file of Korea and a map and glos-ary with common Korean words appearing in our textre available by clicking on the thumbnail of Korea on
he homepage of wwwkoreanet
Cover Photo
The Incheon Bridge
opened last month
nking Incheon Inter-ational Airport and
he city of Songdo
06 Cover Story ndash Korea at the G-20
bull A New Era of Leadership
bull Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
12 News in Focus
bull As Emotional Reunions End Their Future Is Still in
Doubt
16 Diplomacy
bull Leersquos Asian Diplomatic Push
20 Global Korea
bull To Fix Brand Help the Needy
bull Seoul Centers Are Oases for Expat Residents
bull Taking Korean Flavors Home
bull Team Rushes to Help Victims of Earthquakes in
Indonesia
26 Green Growth
bull Environment Reporters Visit Praise Korearsquos Green
Policies
28 Culture
bull Saving Korearsquos Living Culture
bull 100 Years of Pride in Korean Culture
bull Play It Again Yon-sama Winter Sonata
bull Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
bull Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
bull Brotherly Folktale in US Text
44 Korean Literature
bull Trapped in Tranquil Domesticity
Oh Jung-hee bull Poetry ndash The Windrsquos Private Life
48 Korean Artist
bull Italy Honors Devoted Violinist and Concert
Master for His lsquoLife of Musicrsquo Kim Min
50 Sports
bull Out of the Park Times Twenty
bull U-20 Team Hits Quarterfinals But Canrsquot Top
African Champs발간등록번호11-1110073-00001 6-06
CONTENTS
54 28 50 16
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 7
The world looks to Korea as it becomes the first non-G8country to chair the Group of 20 and steer economic policy
A New Era of Leadership
Leaders o 20 o the worldrsquos top economies in-
cluding Korean President Lee Myung-bak letmost
o the three men seated in the center gather at a
round table on Sept 25 to begin the G-20 fnan-
cial summit in Pittsburgh the United States
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 9
Leaders participating in
the G-20 summit pose
or a photo Sept 25 at
the convention center
in Pittsburgh President
Lee Myung-bak is second
rom let in the ront
row
Korearsquos hosting the G-20 summit could beas momentous as the rsquo88 Seoul Olympics
signifies that Korea has finally and completely steered itself away from the periphery of Asiato the center of the worldrdquo the president said
Following the speech a brief question-and-answer session was arranged with Cheong WaDae correspondents and foreign journalistswhich was also broadcast live
During the conference Lee stressed that hisgovernment would make efforts to persuadethe North to give up its nuclear arms instead of relying on the policies of larger powers
ldquoUntil now Korea just followed others andwas passive in international society and did nothave a sayrdquo Lee said ldquoNow we are a member of the G-20 We will be the chair nation and thehost next year and the world will treat us dif-
ferently It will no longer be possible to discussa global iss ue without including Koreardquo
A senior Lee administration official saidKorearsquos hosting of the G-20 in November nextyear would be a breakthrough in the countryrsquosdiplomatic history
ldquoLeersquos leadership in past G-20 summits inWashington and London has been widely praisedrdquo the official said ldquoThe president madeclear his position against trade protectionisminitiating lsquostandstillrsquo pledges among the par-ticipants at the Washington G-20 summit notto erect any new trade and investment barriers
This has been seen as one of the most signifi-cant achievements of the forumrdquo
Shortly after the Washington summit lastyear South Korea launched aggressive effortsto host a G-20 summit Lee ordered a task forceto be established and appointed Sakong Il thenhis special economic advisor to head the G-20Summit Coordinating Committee
Sakong traveled around the world as Leersquosenvoy to persuade major G-20 nations in clud-ing the United States Britain France Germa-ny China and Japan to support Korearsquos bid andthe 10 months of passionate diplomacy paidoff
ldquoThis is not [an unexpected] windfallrdquo asenior South Korean official added noting t hat
US President Barack Obama was the mostsupportive of Korearsquos bid At the London sum-mit in April Obama suggested that Koreashould host the 2010 summit and the proposalwas widely endorsed by G-20 members heexplained
Marcus Noland deputy director and seniorfellow at the Washington-based Peterson Insti-tute for International Economics told mediathat Korearsquos hosting the summit next year willbe an opportunity akin to the Seoul Olympicsin 1988
ldquo[This] is an opportunity for Korea to dem-
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
Following an agreement between leadersof the worldrsquos major economies to insti-tutionalize the Group of 20 as a perma-nent council on global economic coop-
eration Korea was selected to host a summit inNovember next year
The leaders of the worldrsquos 20 largest econo-mies will meet in Canada in June and Korea inNovember for economic policy coordinationPresident Lee Myung-bak and Canadian PrimeMinister Stephen Harper announced in a jointpress conference in Pittsburgh the UnitedStates broadcast live on Sept 25
ldquoFirst let me informour citizens that it wasdecided to hold the 2010G-20 summit in Korea inNovemberrdquo the Korean
president said at the press conference addinghat the decision passed unanimously Canada
will host the fourth G-20 meeting in June onhe sidelines of the G-8 summit there The June
summit will be co-hosted and co-chaired by Korea Harper said
G-20 leaders will gather once a year for aroutine summit starting in 2011 In the interimyear of 2010 Canada and South Korea will hostwo rounds in June and November respec-ively Korea assumes the forum chair next
yearThe Group of 20 Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors mdash known as t he G-20for short mdash was created in response to thefinancial crisis of the late 1990s and to growingrecognition that emerging economies were notadequately included in the core of global eco-nomic discussions and governance
The first heads-of-government-level G-20financial summit took place in Washington inNovember 2008 to address the aftermath of thefinancial meltdowns that hit the world earlierhat year Another round of meetings took
place in London and the September meeting in
Pittsburgh was the third of its kindDuring the latest meeting the leaders
agreed to transform the forum into the worldrsquosmain body for coordinating economic policyThe G-20 economies comprise 85 percent of he gross world product 80 percent of worldrade and two-thirds of the world population
With this decision the G-20 will replace theexisting Group of Eight the forum of industri-alized nations that long dominated the worldeconomy The shift from G-8 to G-20 is alsodesigned to reflect the changing global econo-my and emerging countries such as China
India and Brazil as well as KorealdquoToday leaders endorsed the G-20 as the
premier forum for international economiccooperationrdquo the White House said in a state-ment ldquoThis decision brings to the table thecountries needed to build a stronger more bal-anced global economy reform the financialsystem and lift the lives of the p oorestrdquo
Upon returning home President Leearranged a special press conference and encour-aged Koreans to view their country as a centralmember of the global order In a media eventtelevised live around the nation on Sept 30 Leedisclosed a vision for a greater Korea
Noting that Korearsquos hosting of the Group of 20 Summit in November next year would be anopportunity to upgrade the countryrsquos positionin the global community Lee said Koreansmust work together to improve the nationrsquos sta-tus
In the special speech tit led ldquoParadigm shiftfor moving toward center stage from the
periphery of the international arenardquo Lee saidKoreans were about to begin a new era in theirhistory
Lee did not hide his excitement over thedecision to locate the G-20 Summit i n Novem-ber 2010 in Korea The president said that asmany of his foreign counterparts congratulatedhim he was proud to be leader of Korea
ldquoI am standing here today because I want totalk about the fact that Koreans are great andthat the world is now rec ognizing that factrdquo Leesaid He added that Koreans have made tre-mendous accomplishments over the past cen-tury
ldquoSignificantly our hosting of the G-20 sum-mit falls during the year marking the 100th
anniversary of the forced annexation of Koreaby imperial Japan I am filled with mixed feel-ingsrdquo he said ldquoDuring the past century we suf-fered the pain of watching our destiny fall intothe hands of world powers because we were tooweak
ldquoKorea has now however become one of the leading players in the international com-munity recognized by advanced countriesrdquo
Lee said it was especially significant forKorea to host the summit right after it hadbecome the center of economic policy makingldquoThe projected hosting of the summit basically
A P P h o t o T h e C a n a d i a n P r e s s
S e a n K i l p a t r i c k
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0 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 11
The frst couples o Korea
and the United States pose
or a reception on Sept
24 at the Phipps Conserva-
tory in Pittsburgh From
let Korean President Lee
Myung-bak US President
Barack Obama Korean
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok
and US First Lady Mi-
chelle Obama
onstrate its strengths to the rest of the worldand that can only have a positive impact onKorearsquos economy in the long runrdquo Nolandsaid
The scholar attributed Korearsquos successfulbid to the hard work of the Lee administrationand the growing stature of the Korean econo-my Korea has experienced the worldrsquos fastestrecovery and has taken a leading role in s ettingan agenda that includes green developmentand anti-protectionism
ldquoDiplomatically Korearsquos hosting of the G-20next year is a big dealrdquo he said ldquoKorean policy makers are considered highly capable and therest of the world is looking for good things tocome out of the summit t hat Korea will hostrdquo
Korearsquos five influential business organiza-ions also hailed the hosting of the summit
ldquoThe selection of South Korea as a venue for theG-20 summit next year means the nationrsquos roles rapidly expanding in the international com-
munityrdquo the business groups said in a jointstatement ldquoIt was one of the greatest achieve-ments for the nationrsquos diplomatic historyrdquo
The business groups included the Federa-ion of Korean Industries and the Korea Cham-
ber of Commerce and Industr yNext yearrsquos G-20 summit schedules are also
arranged in order to make optimal use of ascarce resource the global leadersrsquo time InJune Canada was scheduled to host the G-8summit and hosting the G-20 within the sametime frame is expected to significantly curtailthe amount of travel world leaders have toundertake
In November Japan also hosts the APECsummit and Korearsquos hosting of the G-20 in thesame month will serve the busy schedules of state heads best By Kim Soo-ae
President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a ldquogrand bar-gainrdquo in which North Korea will swap dismantlementof core parts of its nuclear arms programs for secu-
rity assurances and international economic aid and theplan has won global support including that of the UnitedStates and Japan Cheong Wa Dae said
The proposal was made during Leersquos recent trip to theUnited States in a speech at the US Council on ForeignRelations in New York on Sept 21 Lee said it was time tostop rewarding the North for bad behavior and a grand
bargain must be pushed forward by Seoul WashingtonBeijing Tokyo and Moscow The five nations must consulteach other clearly agree on the final route to disarmingPyongyang and create an action plan Lee said
ldquoWe need an integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issuerdquo Lee said ldquoThroughthe six-nation talks we need to push forward a lsquograndbargainrsquo to dismantle the core parts of the Northrsquos nucleararms programs and at the same time to provide security assurances and international assistance to the Northrdquo
Lee said his government has already consulted with theUnited States about the plan Cheong Wa Dae officials
later said China Russia and Japan also supported LeeDuring his visit to Seoul on Oct 9 Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama made public his backing forLeersquos ldquogrand bargainrdquo During the South Korea-China-Japan summit in Beijing on Oct 10 Lee sought Chinarsquossupport for his proposal and the three nations agreed tocooperate to bring the North back to the stalled talks
A Lee aide explained the proposal seeks to seal an over-all deal because past step-by-step approaches have proveninefficient The official also said the previous ldquocomprehen-
sive package dealrdquo was more focused on what to give theNorth while Leersquos proposal is based on reciprocity
ldquoFive countries of the six-nation talks except for theNorth have reached a consensus on the overall deal andwe are currently discussing the specifics of the negotia-tions with the Northrdquo he added
During his New York speech Lee stressed the Northmust not feel the process is a threat to its regime ldquoBy givingup its nuclear programs the North will be able to form newrelationships with the United States and the internationalcommunity and that will be the only path for the Northrsquossurvival and developmentrdquo Lee said By Kim Soo-ae
Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
Last monthrsquos meeting of G-20 politicalleaders in Pittsburgh was cause for bothoptimism and responsibility to sustainearly signs of a global recovery Follow-
up measures of the summit will fall primarily on Korea as the chair an d host of a G-20 meet-ing in 2010
This development will mark a significantturning point in global governance as Koreawill be the first non-G8 country to hold thoseresponsibilities since the G-20 emerged as a
venue for addressing global financial issues Italso places the burden of proof on Korea toshow that an expanded forum beyond the G8
can provide effective global leadershipKorea championed global coordination to
promote a macroeconomic stimulus that willprovide $5 trillion for the next two years andpromoted $11 trillion through internationalfinancial institutions to counteract the effectsof the global financial crisis on developingcountries Korea has also stood against pro-tectionist tendencies sponsoring ldquostandstillrdquoand ldquorollbackrdquo pledges among G-20 countriesas G-20 Summit Coordinating CommitteeChairman Sakong Il explained in the Centerfor US-Korea Policyrsquos May newsletter
As a former CEO Korean President Lee
Myung-bak is well-qualified to promote mea-sures for an early exit from the crisis UnderLeersquos leadership Korearsquos own efforts to pro-mote economic recovery are strongly in linewith those of the Obama administration in nosmall part because Lee conceives of US-Koreaeconomic coordination as an opportunity toexpand the two countriesrsquo alliance
In his speech to the Council on ForeignRelations in New York Lee emphasized thathe and President Obama have ldquoagreed thatthis alliance wil l no longer just be about ensur-ing securityrdquo but ldquoa comprehensive strategic
alliance that encompasses economic socialcultural educational scientific and techno-logical cooperationrdquo This suggests that Leeconceives the success of South Korearsquos G20leadership as directly tied to expanded alli-ance coordination with the United States andit suggests that such coordination has a raison
drsquoecirctre that extends far beyond deterring NorthKorea
Another component of Leersquos agenda withthe United States is the pending Korea-USFree Trade Agreement which has been stalleddue to provisions that deal with the politically sensitive auto sector As the International
Institute for StrategicStudie s rsquo Ste ve nSchrage has arguedKorearsquos successfulstewardship of theG-20 and Congressio-nal ratification of the
KORUS FTA should go hand-in-hand ulti-mately to enhance the US-Korea strategiclead on global economic issues
Korearsquos great challenge and opportunity isto show that the G-20 can remain effectiveeven as the crisis subsides and to ensure thatthis is not a ldquocrisis wastedrdquo
Mo Jong-ryn of Yonsei University arguesthat the rise of the G-20 mdash and South Korearsquosassumption of leadership in it mdash is an oppor-tunity to redress Asiarsquos past underrepresenta-tion and its economic weight in the interna-tional community But such an opportunity will be wasted unless Asians themselves deliv-
er in providing a distinctive and effectiveagenda
Korea must infuse its G-20 chairmanshipwith effective leadership if the group is tocement its role as the main venue for expand-ed economic coordination Korearsquos handlingof its G-20 chairmanship is a make or break opportunity on many different levels Thecountry needs to show that it can live up to thetask by catalyzing global coordination of exitstrategies from the crisis and by addressingglobal imbalances between developing andindustrialized countries By Scott Snyder
Scott Snyder directs The
Asia Foundationrsquos Centeror US-Korea Policy He
can be reached at ssny-
derasiafound-dcorg
Korean Leadership Essential to EnsuringLast 12 Months Was Not a lsquoCrisis Wastedrsquo
If Korea is to solidify the role of the G-20to set world policy it must present a robustagenda during its chairmanship next year
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
[ J o i n t P r e s s C o r p s ]
November 2009 korea 11
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2 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 13
News in Focus
For hundreds of Koreans from either side of theborder the time flew by far too fastFrom Sept 26 to 28 97 South Koreans werebriefly reunited with 233 family members living
on the opposite side of the border followed by a secondreunion from Sept 29 to Oct 1 of 98 North Koreans and428 of their relatives from the South Most had beenseparated during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953while some others had been captured as prisoners of waror when they i nadvertantly crossed the borderAs in past reunions emotional farewells dominated thefinal moments Hands helplessly reached out through thewindows of the bus leaving Mount Geumgangsan wherethe reunions took place as families touched each otherfor what could easily have been their last encounterThis was the 17th reunion of separated families sinc e theconclusion of the Korean War and it was the culminationof a sudden series of conciliatory gestures by North Koreawhich first broached the idea in AugustAccording to the Unification Ministry which handlesinter-Korean affairs in Seoul more than 20000 family members had been reunited in the previous 16 meetingsThe first session was held in 1985 But the next reunion
didnrsquot come until 2000 the year of the first inter-Koreansummit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jungand North Korean leader Kim Jong-il From then onfamilies met at least once each year until 2007Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administrationinter-Korean relations soured The last face-to-facereunion took place in Oc tober 2007 days after the secondinter-Korean summit between then South Korean Presi-dent Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Families have also beenable to take part in seven remote video conferencesAs North Korea grew more and more provocative con-ducting nuclear and missile tests s evering inter-Koreanmilitary communication lines and restricting cross-bor-
As Emotional Reunions EndTheir Future Is Still in DoubtTime is running out as many on the waiting list have already passed away
[ K P P A ]
Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future
family reunions
Separated families bid their emotional fare-
well at the end of their reunion at Mount
Geumgangsan on Sept 28
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4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 15
News in Focus
der land passage for South Koreans it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in2009But North Korea changed its tune in the summer OnAug 17 Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eunchairwoman of the Hyundai Group which handles inter-Korean exchange projects and agreed to set up a reunionof the families around the Chuseok holidays at MountGeumgangsan Those holidays fell on the first weekendof OctoberFour days later South Korearsquos National Red Cross whichorganizes the reunions officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings the two sidesagreed to bring the families togetherA computer randomly selected 300 candidates for thereunion and the South Korean Red Cross chose the finalist of 100 based on age and condition Three pulled out
at the last minute citing health issuesThe latest round of reunions was expected to provide abreakthrough in inter-Korean relations In the early partof the meetings North Korea even asked the South toextend ldquoa goodwill measurerdquo since the North went out of ts way to help resume family reunions
The Lee administration in Seoul has halted uncondi-ional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North insteadinking aid to denuclearization efforts Yoo Chong-hahe South Korean Red Cross chief said Jang Jae-on his
North Korean counterpart didnrsquot specify whetherPyongyang wanted rice or something else S eoulrsquos stanceon rice and fertilizer however had been that this aidshould be based on a government-level agreement sincet may be too costly for NGOs which are busy providing
medication for the elderly and childrenYoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the samepage on the spirit of the reunionsldquoHe said he agrees with the idea based on the humanitar-
ian spirit [that] better inter-Korean rela-tions would be a boon to family reunionsrdquoYoo told South Korean pool reporters atMount Geumgangsan at the time ldquoWewant more of the reunions regardless of the ups and downs of political relationsrdquoOfficials in the South offered mixed reac-tions to the Northrsquos request for aidWon Sei-hoon head of the National Intel-ligence Service in S eoul said that he wouldconsider appropriate measures for NorthKorea in response to the ongoing family reunions He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he wouldconsult with relevant government depart-ments regarding aid and would considerproviding it as long as strategic materialswere not involvedBut others were hesitant Vice UnificationMinister Hong Yang-ho said ldquoOur basicposition is that we donrsquot link inter-Koreanexchange or aid to North Korea with thefamily reunionsrdquoCheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo echoed the sentiment though hequalified his remarks by saying ldquoWhen itis deemed necessary the South Koreangovernment will provide humanitarianaid But wersquore already supplying medicinefor infants and seniorsrdquoAfter the tears dried other questions arosefrom the latest reunion meetings Yoo theRed Cross head in Seoul said he pressedJang his North Korean counterpart tocome up with a regular schedule for thereunions so that more could meet theirlost relatives But the Koreas didnrsquot followup on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions and no date for the nextround has been setAccording to the Ministry of Unification
nearly 130000 South Koreans had placedtheir names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year but 50000have already passed away Of the survi-
vors more than seven out of 10 were intheir 70s or 80sOn average there have been fewer thantwo reunions per year in the past nineyears and only a limited number fromeach side can take part While logisticalproblems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families cap-ping the number at 100 falls well short
sometimes with tragic consequences One 75-year-oldSouth Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train afterhe wasnrsquot chosen for the reunionCritics also say the South Korean government shouldconsider age and the availability of direct family memberson the other side of the border The Red Cross has beenusing random computer lotteries to ensure fairness Theselection is preceded by the Red Crossrsquos compiling of a listof 300 individuals after checking their health and theirwillingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan But thelottery process rules out consideration of age and doesnrsquotaccount for whether the individualsrsquo direct family mem-bers are even alive in the NorthAn official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledgedthat some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives
because their parents or siblings have all already passedawayAs critics and the government debate what to do withfuture reunions a senior S outh Korean government offi-cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-ian aid without preconditions to encourage the North tocontinue engagementKim Deog-ryong the presidentrsquos special advisor fornational unity said at an academic forum in Seoul onOct 7 that the South shouldnrsquot tie humanitarian issueswith politicsldquoFortunately North Korea appears to be seeking toimprove [inter-Korean] relationsrdquo Kim said calling the
The randomselectionprocess for thereunions issomewhatcontroversial
family reunions at Mount Geumgangsanpart of ldquodefinite changes and improve-mentrdquoHe also stressed that rice and fertilizer aidis directly related to the livelihood of theNorth Koreans and supplying these prod-ucts is necessary so that North Korealdquowould continuously engage in dia-loguerdquoIn recent months North Korea has alter-nated between a moderate stance and ahostile one It has released detainedAmerican and South Korean citizens andlifted border restrictions for S outh Kore-ans even while claiming its uranium
enrichment program for nuclear weaponsdevelopment had entered its final phaseand saying the United States has to changeits hostile policy on Pyeongyang beforethe North could consider dismantling itsnuclear programsAgainst this backdrop the Koreas man-aged to reunite separated families for thefirst time in two years But whether thesemeetings will be held on a regular basisand whether they will help improve inter-Korean relations remains to be seen
By Yoo Jee-ho
Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting forfamily reunions (through August 2009) Unit persons
Source The Unifcation Ministry
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives top and above The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort left
[ Y O N H A P ]
The South hasproposedregular reunions butthe North hasyet to respond
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 19
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
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Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 336
4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 5
52 Korea through the Lens
bull Colossal Sea Link
54 Travel
bull The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pam-
pas Grass
bull Korearsquos Taste Masters ndashJoin Top Chef at His
lsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
bull Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept
Secret
62 People
bull Korean Design Makes a Splash in London
bull The Gift of Communication
66 Foreign viewpoints
bull In Search of Real Korean Green Tea
Brother Anthony
06
NOVEMBER 2009
VOL 15 NO 11
PublisherKim He-beom
Korean Culture and
Information Service
Chief EditorKo Hye-ryun
Editing amp Printing
JoongAng Daily
webmasterkoreanet
DesignJoongAng Daily
All rights reserved No part of this publication may beeproduced in any form without permission from Korea nd the Korean Culture and Information Service
The articles published in Korea do not necessarily rep-
esent the views of the publisher The publisher is notable for errors or omissions
etters to the editor should include the writerrsquos full namend address Letters may be edited for clarity andorpace restrictions
f you want to receive a free copy of Korea or wish toancel a subscription please e-mail us
A downloadable PDF file of Korea and a map and glos-ary with common Korean words appearing in our textre available by clicking on the thumbnail of Korea on
he homepage of wwwkoreanet
Cover Photo
The Incheon Bridge
opened last month
nking Incheon Inter-ational Airport and
he city of Songdo
06 Cover Story ndash Korea at the G-20
bull A New Era of Leadership
bull Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
12 News in Focus
bull As Emotional Reunions End Their Future Is Still in
Doubt
16 Diplomacy
bull Leersquos Asian Diplomatic Push
20 Global Korea
bull To Fix Brand Help the Needy
bull Seoul Centers Are Oases for Expat Residents
bull Taking Korean Flavors Home
bull Team Rushes to Help Victims of Earthquakes in
Indonesia
26 Green Growth
bull Environment Reporters Visit Praise Korearsquos Green
Policies
28 Culture
bull Saving Korearsquos Living Culture
bull 100 Years of Pride in Korean Culture
bull Play It Again Yon-sama Winter Sonata
bull Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
bull Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
bull Brotherly Folktale in US Text
44 Korean Literature
bull Trapped in Tranquil Domesticity
Oh Jung-hee bull Poetry ndash The Windrsquos Private Life
48 Korean Artist
bull Italy Honors Devoted Violinist and Concert
Master for His lsquoLife of Musicrsquo Kim Min
50 Sports
bull Out of the Park Times Twenty
bull U-20 Team Hits Quarterfinals But Canrsquot Top
African Champs발간등록번호11-1110073-00001 6-06
CONTENTS
54 28 50 16
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 7
The world looks to Korea as it becomes the first non-G8country to chair the Group of 20 and steer economic policy
A New Era of Leadership
Leaders o 20 o the worldrsquos top economies in-
cluding Korean President Lee Myung-bak letmost
o the three men seated in the center gather at a
round table on Sept 25 to begin the G-20 fnan-
cial summit in Pittsburgh the United States
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 9
Leaders participating in
the G-20 summit pose
or a photo Sept 25 at
the convention center
in Pittsburgh President
Lee Myung-bak is second
rom let in the ront
row
Korearsquos hosting the G-20 summit could beas momentous as the rsquo88 Seoul Olympics
signifies that Korea has finally and completely steered itself away from the periphery of Asiato the center of the worldrdquo the president said
Following the speech a brief question-and-answer session was arranged with Cheong WaDae correspondents and foreign journalistswhich was also broadcast live
During the conference Lee stressed that hisgovernment would make efforts to persuadethe North to give up its nuclear arms instead of relying on the policies of larger powers
ldquoUntil now Korea just followed others andwas passive in international society and did nothave a sayrdquo Lee said ldquoNow we are a member of the G-20 We will be the chair nation and thehost next year and the world will treat us dif-
ferently It will no longer be possible to discussa global iss ue without including Koreardquo
A senior Lee administration official saidKorearsquos hosting of the G-20 in November nextyear would be a breakthrough in the countryrsquosdiplomatic history
ldquoLeersquos leadership in past G-20 summits inWashington and London has been widely praisedrdquo the official said ldquoThe president madeclear his position against trade protectionisminitiating lsquostandstillrsquo pledges among the par-ticipants at the Washington G-20 summit notto erect any new trade and investment barriers
This has been seen as one of the most signifi-cant achievements of the forumrdquo
Shortly after the Washington summit lastyear South Korea launched aggressive effortsto host a G-20 summit Lee ordered a task forceto be established and appointed Sakong Il thenhis special economic advisor to head the G-20Summit Coordinating Committee
Sakong traveled around the world as Leersquosenvoy to persuade major G-20 nations in clud-ing the United States Britain France Germa-ny China and Japan to support Korearsquos bid andthe 10 months of passionate diplomacy paidoff
ldquoThis is not [an unexpected] windfallrdquo asenior South Korean official added noting t hat
US President Barack Obama was the mostsupportive of Korearsquos bid At the London sum-mit in April Obama suggested that Koreashould host the 2010 summit and the proposalwas widely endorsed by G-20 members heexplained
Marcus Noland deputy director and seniorfellow at the Washington-based Peterson Insti-tute for International Economics told mediathat Korearsquos hosting the summit next year willbe an opportunity akin to the Seoul Olympicsin 1988
ldquo[This] is an opportunity for Korea to dem-
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
Following an agreement between leadersof the worldrsquos major economies to insti-tutionalize the Group of 20 as a perma-nent council on global economic coop-
eration Korea was selected to host a summit inNovember next year
The leaders of the worldrsquos 20 largest econo-mies will meet in Canada in June and Korea inNovember for economic policy coordinationPresident Lee Myung-bak and Canadian PrimeMinister Stephen Harper announced in a jointpress conference in Pittsburgh the UnitedStates broadcast live on Sept 25
ldquoFirst let me informour citizens that it wasdecided to hold the 2010G-20 summit in Korea inNovemberrdquo the Korean
president said at the press conference addinghat the decision passed unanimously Canada
will host the fourth G-20 meeting in June onhe sidelines of the G-8 summit there The June
summit will be co-hosted and co-chaired by Korea Harper said
G-20 leaders will gather once a year for aroutine summit starting in 2011 In the interimyear of 2010 Canada and South Korea will hostwo rounds in June and November respec-ively Korea assumes the forum chair next
yearThe Group of 20 Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors mdash known as t he G-20for short mdash was created in response to thefinancial crisis of the late 1990s and to growingrecognition that emerging economies were notadequately included in the core of global eco-nomic discussions and governance
The first heads-of-government-level G-20financial summit took place in Washington inNovember 2008 to address the aftermath of thefinancial meltdowns that hit the world earlierhat year Another round of meetings took
place in London and the September meeting in
Pittsburgh was the third of its kindDuring the latest meeting the leaders
agreed to transform the forum into the worldrsquosmain body for coordinating economic policyThe G-20 economies comprise 85 percent of he gross world product 80 percent of worldrade and two-thirds of the world population
With this decision the G-20 will replace theexisting Group of Eight the forum of industri-alized nations that long dominated the worldeconomy The shift from G-8 to G-20 is alsodesigned to reflect the changing global econo-my and emerging countries such as China
India and Brazil as well as KorealdquoToday leaders endorsed the G-20 as the
premier forum for international economiccooperationrdquo the White House said in a state-ment ldquoThis decision brings to the table thecountries needed to build a stronger more bal-anced global economy reform the financialsystem and lift the lives of the p oorestrdquo
Upon returning home President Leearranged a special press conference and encour-aged Koreans to view their country as a centralmember of the global order In a media eventtelevised live around the nation on Sept 30 Leedisclosed a vision for a greater Korea
Noting that Korearsquos hosting of the Group of 20 Summit in November next year would be anopportunity to upgrade the countryrsquos positionin the global community Lee said Koreansmust work together to improve the nationrsquos sta-tus
In the special speech tit led ldquoParadigm shiftfor moving toward center stage from the
periphery of the international arenardquo Lee saidKoreans were about to begin a new era in theirhistory
Lee did not hide his excitement over thedecision to locate the G-20 Summit i n Novem-ber 2010 in Korea The president said that asmany of his foreign counterparts congratulatedhim he was proud to be leader of Korea
ldquoI am standing here today because I want totalk about the fact that Koreans are great andthat the world is now rec ognizing that factrdquo Leesaid He added that Koreans have made tre-mendous accomplishments over the past cen-tury
ldquoSignificantly our hosting of the G-20 sum-mit falls during the year marking the 100th
anniversary of the forced annexation of Koreaby imperial Japan I am filled with mixed feel-ingsrdquo he said ldquoDuring the past century we suf-fered the pain of watching our destiny fall intothe hands of world powers because we were tooweak
ldquoKorea has now however become one of the leading players in the international com-munity recognized by advanced countriesrdquo
Lee said it was especially significant forKorea to host the summit right after it hadbecome the center of economic policy makingldquoThe projected hosting of the summit basically
A P P h o t o T h e C a n a d i a n P r e s s
S e a n K i l p a t r i c k
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0 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 11
The frst couples o Korea
and the United States pose
or a reception on Sept
24 at the Phipps Conserva-
tory in Pittsburgh From
let Korean President Lee
Myung-bak US President
Barack Obama Korean
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok
and US First Lady Mi-
chelle Obama
onstrate its strengths to the rest of the worldand that can only have a positive impact onKorearsquos economy in the long runrdquo Nolandsaid
The scholar attributed Korearsquos successfulbid to the hard work of the Lee administrationand the growing stature of the Korean econo-my Korea has experienced the worldrsquos fastestrecovery and has taken a leading role in s ettingan agenda that includes green developmentand anti-protectionism
ldquoDiplomatically Korearsquos hosting of the G-20next year is a big dealrdquo he said ldquoKorean policy makers are considered highly capable and therest of the world is looking for good things tocome out of the summit t hat Korea will hostrdquo
Korearsquos five influential business organiza-ions also hailed the hosting of the summit
ldquoThe selection of South Korea as a venue for theG-20 summit next year means the nationrsquos roles rapidly expanding in the international com-
munityrdquo the business groups said in a jointstatement ldquoIt was one of the greatest achieve-ments for the nationrsquos diplomatic historyrdquo
The business groups included the Federa-ion of Korean Industries and the Korea Cham-
ber of Commerce and Industr yNext yearrsquos G-20 summit schedules are also
arranged in order to make optimal use of ascarce resource the global leadersrsquo time InJune Canada was scheduled to host the G-8summit and hosting the G-20 within the sametime frame is expected to significantly curtailthe amount of travel world leaders have toundertake
In November Japan also hosts the APECsummit and Korearsquos hosting of the G-20 in thesame month will serve the busy schedules of state heads best By Kim Soo-ae
President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a ldquogrand bar-gainrdquo in which North Korea will swap dismantlementof core parts of its nuclear arms programs for secu-
rity assurances and international economic aid and theplan has won global support including that of the UnitedStates and Japan Cheong Wa Dae said
The proposal was made during Leersquos recent trip to theUnited States in a speech at the US Council on ForeignRelations in New York on Sept 21 Lee said it was time tostop rewarding the North for bad behavior and a grand
bargain must be pushed forward by Seoul WashingtonBeijing Tokyo and Moscow The five nations must consulteach other clearly agree on the final route to disarmingPyongyang and create an action plan Lee said
ldquoWe need an integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issuerdquo Lee said ldquoThroughthe six-nation talks we need to push forward a lsquograndbargainrsquo to dismantle the core parts of the Northrsquos nucleararms programs and at the same time to provide security assurances and international assistance to the Northrdquo
Lee said his government has already consulted with theUnited States about the plan Cheong Wa Dae officials
later said China Russia and Japan also supported LeeDuring his visit to Seoul on Oct 9 Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama made public his backing forLeersquos ldquogrand bargainrdquo During the South Korea-China-Japan summit in Beijing on Oct 10 Lee sought Chinarsquossupport for his proposal and the three nations agreed tocooperate to bring the North back to the stalled talks
A Lee aide explained the proposal seeks to seal an over-all deal because past step-by-step approaches have proveninefficient The official also said the previous ldquocomprehen-
sive package dealrdquo was more focused on what to give theNorth while Leersquos proposal is based on reciprocity
ldquoFive countries of the six-nation talks except for theNorth have reached a consensus on the overall deal andwe are currently discussing the specifics of the negotia-tions with the Northrdquo he added
During his New York speech Lee stressed the Northmust not feel the process is a threat to its regime ldquoBy givingup its nuclear programs the North will be able to form newrelationships with the United States and the internationalcommunity and that will be the only path for the Northrsquossurvival and developmentrdquo Lee said By Kim Soo-ae
Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
Last monthrsquos meeting of G-20 politicalleaders in Pittsburgh was cause for bothoptimism and responsibility to sustainearly signs of a global recovery Follow-
up measures of the summit will fall primarily on Korea as the chair an d host of a G-20 meet-ing in 2010
This development will mark a significantturning point in global governance as Koreawill be the first non-G8 country to hold thoseresponsibilities since the G-20 emerged as a
venue for addressing global financial issues Italso places the burden of proof on Korea toshow that an expanded forum beyond the G8
can provide effective global leadershipKorea championed global coordination to
promote a macroeconomic stimulus that willprovide $5 trillion for the next two years andpromoted $11 trillion through internationalfinancial institutions to counteract the effectsof the global financial crisis on developingcountries Korea has also stood against pro-tectionist tendencies sponsoring ldquostandstillrdquoand ldquorollbackrdquo pledges among G-20 countriesas G-20 Summit Coordinating CommitteeChairman Sakong Il explained in the Centerfor US-Korea Policyrsquos May newsletter
As a former CEO Korean President Lee
Myung-bak is well-qualified to promote mea-sures for an early exit from the crisis UnderLeersquos leadership Korearsquos own efforts to pro-mote economic recovery are strongly in linewith those of the Obama administration in nosmall part because Lee conceives of US-Koreaeconomic coordination as an opportunity toexpand the two countriesrsquo alliance
In his speech to the Council on ForeignRelations in New York Lee emphasized thathe and President Obama have ldquoagreed thatthis alliance wil l no longer just be about ensur-ing securityrdquo but ldquoa comprehensive strategic
alliance that encompasses economic socialcultural educational scientific and techno-logical cooperationrdquo This suggests that Leeconceives the success of South Korearsquos G20leadership as directly tied to expanded alli-ance coordination with the United States andit suggests that such coordination has a raison
drsquoecirctre that extends far beyond deterring NorthKorea
Another component of Leersquos agenda withthe United States is the pending Korea-USFree Trade Agreement which has been stalleddue to provisions that deal with the politically sensitive auto sector As the International
Institute for StrategicStudie s rsquo Ste ve nSchrage has arguedKorearsquos successfulstewardship of theG-20 and Congressio-nal ratification of the
KORUS FTA should go hand-in-hand ulti-mately to enhance the US-Korea strategiclead on global economic issues
Korearsquos great challenge and opportunity isto show that the G-20 can remain effectiveeven as the crisis subsides and to ensure thatthis is not a ldquocrisis wastedrdquo
Mo Jong-ryn of Yonsei University arguesthat the rise of the G-20 mdash and South Korearsquosassumption of leadership in it mdash is an oppor-tunity to redress Asiarsquos past underrepresenta-tion and its economic weight in the interna-tional community But such an opportunity will be wasted unless Asians themselves deliv-
er in providing a distinctive and effectiveagenda
Korea must infuse its G-20 chairmanshipwith effective leadership if the group is tocement its role as the main venue for expand-ed economic coordination Korearsquos handlingof its G-20 chairmanship is a make or break opportunity on many different levels Thecountry needs to show that it can live up to thetask by catalyzing global coordination of exitstrategies from the crisis and by addressingglobal imbalances between developing andindustrialized countries By Scott Snyder
Scott Snyder directs The
Asia Foundationrsquos Centeror US-Korea Policy He
can be reached at ssny-
derasiafound-dcorg
Korean Leadership Essential to EnsuringLast 12 Months Was Not a lsquoCrisis Wastedrsquo
If Korea is to solidify the role of the G-20to set world policy it must present a robustagenda during its chairmanship next year
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
[ J o i n t P r e s s C o r p s ]
November 2009 korea 11
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News in Focus
For hundreds of Koreans from either side of theborder the time flew by far too fastFrom Sept 26 to 28 97 South Koreans werebriefly reunited with 233 family members living
on the opposite side of the border followed by a secondreunion from Sept 29 to Oct 1 of 98 North Koreans and428 of their relatives from the South Most had beenseparated during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953while some others had been captured as prisoners of waror when they i nadvertantly crossed the borderAs in past reunions emotional farewells dominated thefinal moments Hands helplessly reached out through thewindows of the bus leaving Mount Geumgangsan wherethe reunions took place as families touched each otherfor what could easily have been their last encounterThis was the 17th reunion of separated families sinc e theconclusion of the Korean War and it was the culminationof a sudden series of conciliatory gestures by North Koreawhich first broached the idea in AugustAccording to the Unification Ministry which handlesinter-Korean affairs in Seoul more than 20000 family members had been reunited in the previous 16 meetingsThe first session was held in 1985 But the next reunion
didnrsquot come until 2000 the year of the first inter-Koreansummit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jungand North Korean leader Kim Jong-il From then onfamilies met at least once each year until 2007Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administrationinter-Korean relations soured The last face-to-facereunion took place in Oc tober 2007 days after the secondinter-Korean summit between then South Korean Presi-dent Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Families have also beenable to take part in seven remote video conferencesAs North Korea grew more and more provocative con-ducting nuclear and missile tests s evering inter-Koreanmilitary communication lines and restricting cross-bor-
As Emotional Reunions EndTheir Future Is Still in DoubtTime is running out as many on the waiting list have already passed away
[ K P P A ]
Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future
family reunions
Separated families bid their emotional fare-
well at the end of their reunion at Mount
Geumgangsan on Sept 28
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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News in Focus
der land passage for South Koreans it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in2009But North Korea changed its tune in the summer OnAug 17 Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eunchairwoman of the Hyundai Group which handles inter-Korean exchange projects and agreed to set up a reunionof the families around the Chuseok holidays at MountGeumgangsan Those holidays fell on the first weekendof OctoberFour days later South Korearsquos National Red Cross whichorganizes the reunions officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings the two sidesagreed to bring the families togetherA computer randomly selected 300 candidates for thereunion and the South Korean Red Cross chose the finalist of 100 based on age and condition Three pulled out
at the last minute citing health issuesThe latest round of reunions was expected to provide abreakthrough in inter-Korean relations In the early partof the meetings North Korea even asked the South toextend ldquoa goodwill measurerdquo since the North went out of ts way to help resume family reunions
The Lee administration in Seoul has halted uncondi-ional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North insteadinking aid to denuclearization efforts Yoo Chong-hahe South Korean Red Cross chief said Jang Jae-on his
North Korean counterpart didnrsquot specify whetherPyongyang wanted rice or something else S eoulrsquos stanceon rice and fertilizer however had been that this aidshould be based on a government-level agreement sincet may be too costly for NGOs which are busy providing
medication for the elderly and childrenYoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the samepage on the spirit of the reunionsldquoHe said he agrees with the idea based on the humanitar-
ian spirit [that] better inter-Korean rela-tions would be a boon to family reunionsrdquoYoo told South Korean pool reporters atMount Geumgangsan at the time ldquoWewant more of the reunions regardless of the ups and downs of political relationsrdquoOfficials in the South offered mixed reac-tions to the Northrsquos request for aidWon Sei-hoon head of the National Intel-ligence Service in S eoul said that he wouldconsider appropriate measures for NorthKorea in response to the ongoing family reunions He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he wouldconsult with relevant government depart-ments regarding aid and would considerproviding it as long as strategic materialswere not involvedBut others were hesitant Vice UnificationMinister Hong Yang-ho said ldquoOur basicposition is that we donrsquot link inter-Koreanexchange or aid to North Korea with thefamily reunionsrdquoCheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo echoed the sentiment though hequalified his remarks by saying ldquoWhen itis deemed necessary the South Koreangovernment will provide humanitarianaid But wersquore already supplying medicinefor infants and seniorsrdquoAfter the tears dried other questions arosefrom the latest reunion meetings Yoo theRed Cross head in Seoul said he pressedJang his North Korean counterpart tocome up with a regular schedule for thereunions so that more could meet theirlost relatives But the Koreas didnrsquot followup on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions and no date for the nextround has been setAccording to the Ministry of Unification
nearly 130000 South Koreans had placedtheir names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year but 50000have already passed away Of the survi-
vors more than seven out of 10 were intheir 70s or 80sOn average there have been fewer thantwo reunions per year in the past nineyears and only a limited number fromeach side can take part While logisticalproblems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families cap-ping the number at 100 falls well short
sometimes with tragic consequences One 75-year-oldSouth Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train afterhe wasnrsquot chosen for the reunionCritics also say the South Korean government shouldconsider age and the availability of direct family memberson the other side of the border The Red Cross has beenusing random computer lotteries to ensure fairness Theselection is preceded by the Red Crossrsquos compiling of a listof 300 individuals after checking their health and theirwillingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan But thelottery process rules out consideration of age and doesnrsquotaccount for whether the individualsrsquo direct family mem-bers are even alive in the NorthAn official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledgedthat some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives
because their parents or siblings have all already passedawayAs critics and the government debate what to do withfuture reunions a senior S outh Korean government offi-cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-ian aid without preconditions to encourage the North tocontinue engagementKim Deog-ryong the presidentrsquos special advisor fornational unity said at an academic forum in Seoul onOct 7 that the South shouldnrsquot tie humanitarian issueswith politicsldquoFortunately North Korea appears to be seeking toimprove [inter-Korean] relationsrdquo Kim said calling the
The randomselectionprocess for thereunions issomewhatcontroversial
family reunions at Mount Geumgangsanpart of ldquodefinite changes and improve-mentrdquoHe also stressed that rice and fertilizer aidis directly related to the livelihood of theNorth Koreans and supplying these prod-ucts is necessary so that North Korealdquowould continuously engage in dia-loguerdquoIn recent months North Korea has alter-nated between a moderate stance and ahostile one It has released detainedAmerican and South Korean citizens andlifted border restrictions for S outh Kore-ans even while claiming its uranium
enrichment program for nuclear weaponsdevelopment had entered its final phaseand saying the United States has to changeits hostile policy on Pyeongyang beforethe North could consider dismantling itsnuclear programsAgainst this backdrop the Koreas man-aged to reunite separated families for thefirst time in two years But whether thesemeetings will be held on a regular basisand whether they will help improve inter-Korean relations remains to be seen
By Yoo Jee-ho
Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting forfamily reunions (through August 2009) Unit persons
Source The Unifcation Ministry
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives top and above The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort left
[ Y O N H A P ]
The South hasproposedregular reunions butthe North hasyet to respond
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 19
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 436
6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 7
The world looks to Korea as it becomes the first non-G8country to chair the Group of 20 and steer economic policy
A New Era of Leadership
Leaders o 20 o the worldrsquos top economies in-
cluding Korean President Lee Myung-bak letmost
o the three men seated in the center gather at a
round table on Sept 25 to begin the G-20 fnan-
cial summit in Pittsburgh the United States
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 9
Leaders participating in
the G-20 summit pose
or a photo Sept 25 at
the convention center
in Pittsburgh President
Lee Myung-bak is second
rom let in the ront
row
Korearsquos hosting the G-20 summit could beas momentous as the rsquo88 Seoul Olympics
signifies that Korea has finally and completely steered itself away from the periphery of Asiato the center of the worldrdquo the president said
Following the speech a brief question-and-answer session was arranged with Cheong WaDae correspondents and foreign journalistswhich was also broadcast live
During the conference Lee stressed that hisgovernment would make efforts to persuadethe North to give up its nuclear arms instead of relying on the policies of larger powers
ldquoUntil now Korea just followed others andwas passive in international society and did nothave a sayrdquo Lee said ldquoNow we are a member of the G-20 We will be the chair nation and thehost next year and the world will treat us dif-
ferently It will no longer be possible to discussa global iss ue without including Koreardquo
A senior Lee administration official saidKorearsquos hosting of the G-20 in November nextyear would be a breakthrough in the countryrsquosdiplomatic history
ldquoLeersquos leadership in past G-20 summits inWashington and London has been widely praisedrdquo the official said ldquoThe president madeclear his position against trade protectionisminitiating lsquostandstillrsquo pledges among the par-ticipants at the Washington G-20 summit notto erect any new trade and investment barriers
This has been seen as one of the most signifi-cant achievements of the forumrdquo
Shortly after the Washington summit lastyear South Korea launched aggressive effortsto host a G-20 summit Lee ordered a task forceto be established and appointed Sakong Il thenhis special economic advisor to head the G-20Summit Coordinating Committee
Sakong traveled around the world as Leersquosenvoy to persuade major G-20 nations in clud-ing the United States Britain France Germa-ny China and Japan to support Korearsquos bid andthe 10 months of passionate diplomacy paidoff
ldquoThis is not [an unexpected] windfallrdquo asenior South Korean official added noting t hat
US President Barack Obama was the mostsupportive of Korearsquos bid At the London sum-mit in April Obama suggested that Koreashould host the 2010 summit and the proposalwas widely endorsed by G-20 members heexplained
Marcus Noland deputy director and seniorfellow at the Washington-based Peterson Insti-tute for International Economics told mediathat Korearsquos hosting the summit next year willbe an opportunity akin to the Seoul Olympicsin 1988
ldquo[This] is an opportunity for Korea to dem-
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
Following an agreement between leadersof the worldrsquos major economies to insti-tutionalize the Group of 20 as a perma-nent council on global economic coop-
eration Korea was selected to host a summit inNovember next year
The leaders of the worldrsquos 20 largest econo-mies will meet in Canada in June and Korea inNovember for economic policy coordinationPresident Lee Myung-bak and Canadian PrimeMinister Stephen Harper announced in a jointpress conference in Pittsburgh the UnitedStates broadcast live on Sept 25
ldquoFirst let me informour citizens that it wasdecided to hold the 2010G-20 summit in Korea inNovemberrdquo the Korean
president said at the press conference addinghat the decision passed unanimously Canada
will host the fourth G-20 meeting in June onhe sidelines of the G-8 summit there The June
summit will be co-hosted and co-chaired by Korea Harper said
G-20 leaders will gather once a year for aroutine summit starting in 2011 In the interimyear of 2010 Canada and South Korea will hostwo rounds in June and November respec-ively Korea assumes the forum chair next
yearThe Group of 20 Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors mdash known as t he G-20for short mdash was created in response to thefinancial crisis of the late 1990s and to growingrecognition that emerging economies were notadequately included in the core of global eco-nomic discussions and governance
The first heads-of-government-level G-20financial summit took place in Washington inNovember 2008 to address the aftermath of thefinancial meltdowns that hit the world earlierhat year Another round of meetings took
place in London and the September meeting in
Pittsburgh was the third of its kindDuring the latest meeting the leaders
agreed to transform the forum into the worldrsquosmain body for coordinating economic policyThe G-20 economies comprise 85 percent of he gross world product 80 percent of worldrade and two-thirds of the world population
With this decision the G-20 will replace theexisting Group of Eight the forum of industri-alized nations that long dominated the worldeconomy The shift from G-8 to G-20 is alsodesigned to reflect the changing global econo-my and emerging countries such as China
India and Brazil as well as KorealdquoToday leaders endorsed the G-20 as the
premier forum for international economiccooperationrdquo the White House said in a state-ment ldquoThis decision brings to the table thecountries needed to build a stronger more bal-anced global economy reform the financialsystem and lift the lives of the p oorestrdquo
Upon returning home President Leearranged a special press conference and encour-aged Koreans to view their country as a centralmember of the global order In a media eventtelevised live around the nation on Sept 30 Leedisclosed a vision for a greater Korea
Noting that Korearsquos hosting of the Group of 20 Summit in November next year would be anopportunity to upgrade the countryrsquos positionin the global community Lee said Koreansmust work together to improve the nationrsquos sta-tus
In the special speech tit led ldquoParadigm shiftfor moving toward center stage from the
periphery of the international arenardquo Lee saidKoreans were about to begin a new era in theirhistory
Lee did not hide his excitement over thedecision to locate the G-20 Summit i n Novem-ber 2010 in Korea The president said that asmany of his foreign counterparts congratulatedhim he was proud to be leader of Korea
ldquoI am standing here today because I want totalk about the fact that Koreans are great andthat the world is now rec ognizing that factrdquo Leesaid He added that Koreans have made tre-mendous accomplishments over the past cen-tury
ldquoSignificantly our hosting of the G-20 sum-mit falls during the year marking the 100th
anniversary of the forced annexation of Koreaby imperial Japan I am filled with mixed feel-ingsrdquo he said ldquoDuring the past century we suf-fered the pain of watching our destiny fall intothe hands of world powers because we were tooweak
ldquoKorea has now however become one of the leading players in the international com-munity recognized by advanced countriesrdquo
Lee said it was especially significant forKorea to host the summit right after it hadbecome the center of economic policy makingldquoThe projected hosting of the summit basically
A P P h o t o T h e C a n a d i a n P r e s s
S e a n K i l p a t r i c k
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0 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 11
The frst couples o Korea
and the United States pose
or a reception on Sept
24 at the Phipps Conserva-
tory in Pittsburgh From
let Korean President Lee
Myung-bak US President
Barack Obama Korean
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok
and US First Lady Mi-
chelle Obama
onstrate its strengths to the rest of the worldand that can only have a positive impact onKorearsquos economy in the long runrdquo Nolandsaid
The scholar attributed Korearsquos successfulbid to the hard work of the Lee administrationand the growing stature of the Korean econo-my Korea has experienced the worldrsquos fastestrecovery and has taken a leading role in s ettingan agenda that includes green developmentand anti-protectionism
ldquoDiplomatically Korearsquos hosting of the G-20next year is a big dealrdquo he said ldquoKorean policy makers are considered highly capable and therest of the world is looking for good things tocome out of the summit t hat Korea will hostrdquo
Korearsquos five influential business organiza-ions also hailed the hosting of the summit
ldquoThe selection of South Korea as a venue for theG-20 summit next year means the nationrsquos roles rapidly expanding in the international com-
munityrdquo the business groups said in a jointstatement ldquoIt was one of the greatest achieve-ments for the nationrsquos diplomatic historyrdquo
The business groups included the Federa-ion of Korean Industries and the Korea Cham-
ber of Commerce and Industr yNext yearrsquos G-20 summit schedules are also
arranged in order to make optimal use of ascarce resource the global leadersrsquo time InJune Canada was scheduled to host the G-8summit and hosting the G-20 within the sametime frame is expected to significantly curtailthe amount of travel world leaders have toundertake
In November Japan also hosts the APECsummit and Korearsquos hosting of the G-20 in thesame month will serve the busy schedules of state heads best By Kim Soo-ae
President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a ldquogrand bar-gainrdquo in which North Korea will swap dismantlementof core parts of its nuclear arms programs for secu-
rity assurances and international economic aid and theplan has won global support including that of the UnitedStates and Japan Cheong Wa Dae said
The proposal was made during Leersquos recent trip to theUnited States in a speech at the US Council on ForeignRelations in New York on Sept 21 Lee said it was time tostop rewarding the North for bad behavior and a grand
bargain must be pushed forward by Seoul WashingtonBeijing Tokyo and Moscow The five nations must consulteach other clearly agree on the final route to disarmingPyongyang and create an action plan Lee said
ldquoWe need an integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issuerdquo Lee said ldquoThroughthe six-nation talks we need to push forward a lsquograndbargainrsquo to dismantle the core parts of the Northrsquos nucleararms programs and at the same time to provide security assurances and international assistance to the Northrdquo
Lee said his government has already consulted with theUnited States about the plan Cheong Wa Dae officials
later said China Russia and Japan also supported LeeDuring his visit to Seoul on Oct 9 Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama made public his backing forLeersquos ldquogrand bargainrdquo During the South Korea-China-Japan summit in Beijing on Oct 10 Lee sought Chinarsquossupport for his proposal and the three nations agreed tocooperate to bring the North back to the stalled talks
A Lee aide explained the proposal seeks to seal an over-all deal because past step-by-step approaches have proveninefficient The official also said the previous ldquocomprehen-
sive package dealrdquo was more focused on what to give theNorth while Leersquos proposal is based on reciprocity
ldquoFive countries of the six-nation talks except for theNorth have reached a consensus on the overall deal andwe are currently discussing the specifics of the negotia-tions with the Northrdquo he added
During his New York speech Lee stressed the Northmust not feel the process is a threat to its regime ldquoBy givingup its nuclear programs the North will be able to form newrelationships with the United States and the internationalcommunity and that will be the only path for the Northrsquossurvival and developmentrdquo Lee said By Kim Soo-ae
Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
Last monthrsquos meeting of G-20 politicalleaders in Pittsburgh was cause for bothoptimism and responsibility to sustainearly signs of a global recovery Follow-
up measures of the summit will fall primarily on Korea as the chair an d host of a G-20 meet-ing in 2010
This development will mark a significantturning point in global governance as Koreawill be the first non-G8 country to hold thoseresponsibilities since the G-20 emerged as a
venue for addressing global financial issues Italso places the burden of proof on Korea toshow that an expanded forum beyond the G8
can provide effective global leadershipKorea championed global coordination to
promote a macroeconomic stimulus that willprovide $5 trillion for the next two years andpromoted $11 trillion through internationalfinancial institutions to counteract the effectsof the global financial crisis on developingcountries Korea has also stood against pro-tectionist tendencies sponsoring ldquostandstillrdquoand ldquorollbackrdquo pledges among G-20 countriesas G-20 Summit Coordinating CommitteeChairman Sakong Il explained in the Centerfor US-Korea Policyrsquos May newsletter
As a former CEO Korean President Lee
Myung-bak is well-qualified to promote mea-sures for an early exit from the crisis UnderLeersquos leadership Korearsquos own efforts to pro-mote economic recovery are strongly in linewith those of the Obama administration in nosmall part because Lee conceives of US-Koreaeconomic coordination as an opportunity toexpand the two countriesrsquo alliance
In his speech to the Council on ForeignRelations in New York Lee emphasized thathe and President Obama have ldquoagreed thatthis alliance wil l no longer just be about ensur-ing securityrdquo but ldquoa comprehensive strategic
alliance that encompasses economic socialcultural educational scientific and techno-logical cooperationrdquo This suggests that Leeconceives the success of South Korearsquos G20leadership as directly tied to expanded alli-ance coordination with the United States andit suggests that such coordination has a raison
drsquoecirctre that extends far beyond deterring NorthKorea
Another component of Leersquos agenda withthe United States is the pending Korea-USFree Trade Agreement which has been stalleddue to provisions that deal with the politically sensitive auto sector As the International
Institute for StrategicStudie s rsquo Ste ve nSchrage has arguedKorearsquos successfulstewardship of theG-20 and Congressio-nal ratification of the
KORUS FTA should go hand-in-hand ulti-mately to enhance the US-Korea strategiclead on global economic issues
Korearsquos great challenge and opportunity isto show that the G-20 can remain effectiveeven as the crisis subsides and to ensure thatthis is not a ldquocrisis wastedrdquo
Mo Jong-ryn of Yonsei University arguesthat the rise of the G-20 mdash and South Korearsquosassumption of leadership in it mdash is an oppor-tunity to redress Asiarsquos past underrepresenta-tion and its economic weight in the interna-tional community But such an opportunity will be wasted unless Asians themselves deliv-
er in providing a distinctive and effectiveagenda
Korea must infuse its G-20 chairmanshipwith effective leadership if the group is tocement its role as the main venue for expand-ed economic coordination Korearsquos handlingof its G-20 chairmanship is a make or break opportunity on many different levels Thecountry needs to show that it can live up to thetask by catalyzing global coordination of exitstrategies from the crisis and by addressingglobal imbalances between developing andindustrialized countries By Scott Snyder
Scott Snyder directs The
Asia Foundationrsquos Centeror US-Korea Policy He
can be reached at ssny-
derasiafound-dcorg
Korean Leadership Essential to EnsuringLast 12 Months Was Not a lsquoCrisis Wastedrsquo
If Korea is to solidify the role of the G-20to set world policy it must present a robustagenda during its chairmanship next year
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
[ J o i n t P r e s s C o r p s ]
November 2009 korea 11
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2 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 13
News in Focus
For hundreds of Koreans from either side of theborder the time flew by far too fastFrom Sept 26 to 28 97 South Koreans werebriefly reunited with 233 family members living
on the opposite side of the border followed by a secondreunion from Sept 29 to Oct 1 of 98 North Koreans and428 of their relatives from the South Most had beenseparated during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953while some others had been captured as prisoners of waror when they i nadvertantly crossed the borderAs in past reunions emotional farewells dominated thefinal moments Hands helplessly reached out through thewindows of the bus leaving Mount Geumgangsan wherethe reunions took place as families touched each otherfor what could easily have been their last encounterThis was the 17th reunion of separated families sinc e theconclusion of the Korean War and it was the culminationof a sudden series of conciliatory gestures by North Koreawhich first broached the idea in AugustAccording to the Unification Ministry which handlesinter-Korean affairs in Seoul more than 20000 family members had been reunited in the previous 16 meetingsThe first session was held in 1985 But the next reunion
didnrsquot come until 2000 the year of the first inter-Koreansummit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jungand North Korean leader Kim Jong-il From then onfamilies met at least once each year until 2007Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administrationinter-Korean relations soured The last face-to-facereunion took place in Oc tober 2007 days after the secondinter-Korean summit between then South Korean Presi-dent Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Families have also beenable to take part in seven remote video conferencesAs North Korea grew more and more provocative con-ducting nuclear and missile tests s evering inter-Koreanmilitary communication lines and restricting cross-bor-
As Emotional Reunions EndTheir Future Is Still in DoubtTime is running out as many on the waiting list have already passed away
[ K P P A ]
Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future
family reunions
Separated families bid their emotional fare-
well at the end of their reunion at Mount
Geumgangsan on Sept 28
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 15
News in Focus
der land passage for South Koreans it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in2009But North Korea changed its tune in the summer OnAug 17 Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eunchairwoman of the Hyundai Group which handles inter-Korean exchange projects and agreed to set up a reunionof the families around the Chuseok holidays at MountGeumgangsan Those holidays fell on the first weekendof OctoberFour days later South Korearsquos National Red Cross whichorganizes the reunions officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings the two sidesagreed to bring the families togetherA computer randomly selected 300 candidates for thereunion and the South Korean Red Cross chose the finalist of 100 based on age and condition Three pulled out
at the last minute citing health issuesThe latest round of reunions was expected to provide abreakthrough in inter-Korean relations In the early partof the meetings North Korea even asked the South toextend ldquoa goodwill measurerdquo since the North went out of ts way to help resume family reunions
The Lee administration in Seoul has halted uncondi-ional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North insteadinking aid to denuclearization efforts Yoo Chong-hahe South Korean Red Cross chief said Jang Jae-on his
North Korean counterpart didnrsquot specify whetherPyongyang wanted rice or something else S eoulrsquos stanceon rice and fertilizer however had been that this aidshould be based on a government-level agreement sincet may be too costly for NGOs which are busy providing
medication for the elderly and childrenYoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the samepage on the spirit of the reunionsldquoHe said he agrees with the idea based on the humanitar-
ian spirit [that] better inter-Korean rela-tions would be a boon to family reunionsrdquoYoo told South Korean pool reporters atMount Geumgangsan at the time ldquoWewant more of the reunions regardless of the ups and downs of political relationsrdquoOfficials in the South offered mixed reac-tions to the Northrsquos request for aidWon Sei-hoon head of the National Intel-ligence Service in S eoul said that he wouldconsider appropriate measures for NorthKorea in response to the ongoing family reunions He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he wouldconsult with relevant government depart-ments regarding aid and would considerproviding it as long as strategic materialswere not involvedBut others were hesitant Vice UnificationMinister Hong Yang-ho said ldquoOur basicposition is that we donrsquot link inter-Koreanexchange or aid to North Korea with thefamily reunionsrdquoCheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo echoed the sentiment though hequalified his remarks by saying ldquoWhen itis deemed necessary the South Koreangovernment will provide humanitarianaid But wersquore already supplying medicinefor infants and seniorsrdquoAfter the tears dried other questions arosefrom the latest reunion meetings Yoo theRed Cross head in Seoul said he pressedJang his North Korean counterpart tocome up with a regular schedule for thereunions so that more could meet theirlost relatives But the Koreas didnrsquot followup on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions and no date for the nextround has been setAccording to the Ministry of Unification
nearly 130000 South Koreans had placedtheir names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year but 50000have already passed away Of the survi-
vors more than seven out of 10 were intheir 70s or 80sOn average there have been fewer thantwo reunions per year in the past nineyears and only a limited number fromeach side can take part While logisticalproblems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families cap-ping the number at 100 falls well short
sometimes with tragic consequences One 75-year-oldSouth Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train afterhe wasnrsquot chosen for the reunionCritics also say the South Korean government shouldconsider age and the availability of direct family memberson the other side of the border The Red Cross has beenusing random computer lotteries to ensure fairness Theselection is preceded by the Red Crossrsquos compiling of a listof 300 individuals after checking their health and theirwillingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan But thelottery process rules out consideration of age and doesnrsquotaccount for whether the individualsrsquo direct family mem-bers are even alive in the NorthAn official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledgedthat some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives
because their parents or siblings have all already passedawayAs critics and the government debate what to do withfuture reunions a senior S outh Korean government offi-cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-ian aid without preconditions to encourage the North tocontinue engagementKim Deog-ryong the presidentrsquos special advisor fornational unity said at an academic forum in Seoul onOct 7 that the South shouldnrsquot tie humanitarian issueswith politicsldquoFortunately North Korea appears to be seeking toimprove [inter-Korean] relationsrdquo Kim said calling the
The randomselectionprocess for thereunions issomewhatcontroversial
family reunions at Mount Geumgangsanpart of ldquodefinite changes and improve-mentrdquoHe also stressed that rice and fertilizer aidis directly related to the livelihood of theNorth Koreans and supplying these prod-ucts is necessary so that North Korealdquowould continuously engage in dia-loguerdquoIn recent months North Korea has alter-nated between a moderate stance and ahostile one It has released detainedAmerican and South Korean citizens andlifted border restrictions for S outh Kore-ans even while claiming its uranium
enrichment program for nuclear weaponsdevelopment had entered its final phaseand saying the United States has to changeits hostile policy on Pyeongyang beforethe North could consider dismantling itsnuclear programsAgainst this backdrop the Koreas man-aged to reunite separated families for thefirst time in two years But whether thesemeetings will be held on a regular basisand whether they will help improve inter-Korean relations remains to be seen
By Yoo Jee-ho
Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting forfamily reunions (through August 2009) Unit persons
Source The Unifcation Ministry
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives top and above The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort left
[ Y O N H A P ]
The South hasproposedregular reunions butthe North hasyet to respond
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
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Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 9
Leaders participating in
the G-20 summit pose
or a photo Sept 25 at
the convention center
in Pittsburgh President
Lee Myung-bak is second
rom let in the ront
row
Korearsquos hosting the G-20 summit could beas momentous as the rsquo88 Seoul Olympics
signifies that Korea has finally and completely steered itself away from the periphery of Asiato the center of the worldrdquo the president said
Following the speech a brief question-and-answer session was arranged with Cheong WaDae correspondents and foreign journalistswhich was also broadcast live
During the conference Lee stressed that hisgovernment would make efforts to persuadethe North to give up its nuclear arms instead of relying on the policies of larger powers
ldquoUntil now Korea just followed others andwas passive in international society and did nothave a sayrdquo Lee said ldquoNow we are a member of the G-20 We will be the chair nation and thehost next year and the world will treat us dif-
ferently It will no longer be possible to discussa global iss ue without including Koreardquo
A senior Lee administration official saidKorearsquos hosting of the G-20 in November nextyear would be a breakthrough in the countryrsquosdiplomatic history
ldquoLeersquos leadership in past G-20 summits inWashington and London has been widely praisedrdquo the official said ldquoThe president madeclear his position against trade protectionisminitiating lsquostandstillrsquo pledges among the par-ticipants at the Washington G-20 summit notto erect any new trade and investment barriers
This has been seen as one of the most signifi-cant achievements of the forumrdquo
Shortly after the Washington summit lastyear South Korea launched aggressive effortsto host a G-20 summit Lee ordered a task forceto be established and appointed Sakong Il thenhis special economic advisor to head the G-20Summit Coordinating Committee
Sakong traveled around the world as Leersquosenvoy to persuade major G-20 nations in clud-ing the United States Britain France Germa-ny China and Japan to support Korearsquos bid andthe 10 months of passionate diplomacy paidoff
ldquoThis is not [an unexpected] windfallrdquo asenior South Korean official added noting t hat
US President Barack Obama was the mostsupportive of Korearsquos bid At the London sum-mit in April Obama suggested that Koreashould host the 2010 summit and the proposalwas widely endorsed by G-20 members heexplained
Marcus Noland deputy director and seniorfellow at the Washington-based Peterson Insti-tute for International Economics told mediathat Korearsquos hosting the summit next year willbe an opportunity akin to the Seoul Olympicsin 1988
ldquo[This] is an opportunity for Korea to dem-
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
Following an agreement between leadersof the worldrsquos major economies to insti-tutionalize the Group of 20 as a perma-nent council on global economic coop-
eration Korea was selected to host a summit inNovember next year
The leaders of the worldrsquos 20 largest econo-mies will meet in Canada in June and Korea inNovember for economic policy coordinationPresident Lee Myung-bak and Canadian PrimeMinister Stephen Harper announced in a jointpress conference in Pittsburgh the UnitedStates broadcast live on Sept 25
ldquoFirst let me informour citizens that it wasdecided to hold the 2010G-20 summit in Korea inNovemberrdquo the Korean
president said at the press conference addinghat the decision passed unanimously Canada
will host the fourth G-20 meeting in June onhe sidelines of the G-8 summit there The June
summit will be co-hosted and co-chaired by Korea Harper said
G-20 leaders will gather once a year for aroutine summit starting in 2011 In the interimyear of 2010 Canada and South Korea will hostwo rounds in June and November respec-ively Korea assumes the forum chair next
yearThe Group of 20 Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors mdash known as t he G-20for short mdash was created in response to thefinancial crisis of the late 1990s and to growingrecognition that emerging economies were notadequately included in the core of global eco-nomic discussions and governance
The first heads-of-government-level G-20financial summit took place in Washington inNovember 2008 to address the aftermath of thefinancial meltdowns that hit the world earlierhat year Another round of meetings took
place in London and the September meeting in
Pittsburgh was the third of its kindDuring the latest meeting the leaders
agreed to transform the forum into the worldrsquosmain body for coordinating economic policyThe G-20 economies comprise 85 percent of he gross world product 80 percent of worldrade and two-thirds of the world population
With this decision the G-20 will replace theexisting Group of Eight the forum of industri-alized nations that long dominated the worldeconomy The shift from G-8 to G-20 is alsodesigned to reflect the changing global econo-my and emerging countries such as China
India and Brazil as well as KorealdquoToday leaders endorsed the G-20 as the
premier forum for international economiccooperationrdquo the White House said in a state-ment ldquoThis decision brings to the table thecountries needed to build a stronger more bal-anced global economy reform the financialsystem and lift the lives of the p oorestrdquo
Upon returning home President Leearranged a special press conference and encour-aged Koreans to view their country as a centralmember of the global order In a media eventtelevised live around the nation on Sept 30 Leedisclosed a vision for a greater Korea
Noting that Korearsquos hosting of the Group of 20 Summit in November next year would be anopportunity to upgrade the countryrsquos positionin the global community Lee said Koreansmust work together to improve the nationrsquos sta-tus
In the special speech tit led ldquoParadigm shiftfor moving toward center stage from the
periphery of the international arenardquo Lee saidKoreans were about to begin a new era in theirhistory
Lee did not hide his excitement over thedecision to locate the G-20 Summit i n Novem-ber 2010 in Korea The president said that asmany of his foreign counterparts congratulatedhim he was proud to be leader of Korea
ldquoI am standing here today because I want totalk about the fact that Koreans are great andthat the world is now rec ognizing that factrdquo Leesaid He added that Koreans have made tre-mendous accomplishments over the past cen-tury
ldquoSignificantly our hosting of the G-20 sum-mit falls during the year marking the 100th
anniversary of the forced annexation of Koreaby imperial Japan I am filled with mixed feel-ingsrdquo he said ldquoDuring the past century we suf-fered the pain of watching our destiny fall intothe hands of world powers because we were tooweak
ldquoKorea has now however become one of the leading players in the international com-munity recognized by advanced countriesrdquo
Lee said it was especially significant forKorea to host the summit right after it hadbecome the center of economic policy makingldquoThe projected hosting of the summit basically
A P P h o t o T h e C a n a d i a n P r e s s
S e a n K i l p a t r i c k
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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0 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 11
The frst couples o Korea
and the United States pose
or a reception on Sept
24 at the Phipps Conserva-
tory in Pittsburgh From
let Korean President Lee
Myung-bak US President
Barack Obama Korean
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok
and US First Lady Mi-
chelle Obama
onstrate its strengths to the rest of the worldand that can only have a positive impact onKorearsquos economy in the long runrdquo Nolandsaid
The scholar attributed Korearsquos successfulbid to the hard work of the Lee administrationand the growing stature of the Korean econo-my Korea has experienced the worldrsquos fastestrecovery and has taken a leading role in s ettingan agenda that includes green developmentand anti-protectionism
ldquoDiplomatically Korearsquos hosting of the G-20next year is a big dealrdquo he said ldquoKorean policy makers are considered highly capable and therest of the world is looking for good things tocome out of the summit t hat Korea will hostrdquo
Korearsquos five influential business organiza-ions also hailed the hosting of the summit
ldquoThe selection of South Korea as a venue for theG-20 summit next year means the nationrsquos roles rapidly expanding in the international com-
munityrdquo the business groups said in a jointstatement ldquoIt was one of the greatest achieve-ments for the nationrsquos diplomatic historyrdquo
The business groups included the Federa-ion of Korean Industries and the Korea Cham-
ber of Commerce and Industr yNext yearrsquos G-20 summit schedules are also
arranged in order to make optimal use of ascarce resource the global leadersrsquo time InJune Canada was scheduled to host the G-8summit and hosting the G-20 within the sametime frame is expected to significantly curtailthe amount of travel world leaders have toundertake
In November Japan also hosts the APECsummit and Korearsquos hosting of the G-20 in thesame month will serve the busy schedules of state heads best By Kim Soo-ae
President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a ldquogrand bar-gainrdquo in which North Korea will swap dismantlementof core parts of its nuclear arms programs for secu-
rity assurances and international economic aid and theplan has won global support including that of the UnitedStates and Japan Cheong Wa Dae said
The proposal was made during Leersquos recent trip to theUnited States in a speech at the US Council on ForeignRelations in New York on Sept 21 Lee said it was time tostop rewarding the North for bad behavior and a grand
bargain must be pushed forward by Seoul WashingtonBeijing Tokyo and Moscow The five nations must consulteach other clearly agree on the final route to disarmingPyongyang and create an action plan Lee said
ldquoWe need an integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issuerdquo Lee said ldquoThroughthe six-nation talks we need to push forward a lsquograndbargainrsquo to dismantle the core parts of the Northrsquos nucleararms programs and at the same time to provide security assurances and international assistance to the Northrdquo
Lee said his government has already consulted with theUnited States about the plan Cheong Wa Dae officials
later said China Russia and Japan also supported LeeDuring his visit to Seoul on Oct 9 Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama made public his backing forLeersquos ldquogrand bargainrdquo During the South Korea-China-Japan summit in Beijing on Oct 10 Lee sought Chinarsquossupport for his proposal and the three nations agreed tocooperate to bring the North back to the stalled talks
A Lee aide explained the proposal seeks to seal an over-all deal because past step-by-step approaches have proveninefficient The official also said the previous ldquocomprehen-
sive package dealrdquo was more focused on what to give theNorth while Leersquos proposal is based on reciprocity
ldquoFive countries of the six-nation talks except for theNorth have reached a consensus on the overall deal andwe are currently discussing the specifics of the negotia-tions with the Northrdquo he added
During his New York speech Lee stressed the Northmust not feel the process is a threat to its regime ldquoBy givingup its nuclear programs the North will be able to form newrelationships with the United States and the internationalcommunity and that will be the only path for the Northrsquossurvival and developmentrdquo Lee said By Kim Soo-ae
Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
Last monthrsquos meeting of G-20 politicalleaders in Pittsburgh was cause for bothoptimism and responsibility to sustainearly signs of a global recovery Follow-
up measures of the summit will fall primarily on Korea as the chair an d host of a G-20 meet-ing in 2010
This development will mark a significantturning point in global governance as Koreawill be the first non-G8 country to hold thoseresponsibilities since the G-20 emerged as a
venue for addressing global financial issues Italso places the burden of proof on Korea toshow that an expanded forum beyond the G8
can provide effective global leadershipKorea championed global coordination to
promote a macroeconomic stimulus that willprovide $5 trillion for the next two years andpromoted $11 trillion through internationalfinancial institutions to counteract the effectsof the global financial crisis on developingcountries Korea has also stood against pro-tectionist tendencies sponsoring ldquostandstillrdquoand ldquorollbackrdquo pledges among G-20 countriesas G-20 Summit Coordinating CommitteeChairman Sakong Il explained in the Centerfor US-Korea Policyrsquos May newsletter
As a former CEO Korean President Lee
Myung-bak is well-qualified to promote mea-sures for an early exit from the crisis UnderLeersquos leadership Korearsquos own efforts to pro-mote economic recovery are strongly in linewith those of the Obama administration in nosmall part because Lee conceives of US-Koreaeconomic coordination as an opportunity toexpand the two countriesrsquo alliance
In his speech to the Council on ForeignRelations in New York Lee emphasized thathe and President Obama have ldquoagreed thatthis alliance wil l no longer just be about ensur-ing securityrdquo but ldquoa comprehensive strategic
alliance that encompasses economic socialcultural educational scientific and techno-logical cooperationrdquo This suggests that Leeconceives the success of South Korearsquos G20leadership as directly tied to expanded alli-ance coordination with the United States andit suggests that such coordination has a raison
drsquoecirctre that extends far beyond deterring NorthKorea
Another component of Leersquos agenda withthe United States is the pending Korea-USFree Trade Agreement which has been stalleddue to provisions that deal with the politically sensitive auto sector As the International
Institute for StrategicStudie s rsquo Ste ve nSchrage has arguedKorearsquos successfulstewardship of theG-20 and Congressio-nal ratification of the
KORUS FTA should go hand-in-hand ulti-mately to enhance the US-Korea strategiclead on global economic issues
Korearsquos great challenge and opportunity isto show that the G-20 can remain effectiveeven as the crisis subsides and to ensure thatthis is not a ldquocrisis wastedrdquo
Mo Jong-ryn of Yonsei University arguesthat the rise of the G-20 mdash and South Korearsquosassumption of leadership in it mdash is an oppor-tunity to redress Asiarsquos past underrepresenta-tion and its economic weight in the interna-tional community But such an opportunity will be wasted unless Asians themselves deliv-
er in providing a distinctive and effectiveagenda
Korea must infuse its G-20 chairmanshipwith effective leadership if the group is tocement its role as the main venue for expand-ed economic coordination Korearsquos handlingof its G-20 chairmanship is a make or break opportunity on many different levels Thecountry needs to show that it can live up to thetask by catalyzing global coordination of exitstrategies from the crisis and by addressingglobal imbalances between developing andindustrialized countries By Scott Snyder
Scott Snyder directs The
Asia Foundationrsquos Centeror US-Korea Policy He
can be reached at ssny-
derasiafound-dcorg
Korean Leadership Essential to EnsuringLast 12 Months Was Not a lsquoCrisis Wastedrsquo
If Korea is to solidify the role of the G-20to set world policy it must present a robustagenda during its chairmanship next year
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
[ J o i n t P r e s s C o r p s ]
November 2009 korea 11
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2 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 13
News in Focus
For hundreds of Koreans from either side of theborder the time flew by far too fastFrom Sept 26 to 28 97 South Koreans werebriefly reunited with 233 family members living
on the opposite side of the border followed by a secondreunion from Sept 29 to Oct 1 of 98 North Koreans and428 of their relatives from the South Most had beenseparated during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953while some others had been captured as prisoners of waror when they i nadvertantly crossed the borderAs in past reunions emotional farewells dominated thefinal moments Hands helplessly reached out through thewindows of the bus leaving Mount Geumgangsan wherethe reunions took place as families touched each otherfor what could easily have been their last encounterThis was the 17th reunion of separated families sinc e theconclusion of the Korean War and it was the culminationof a sudden series of conciliatory gestures by North Koreawhich first broached the idea in AugustAccording to the Unification Ministry which handlesinter-Korean affairs in Seoul more than 20000 family members had been reunited in the previous 16 meetingsThe first session was held in 1985 But the next reunion
didnrsquot come until 2000 the year of the first inter-Koreansummit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jungand North Korean leader Kim Jong-il From then onfamilies met at least once each year until 2007Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administrationinter-Korean relations soured The last face-to-facereunion took place in Oc tober 2007 days after the secondinter-Korean summit between then South Korean Presi-dent Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Families have also beenable to take part in seven remote video conferencesAs North Korea grew more and more provocative con-ducting nuclear and missile tests s evering inter-Koreanmilitary communication lines and restricting cross-bor-
As Emotional Reunions EndTheir Future Is Still in DoubtTime is running out as many on the waiting list have already passed away
[ K P P A ]
Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future
family reunions
Separated families bid their emotional fare-
well at the end of their reunion at Mount
Geumgangsan on Sept 28
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 15
News in Focus
der land passage for South Koreans it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in2009But North Korea changed its tune in the summer OnAug 17 Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eunchairwoman of the Hyundai Group which handles inter-Korean exchange projects and agreed to set up a reunionof the families around the Chuseok holidays at MountGeumgangsan Those holidays fell on the first weekendof OctoberFour days later South Korearsquos National Red Cross whichorganizes the reunions officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings the two sidesagreed to bring the families togetherA computer randomly selected 300 candidates for thereunion and the South Korean Red Cross chose the finalist of 100 based on age and condition Three pulled out
at the last minute citing health issuesThe latest round of reunions was expected to provide abreakthrough in inter-Korean relations In the early partof the meetings North Korea even asked the South toextend ldquoa goodwill measurerdquo since the North went out of ts way to help resume family reunions
The Lee administration in Seoul has halted uncondi-ional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North insteadinking aid to denuclearization efforts Yoo Chong-hahe South Korean Red Cross chief said Jang Jae-on his
North Korean counterpart didnrsquot specify whetherPyongyang wanted rice or something else S eoulrsquos stanceon rice and fertilizer however had been that this aidshould be based on a government-level agreement sincet may be too costly for NGOs which are busy providing
medication for the elderly and childrenYoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the samepage on the spirit of the reunionsldquoHe said he agrees with the idea based on the humanitar-
ian spirit [that] better inter-Korean rela-tions would be a boon to family reunionsrdquoYoo told South Korean pool reporters atMount Geumgangsan at the time ldquoWewant more of the reunions regardless of the ups and downs of political relationsrdquoOfficials in the South offered mixed reac-tions to the Northrsquos request for aidWon Sei-hoon head of the National Intel-ligence Service in S eoul said that he wouldconsider appropriate measures for NorthKorea in response to the ongoing family reunions He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he wouldconsult with relevant government depart-ments regarding aid and would considerproviding it as long as strategic materialswere not involvedBut others were hesitant Vice UnificationMinister Hong Yang-ho said ldquoOur basicposition is that we donrsquot link inter-Koreanexchange or aid to North Korea with thefamily reunionsrdquoCheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo echoed the sentiment though hequalified his remarks by saying ldquoWhen itis deemed necessary the South Koreangovernment will provide humanitarianaid But wersquore already supplying medicinefor infants and seniorsrdquoAfter the tears dried other questions arosefrom the latest reunion meetings Yoo theRed Cross head in Seoul said he pressedJang his North Korean counterpart tocome up with a regular schedule for thereunions so that more could meet theirlost relatives But the Koreas didnrsquot followup on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions and no date for the nextround has been setAccording to the Ministry of Unification
nearly 130000 South Koreans had placedtheir names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year but 50000have already passed away Of the survi-
vors more than seven out of 10 were intheir 70s or 80sOn average there have been fewer thantwo reunions per year in the past nineyears and only a limited number fromeach side can take part While logisticalproblems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families cap-ping the number at 100 falls well short
sometimes with tragic consequences One 75-year-oldSouth Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train afterhe wasnrsquot chosen for the reunionCritics also say the South Korean government shouldconsider age and the availability of direct family memberson the other side of the border The Red Cross has beenusing random computer lotteries to ensure fairness Theselection is preceded by the Red Crossrsquos compiling of a listof 300 individuals after checking their health and theirwillingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan But thelottery process rules out consideration of age and doesnrsquotaccount for whether the individualsrsquo direct family mem-bers are even alive in the NorthAn official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledgedthat some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives
because their parents or siblings have all already passedawayAs critics and the government debate what to do withfuture reunions a senior S outh Korean government offi-cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-ian aid without preconditions to encourage the North tocontinue engagementKim Deog-ryong the presidentrsquos special advisor fornational unity said at an academic forum in Seoul onOct 7 that the South shouldnrsquot tie humanitarian issueswith politicsldquoFortunately North Korea appears to be seeking toimprove [inter-Korean] relationsrdquo Kim said calling the
The randomselectionprocess for thereunions issomewhatcontroversial
family reunions at Mount Geumgangsanpart of ldquodefinite changes and improve-mentrdquoHe also stressed that rice and fertilizer aidis directly related to the livelihood of theNorth Koreans and supplying these prod-ucts is necessary so that North Korealdquowould continuously engage in dia-loguerdquoIn recent months North Korea has alter-nated between a moderate stance and ahostile one It has released detainedAmerican and South Korean citizens andlifted border restrictions for S outh Kore-ans even while claiming its uranium
enrichment program for nuclear weaponsdevelopment had entered its final phaseand saying the United States has to changeits hostile policy on Pyeongyang beforethe North could consider dismantling itsnuclear programsAgainst this backdrop the Koreas man-aged to reunite separated families for thefirst time in two years But whether thesemeetings will be held on a regular basisand whether they will help improve inter-Korean relations remains to be seen
By Yoo Jee-ho
Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting forfamily reunions (through August 2009) Unit persons
Source The Unifcation Ministry
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives top and above The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort left
[ Y O N H A P ]
The South hasproposedregular reunions butthe North hasyet to respond
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 19
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
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Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 636
0 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 11
The frst couples o Korea
and the United States pose
or a reception on Sept
24 at the Phipps Conserva-
tory in Pittsburgh From
let Korean President Lee
Myung-bak US President
Barack Obama Korean
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok
and US First Lady Mi-
chelle Obama
onstrate its strengths to the rest of the worldand that can only have a positive impact onKorearsquos economy in the long runrdquo Nolandsaid
The scholar attributed Korearsquos successfulbid to the hard work of the Lee administrationand the growing stature of the Korean econo-my Korea has experienced the worldrsquos fastestrecovery and has taken a leading role in s ettingan agenda that includes green developmentand anti-protectionism
ldquoDiplomatically Korearsquos hosting of the G-20next year is a big dealrdquo he said ldquoKorean policy makers are considered highly capable and therest of the world is looking for good things tocome out of the summit t hat Korea will hostrdquo
Korearsquos five influential business organiza-ions also hailed the hosting of the summit
ldquoThe selection of South Korea as a venue for theG-20 summit next year means the nationrsquos roles rapidly expanding in the international com-
munityrdquo the business groups said in a jointstatement ldquoIt was one of the greatest achieve-ments for the nationrsquos diplomatic historyrdquo
The business groups included the Federa-ion of Korean Industries and the Korea Cham-
ber of Commerce and Industr yNext yearrsquos G-20 summit schedules are also
arranged in order to make optimal use of ascarce resource the global leadersrsquo time InJune Canada was scheduled to host the G-8summit and hosting the G-20 within the sametime frame is expected to significantly curtailthe amount of travel world leaders have toundertake
In November Japan also hosts the APECsummit and Korearsquos hosting of the G-20 in thesame month will serve the busy schedules of state heads best By Kim Soo-ae
President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a ldquogrand bar-gainrdquo in which North Korea will swap dismantlementof core parts of its nuclear arms programs for secu-
rity assurances and international economic aid and theplan has won global support including that of the UnitedStates and Japan Cheong Wa Dae said
The proposal was made during Leersquos recent trip to theUnited States in a speech at the US Council on ForeignRelations in New York on Sept 21 Lee said it was time tostop rewarding the North for bad behavior and a grand
bargain must be pushed forward by Seoul WashingtonBeijing Tokyo and Moscow The five nations must consulteach other clearly agree on the final route to disarmingPyongyang and create an action plan Lee said
ldquoWe need an integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issuerdquo Lee said ldquoThroughthe six-nation talks we need to push forward a lsquograndbargainrsquo to dismantle the core parts of the Northrsquos nucleararms programs and at the same time to provide security assurances and international assistance to the Northrdquo
Lee said his government has already consulted with theUnited States about the plan Cheong Wa Dae officials
later said China Russia and Japan also supported LeeDuring his visit to Seoul on Oct 9 Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama made public his backing forLeersquos ldquogrand bargainrdquo During the South Korea-China-Japan summit in Beijing on Oct 10 Lee sought Chinarsquossupport for his proposal and the three nations agreed tocooperate to bring the North back to the stalled talks
A Lee aide explained the proposal seeks to seal an over-all deal because past step-by-step approaches have proveninefficient The official also said the previous ldquocomprehen-
sive package dealrdquo was more focused on what to give theNorth while Leersquos proposal is based on reciprocity
ldquoFive countries of the six-nation talks except for theNorth have reached a consensus on the overall deal andwe are currently discussing the specifics of the negotia-tions with the Northrdquo he added
During his New York speech Lee stressed the Northmust not feel the process is a threat to its regime ldquoBy givingup its nuclear programs the North will be able to form newrelationships with the United States and the internationalcommunity and that will be the only path for the Northrsquossurvival and developmentrdquo Lee said By Kim Soo-ae
Lee Grand Bargain Is lsquoOnly Pathrsquo for North
Last monthrsquos meeting of G-20 politicalleaders in Pittsburgh was cause for bothoptimism and responsibility to sustainearly signs of a global recovery Follow-
up measures of the summit will fall primarily on Korea as the chair an d host of a G-20 meet-ing in 2010
This development will mark a significantturning point in global governance as Koreawill be the first non-G8 country to hold thoseresponsibilities since the G-20 emerged as a
venue for addressing global financial issues Italso places the burden of proof on Korea toshow that an expanded forum beyond the G8
can provide effective global leadershipKorea championed global coordination to
promote a macroeconomic stimulus that willprovide $5 trillion for the next two years andpromoted $11 trillion through internationalfinancial institutions to counteract the effectsof the global financial crisis on developingcountries Korea has also stood against pro-tectionist tendencies sponsoring ldquostandstillrdquoand ldquorollbackrdquo pledges among G-20 countriesas G-20 Summit Coordinating CommitteeChairman Sakong Il explained in the Centerfor US-Korea Policyrsquos May newsletter
As a former CEO Korean President Lee
Myung-bak is well-qualified to promote mea-sures for an early exit from the crisis UnderLeersquos leadership Korearsquos own efforts to pro-mote economic recovery are strongly in linewith those of the Obama administration in nosmall part because Lee conceives of US-Koreaeconomic coordination as an opportunity toexpand the two countriesrsquo alliance
In his speech to the Council on ForeignRelations in New York Lee emphasized thathe and President Obama have ldquoagreed thatthis alliance wil l no longer just be about ensur-ing securityrdquo but ldquoa comprehensive strategic
alliance that encompasses economic socialcultural educational scientific and techno-logical cooperationrdquo This suggests that Leeconceives the success of South Korearsquos G20leadership as directly tied to expanded alli-ance coordination with the United States andit suggests that such coordination has a raison
drsquoecirctre that extends far beyond deterring NorthKorea
Another component of Leersquos agenda withthe United States is the pending Korea-USFree Trade Agreement which has been stalleddue to provisions that deal with the politically sensitive auto sector As the International
Institute for StrategicStudie s rsquo Ste ve nSchrage has arguedKorearsquos successfulstewardship of theG-20 and Congressio-nal ratification of the
KORUS FTA should go hand-in-hand ulti-mately to enhance the US-Korea strategiclead on global economic issues
Korearsquos great challenge and opportunity isto show that the G-20 can remain effectiveeven as the crisis subsides and to ensure thatthis is not a ldquocrisis wastedrdquo
Mo Jong-ryn of Yonsei University arguesthat the rise of the G-20 mdash and South Korearsquosassumption of leadership in it mdash is an oppor-tunity to redress Asiarsquos past underrepresenta-tion and its economic weight in the interna-tional community But such an opportunity will be wasted unless Asians themselves deliv-
er in providing a distinctive and effectiveagenda
Korea must infuse its G-20 chairmanshipwith effective leadership if the group is tocement its role as the main venue for expand-ed economic coordination Korearsquos handlingof its G-20 chairmanship is a make or break opportunity on many different levels Thecountry needs to show that it can live up to thetask by catalyzing global coordination of exitstrategies from the crisis and by addressingglobal imbalances between developing andindustrialized countries By Scott Snyder
Scott Snyder directs The
Asia Foundationrsquos Centeror US-Korea Policy He
can be reached at ssny-
derasiafound-dcorg
Korean Leadership Essential to EnsuringLast 12 Months Was Not a lsquoCrisis Wastedrsquo
If Korea is to solidify the role of the G-20to set world policy it must present a robustagenda during its chairmanship next year
Cover Story | Korea at the G-20
[ J o i n t P r e s s C o r p s ]
November 2009 korea 11
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2 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 13
News in Focus
For hundreds of Koreans from either side of theborder the time flew by far too fastFrom Sept 26 to 28 97 South Koreans werebriefly reunited with 233 family members living
on the opposite side of the border followed by a secondreunion from Sept 29 to Oct 1 of 98 North Koreans and428 of their relatives from the South Most had beenseparated during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953while some others had been captured as prisoners of waror when they i nadvertantly crossed the borderAs in past reunions emotional farewells dominated thefinal moments Hands helplessly reached out through thewindows of the bus leaving Mount Geumgangsan wherethe reunions took place as families touched each otherfor what could easily have been their last encounterThis was the 17th reunion of separated families sinc e theconclusion of the Korean War and it was the culminationof a sudden series of conciliatory gestures by North Koreawhich first broached the idea in AugustAccording to the Unification Ministry which handlesinter-Korean affairs in Seoul more than 20000 family members had been reunited in the previous 16 meetingsThe first session was held in 1985 But the next reunion
didnrsquot come until 2000 the year of the first inter-Koreansummit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jungand North Korean leader Kim Jong-il From then onfamilies met at least once each year until 2007Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administrationinter-Korean relations soured The last face-to-facereunion took place in Oc tober 2007 days after the secondinter-Korean summit between then South Korean Presi-dent Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Families have also beenable to take part in seven remote video conferencesAs North Korea grew more and more provocative con-ducting nuclear and missile tests s evering inter-Koreanmilitary communication lines and restricting cross-bor-
As Emotional Reunions EndTheir Future Is Still in DoubtTime is running out as many on the waiting list have already passed away
[ K P P A ]
Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future
family reunions
Separated families bid their emotional fare-
well at the end of their reunion at Mount
Geumgangsan on Sept 28
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 15
News in Focus
der land passage for South Koreans it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in2009But North Korea changed its tune in the summer OnAug 17 Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eunchairwoman of the Hyundai Group which handles inter-Korean exchange projects and agreed to set up a reunionof the families around the Chuseok holidays at MountGeumgangsan Those holidays fell on the first weekendof OctoberFour days later South Korearsquos National Red Cross whichorganizes the reunions officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings the two sidesagreed to bring the families togetherA computer randomly selected 300 candidates for thereunion and the South Korean Red Cross chose the finalist of 100 based on age and condition Three pulled out
at the last minute citing health issuesThe latest round of reunions was expected to provide abreakthrough in inter-Korean relations In the early partof the meetings North Korea even asked the South toextend ldquoa goodwill measurerdquo since the North went out of ts way to help resume family reunions
The Lee administration in Seoul has halted uncondi-ional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North insteadinking aid to denuclearization efforts Yoo Chong-hahe South Korean Red Cross chief said Jang Jae-on his
North Korean counterpart didnrsquot specify whetherPyongyang wanted rice or something else S eoulrsquos stanceon rice and fertilizer however had been that this aidshould be based on a government-level agreement sincet may be too costly for NGOs which are busy providing
medication for the elderly and childrenYoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the samepage on the spirit of the reunionsldquoHe said he agrees with the idea based on the humanitar-
ian spirit [that] better inter-Korean rela-tions would be a boon to family reunionsrdquoYoo told South Korean pool reporters atMount Geumgangsan at the time ldquoWewant more of the reunions regardless of the ups and downs of political relationsrdquoOfficials in the South offered mixed reac-tions to the Northrsquos request for aidWon Sei-hoon head of the National Intel-ligence Service in S eoul said that he wouldconsider appropriate measures for NorthKorea in response to the ongoing family reunions He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he wouldconsult with relevant government depart-ments regarding aid and would considerproviding it as long as strategic materialswere not involvedBut others were hesitant Vice UnificationMinister Hong Yang-ho said ldquoOur basicposition is that we donrsquot link inter-Koreanexchange or aid to North Korea with thefamily reunionsrdquoCheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo echoed the sentiment though hequalified his remarks by saying ldquoWhen itis deemed necessary the South Koreangovernment will provide humanitarianaid But wersquore already supplying medicinefor infants and seniorsrdquoAfter the tears dried other questions arosefrom the latest reunion meetings Yoo theRed Cross head in Seoul said he pressedJang his North Korean counterpart tocome up with a regular schedule for thereunions so that more could meet theirlost relatives But the Koreas didnrsquot followup on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions and no date for the nextround has been setAccording to the Ministry of Unification
nearly 130000 South Koreans had placedtheir names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year but 50000have already passed away Of the survi-
vors more than seven out of 10 were intheir 70s or 80sOn average there have been fewer thantwo reunions per year in the past nineyears and only a limited number fromeach side can take part While logisticalproblems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families cap-ping the number at 100 falls well short
sometimes with tragic consequences One 75-year-oldSouth Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train afterhe wasnrsquot chosen for the reunionCritics also say the South Korean government shouldconsider age and the availability of direct family memberson the other side of the border The Red Cross has beenusing random computer lotteries to ensure fairness Theselection is preceded by the Red Crossrsquos compiling of a listof 300 individuals after checking their health and theirwillingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan But thelottery process rules out consideration of age and doesnrsquotaccount for whether the individualsrsquo direct family mem-bers are even alive in the NorthAn official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledgedthat some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives
because their parents or siblings have all already passedawayAs critics and the government debate what to do withfuture reunions a senior S outh Korean government offi-cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-ian aid without preconditions to encourage the North tocontinue engagementKim Deog-ryong the presidentrsquos special advisor fornational unity said at an academic forum in Seoul onOct 7 that the South shouldnrsquot tie humanitarian issueswith politicsldquoFortunately North Korea appears to be seeking toimprove [inter-Korean] relationsrdquo Kim said calling the
The randomselectionprocess for thereunions issomewhatcontroversial
family reunions at Mount Geumgangsanpart of ldquodefinite changes and improve-mentrdquoHe also stressed that rice and fertilizer aidis directly related to the livelihood of theNorth Koreans and supplying these prod-ucts is necessary so that North Korealdquowould continuously engage in dia-loguerdquoIn recent months North Korea has alter-nated between a moderate stance and ahostile one It has released detainedAmerican and South Korean citizens andlifted border restrictions for S outh Kore-ans even while claiming its uranium
enrichment program for nuclear weaponsdevelopment had entered its final phaseand saying the United States has to changeits hostile policy on Pyeongyang beforethe North could consider dismantling itsnuclear programsAgainst this backdrop the Koreas man-aged to reunite separated families for thefirst time in two years But whether thesemeetings will be held on a regular basisand whether they will help improve inter-Korean relations remains to be seen
By Yoo Jee-ho
Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting forfamily reunions (through August 2009) Unit persons
Source The Unifcation Ministry
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives top and above The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort left
[ Y O N H A P ]
The South hasproposedregular reunions butthe North hasyet to respond
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 19
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 736
2 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 13
News in Focus
For hundreds of Koreans from either side of theborder the time flew by far too fastFrom Sept 26 to 28 97 South Koreans werebriefly reunited with 233 family members living
on the opposite side of the border followed by a secondreunion from Sept 29 to Oct 1 of 98 North Koreans and428 of their relatives from the South Most had beenseparated during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953while some others had been captured as prisoners of waror when they i nadvertantly crossed the borderAs in past reunions emotional farewells dominated thefinal moments Hands helplessly reached out through thewindows of the bus leaving Mount Geumgangsan wherethe reunions took place as families touched each otherfor what could easily have been their last encounterThis was the 17th reunion of separated families sinc e theconclusion of the Korean War and it was the culminationof a sudden series of conciliatory gestures by North Koreawhich first broached the idea in AugustAccording to the Unification Ministry which handlesinter-Korean affairs in Seoul more than 20000 family members had been reunited in the previous 16 meetingsThe first session was held in 1985 But the next reunion
didnrsquot come until 2000 the year of the first inter-Koreansummit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jungand North Korean leader Kim Jong-il From then onfamilies met at least once each year until 2007Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administrationinter-Korean relations soured The last face-to-facereunion took place in Oc tober 2007 days after the secondinter-Korean summit between then South Korean Presi-dent Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Families have also beenable to take part in seven remote video conferencesAs North Korea grew more and more provocative con-ducting nuclear and missile tests s evering inter-Koreanmilitary communication lines and restricting cross-bor-
As Emotional Reunions EndTheir Future Is Still in DoubtTime is running out as many on the waiting list have already passed away
[ K P P A ]
Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future
family reunions
Separated families bid their emotional fare-
well at the end of their reunion at Mount
Geumgangsan on Sept 28
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News in Focus
der land passage for South Koreans it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in2009But North Korea changed its tune in the summer OnAug 17 Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eunchairwoman of the Hyundai Group which handles inter-Korean exchange projects and agreed to set up a reunionof the families around the Chuseok holidays at MountGeumgangsan Those holidays fell on the first weekendof OctoberFour days later South Korearsquos National Red Cross whichorganizes the reunions officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings the two sidesagreed to bring the families togetherA computer randomly selected 300 candidates for thereunion and the South Korean Red Cross chose the finalist of 100 based on age and condition Three pulled out
at the last minute citing health issuesThe latest round of reunions was expected to provide abreakthrough in inter-Korean relations In the early partof the meetings North Korea even asked the South toextend ldquoa goodwill measurerdquo since the North went out of ts way to help resume family reunions
The Lee administration in Seoul has halted uncondi-ional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North insteadinking aid to denuclearization efforts Yoo Chong-hahe South Korean Red Cross chief said Jang Jae-on his
North Korean counterpart didnrsquot specify whetherPyongyang wanted rice or something else S eoulrsquos stanceon rice and fertilizer however had been that this aidshould be based on a government-level agreement sincet may be too costly for NGOs which are busy providing
medication for the elderly and childrenYoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the samepage on the spirit of the reunionsldquoHe said he agrees with the idea based on the humanitar-
ian spirit [that] better inter-Korean rela-tions would be a boon to family reunionsrdquoYoo told South Korean pool reporters atMount Geumgangsan at the time ldquoWewant more of the reunions regardless of the ups and downs of political relationsrdquoOfficials in the South offered mixed reac-tions to the Northrsquos request for aidWon Sei-hoon head of the National Intel-ligence Service in S eoul said that he wouldconsider appropriate measures for NorthKorea in response to the ongoing family reunions He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he wouldconsult with relevant government depart-ments regarding aid and would considerproviding it as long as strategic materialswere not involvedBut others were hesitant Vice UnificationMinister Hong Yang-ho said ldquoOur basicposition is that we donrsquot link inter-Koreanexchange or aid to North Korea with thefamily reunionsrdquoCheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo echoed the sentiment though hequalified his remarks by saying ldquoWhen itis deemed necessary the South Koreangovernment will provide humanitarianaid But wersquore already supplying medicinefor infants and seniorsrdquoAfter the tears dried other questions arosefrom the latest reunion meetings Yoo theRed Cross head in Seoul said he pressedJang his North Korean counterpart tocome up with a regular schedule for thereunions so that more could meet theirlost relatives But the Koreas didnrsquot followup on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions and no date for the nextround has been setAccording to the Ministry of Unification
nearly 130000 South Koreans had placedtheir names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year but 50000have already passed away Of the survi-
vors more than seven out of 10 were intheir 70s or 80sOn average there have been fewer thantwo reunions per year in the past nineyears and only a limited number fromeach side can take part While logisticalproblems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families cap-ping the number at 100 falls well short
sometimes with tragic consequences One 75-year-oldSouth Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train afterhe wasnrsquot chosen for the reunionCritics also say the South Korean government shouldconsider age and the availability of direct family memberson the other side of the border The Red Cross has beenusing random computer lotteries to ensure fairness Theselection is preceded by the Red Crossrsquos compiling of a listof 300 individuals after checking their health and theirwillingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan But thelottery process rules out consideration of age and doesnrsquotaccount for whether the individualsrsquo direct family mem-bers are even alive in the NorthAn official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledgedthat some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives
because their parents or siblings have all already passedawayAs critics and the government debate what to do withfuture reunions a senior S outh Korean government offi-cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-ian aid without preconditions to encourage the North tocontinue engagementKim Deog-ryong the presidentrsquos special advisor fornational unity said at an academic forum in Seoul onOct 7 that the South shouldnrsquot tie humanitarian issueswith politicsldquoFortunately North Korea appears to be seeking toimprove [inter-Korean] relationsrdquo Kim said calling the
The randomselectionprocess for thereunions issomewhatcontroversial
family reunions at Mount Geumgangsanpart of ldquodefinite changes and improve-mentrdquoHe also stressed that rice and fertilizer aidis directly related to the livelihood of theNorth Koreans and supplying these prod-ucts is necessary so that North Korealdquowould continuously engage in dia-loguerdquoIn recent months North Korea has alter-nated between a moderate stance and ahostile one It has released detainedAmerican and South Korean citizens andlifted border restrictions for S outh Kore-ans even while claiming its uranium
enrichment program for nuclear weaponsdevelopment had entered its final phaseand saying the United States has to changeits hostile policy on Pyeongyang beforethe North could consider dismantling itsnuclear programsAgainst this backdrop the Koreas man-aged to reunite separated families for thefirst time in two years But whether thesemeetings will be held on a regular basisand whether they will help improve inter-Korean relations remains to be seen
By Yoo Jee-ho
Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting forfamily reunions (through August 2009) Unit persons
Source The Unifcation Ministry
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives top and above The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort left
[ Y O N H A P ]
The South hasproposedregular reunions butthe North hasyet to respond
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
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Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 836
4 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 15
News in Focus
der land passage for South Koreans it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in2009But North Korea changed its tune in the summer OnAug 17 Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eunchairwoman of the Hyundai Group which handles inter-Korean exchange projects and agreed to set up a reunionof the families around the Chuseok holidays at MountGeumgangsan Those holidays fell on the first weekendof OctoberFour days later South Korearsquos National Red Cross whichorganizes the reunions officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings the two sidesagreed to bring the families togetherA computer randomly selected 300 candidates for thereunion and the South Korean Red Cross chose the finalist of 100 based on age and condition Three pulled out
at the last minute citing health issuesThe latest round of reunions was expected to provide abreakthrough in inter-Korean relations In the early partof the meetings North Korea even asked the South toextend ldquoa goodwill measurerdquo since the North went out of ts way to help resume family reunions
The Lee administration in Seoul has halted uncondi-ional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North insteadinking aid to denuclearization efforts Yoo Chong-hahe South Korean Red Cross chief said Jang Jae-on his
North Korean counterpart didnrsquot specify whetherPyongyang wanted rice or something else S eoulrsquos stanceon rice and fertilizer however had been that this aidshould be based on a government-level agreement sincet may be too costly for NGOs which are busy providing
medication for the elderly and childrenYoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the samepage on the spirit of the reunionsldquoHe said he agrees with the idea based on the humanitar-
ian spirit [that] better inter-Korean rela-tions would be a boon to family reunionsrdquoYoo told South Korean pool reporters atMount Geumgangsan at the time ldquoWewant more of the reunions regardless of the ups and downs of political relationsrdquoOfficials in the South offered mixed reac-tions to the Northrsquos request for aidWon Sei-hoon head of the National Intel-ligence Service in S eoul said that he wouldconsider appropriate measures for NorthKorea in response to the ongoing family reunions He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he wouldconsult with relevant government depart-ments regarding aid and would considerproviding it as long as strategic materialswere not involvedBut others were hesitant Vice UnificationMinister Hong Yang-ho said ldquoOur basicposition is that we donrsquot link inter-Koreanexchange or aid to North Korea with thefamily reunionsrdquoCheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo echoed the sentiment though hequalified his remarks by saying ldquoWhen itis deemed necessary the South Koreangovernment will provide humanitarianaid But wersquore already supplying medicinefor infants and seniorsrdquoAfter the tears dried other questions arosefrom the latest reunion meetings Yoo theRed Cross head in Seoul said he pressedJang his North Korean counterpart tocome up with a regular schedule for thereunions so that more could meet theirlost relatives But the Koreas didnrsquot followup on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions and no date for the nextround has been setAccording to the Ministry of Unification
nearly 130000 South Koreans had placedtheir names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year but 50000have already passed away Of the survi-
vors more than seven out of 10 were intheir 70s or 80sOn average there have been fewer thantwo reunions per year in the past nineyears and only a limited number fromeach side can take part While logisticalproblems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families cap-ping the number at 100 falls well short
sometimes with tragic consequences One 75-year-oldSouth Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train afterhe wasnrsquot chosen for the reunionCritics also say the South Korean government shouldconsider age and the availability of direct family memberson the other side of the border The Red Cross has beenusing random computer lotteries to ensure fairness Theselection is preceded by the Red Crossrsquos compiling of a listof 300 individuals after checking their health and theirwillingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan But thelottery process rules out consideration of age and doesnrsquotaccount for whether the individualsrsquo direct family mem-bers are even alive in the NorthAn official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledgedthat some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives
because their parents or siblings have all already passedawayAs critics and the government debate what to do withfuture reunions a senior S outh Korean government offi-cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-ian aid without preconditions to encourage the North tocontinue engagementKim Deog-ryong the presidentrsquos special advisor fornational unity said at an academic forum in Seoul onOct 7 that the South shouldnrsquot tie humanitarian issueswith politicsldquoFortunately North Korea appears to be seeking toimprove [inter-Korean] relationsrdquo Kim said calling the
The randomselectionprocess for thereunions issomewhatcontroversial
family reunions at Mount Geumgangsanpart of ldquodefinite changes and improve-mentrdquoHe also stressed that rice and fertilizer aidis directly related to the livelihood of theNorth Koreans and supplying these prod-ucts is necessary so that North Korealdquowould continuously engage in dia-loguerdquoIn recent months North Korea has alter-nated between a moderate stance and ahostile one It has released detainedAmerican and South Korean citizens andlifted border restrictions for S outh Kore-ans even while claiming its uranium
enrichment program for nuclear weaponsdevelopment had entered its final phaseand saying the United States has to changeits hostile policy on Pyeongyang beforethe North could consider dismantling itsnuclear programsAgainst this backdrop the Koreas man-aged to reunite separated families for thefirst time in two years But whether thesemeetings will be held on a regular basisand whether they will help improve inter-Korean relations remains to be seen
By Yoo Jee-ho
Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting forfamily reunions (through August 2009) Unit persons
Source The Unifcation Ministry
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives top and above The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort left
[ Y O N H A P ]
The South hasproposedregular reunions butthe North hasyet to respond
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 19
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 1136
20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 17
Diplomacy
[ Y O N H A P ]
Leersquos Asian Diplomatic PushPresident flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan China and ASEAN
P
resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korearsquos ties withSoutheast Asian nations as hetoured Vietnam Cambodia and
Thailand and attended a series of bilateraland regional summits in October
During Leersquos stay in Hanoi VietnamLee sat down for a summit with his coun-erpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnamrelationship to a strategic cooperative part-nership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and culturalexchanges but also political and security ies A broad range of topics were addressed
during the 50-minute meeting said LeeDong-kwan public affairs senior secretary
for Cheong Wa Dae Following their sum-mit a joint statement was issued and thetwo leaders held a press conference
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions with Vietnam in 1992 economicexchange has expanded rapidly Notingthat bilateral trade volume has grown from$500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008Lee and Triet agreed their countries wouldtry to reach $20 billion by 2015
The two leaders also endorsed a jointproject to develop Vietnamrsquos Hong River asa symbol of cooperation between the twocapitals The program expected to cost $7billion will take over a decade ldquoKoreancompaniesrsquo participation in the $9 billionhigh-speed train project was also prom-
ised at the summitrdquo Kim Eun-hye Leersquosspokeswoman said
On Oct 22 Lee met with CambodiarsquosPrime Minister Hun Sen and signed a
series of economic cooperation agree-ments that include a large-scale forestationproject and a mineral resources develop-ment program
Following normalization of diplomat-ic ties in 1997 Korea has become Cambo-diarsquos second-largest foreign investor andNo 7 trade partner
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Koreawill help Cambodia create a national eco-nomic development plan Kim said Koreawill play the role of incubator for theSoutheast Asian countryrsquos development
helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next yearLee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral
agreements The two countriesrsquo forestry authorities signed a memo-randum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200000hectares of land for a Korean forestation project
ldquoThe program will restore forests and create jobs in CambodiardquoKim said ldquoAnd Korean companies investing in the program willsecure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumberrdquo
On Oct 24 and 25 Lee attended regional summits in the royalresort of Hua Hin Thailand and discussed Asia and global issues withparticipating leaders
Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct 25 and the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN PlusThree meetings on Oct 24
At the summits Lee promised to represent the regionrsquos interests inthe international community and pushed for the creation of a pan-Asian trade bloc to rival the European Union
He also explained his ldquogrand bargainrdquo policy to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to useldquoclose coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons andquickly return to the six-party talksrdquo
Korea agreed to provide more development assistance helpSoutheast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the foodcrisis in the region ldquoLee expressed his hope that the ASEAN PlusThree Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible andgave Korearsquos commitment of 150000 tons of rice for the programrdquo Kimsaid
Leersquos trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementa-tion of his ldquoNew Asia Initiativerdquo to engage the region the South Kore-an presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Announced in Marchthis year Leersquos goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asiannations and advocate for Asia in the international community KimLeersquos spokeswoman said the plan gained momentum over the pastseven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit inThailand in April visited Central Asia in May and hosted the Korea-ASEAN special summit in June
ldquoWith his visits to Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand Lee expand-ed Korearsquos diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN topromote his New Asia Initiativerdquo she said
President Lee also attended two summits with Korearsquos NortheastAsian neighbors earlier in the month the first with Japanese PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul followed by the second Korea-China-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of
state and Premier Wen Jiabao of ChinaAt the trilateral meeting Oct 10 Wen said the Northrsquos leader Kim
Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean tiesldquoNorth Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States
but also South Korea and Japanrdquo said the Chinese leader at a joint pressconference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and JapanesePrime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing
Kim also asked Wen to deliver his ldquowillingnessrdquo to improve rela-tions between the North and the South to Lee which the Chineseprime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoonaccording to Leersquos spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing
In response Lee was quoted as saying ldquoI can meet [Kim Jong-il]at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons programrdquo
[ N E W S I S ]
President Lee Myung-bak (ar let) smiles while sharing an
opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key
center and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East
Asia summit in Thailand
ast Asian leaders join hands at the ourth East Asia summit part o the 15th Association o Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ngs held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district southern Thailandon Oct 25
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 19
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 1036
8 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 19
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak and frst lady Kim Yoon-ok right enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae
(Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct 9 with visiting Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wie Miyuki Hatoyama let
[ K P P A ]
[ Y O N H A P ]
A triangle o tables each representing one o the three sides is the setting or the trilateral summit between Korea Japan and China inBeijing Oct 10 The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year
Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct 4 to6 for talks with Kim in the first visit by aChinese premier to North Korea in 18years He reportedly spent 10 hours withKim and the longest conversation lastedfour hours
Chinarsquos Xinhua News Agency report-ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Wen that North Korea was ldquowilling toattend multilateral talks including the six-party talksrdquo depending on the progress inanticipated discussions with the UnitedStates
The first freestanding summit betweenhe Northeast Asian neighbors was heldast December in Fukuoka Japan whilehe first-ever three-way talks between the
nations were held in 1999 on the sidelinesof an ASEAN summit
ldquoWe will make joint efforts with otherparties for an early resumption of the six-party talks so as to safeguard peace andstability in Northeast Asia and thereby build an Asia of peace harmony opennessand prosperityrdquo the statement read
Lee said at the joint press conferenceldquoNow is a good time for North Korea togive up its nuclear ambitions and therewill be good results if we can offer a pro-posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
issue and conditions for such a dealrdquo NorthKorea walked away from the talks aimedat ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-ber and said in April that the six-nationtalks between the two Koreas ChinaJapan the United States and Russia wereno longer viable
The three leaders whose countries
accounted for 16 percent of the gross worldproduct last year vowed at the summit topursue the ldquogrand bargainrdquo proposal thatLee made in the United States in Septem-ber Under the plan North Korea woulddismantle the key parts of its nuclear armsprogram in exchange for security assur-ances and aid the end of sanctions andtension sparked by the nuclear test inMay
ldquoImpending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korearsquos nuclear weaponsand missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North]rdquo said Hatoyamawho took office last month ldquoJapan intendsto resolve those issues comprehensivelyand this is certainly related to Leersquos grandbargainrdquo
The leaders also pledged to respond toother global issues ldquoWe will strengthencommunication and consultation onregional and international affairs such as
climate change financial risks energy security public health natural disastersterrorism arms control disarmament andnon-proliferation and UN reformrdquo theirstatement read
They also promised to help enact anew climate change accord in Decemberin Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol Hatoyama has set climate change asa focus of his administration vowing to cutJapanrsquos carbon emissions by 25 percentfrom 1990 levels by 2020 The three also
vowed to cooperate for the success of thefifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Koreain November 2010
According to a key official at CheongWa Dae the three leaders agreed that thecountries may start discussing lower barri-ers to trade through a tri lateral trade pactldquoalthough the three countries have a differ-ent stance on an FTArdquo
China is Korearsquos No 1 trading partnerwith Korea Chinarsquos third-largest tradepartner Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTAthough they have been stalled sinceNovember 2004 Before then six rounds of talks had taken place
On the sidelines of the bilateral talksbetween Lee and Wen the neighboringnations also signed an agreement on eco-nomic cooperation that calls for doublingtheir annual bilateral trade to $300 billionby 2015
The next trilateral summit will be heldin Korea next year The fourth foreign
ministersrsquo meeting in Korea the sixth min-isterial meeting in China and the fourthfriendly youth exchange meeting in Chinaare also scheduled for next year
Ahead of the summit in Beijing how-ever Japanese Prime Minister YukioHatoyama visited Seoul on Oct 9 and metwith President Lee forming a united frontto pressure North Korea to return to thesix-party talks and discussing measures toimprove bilateral relations
The visit by Japanrsquos new prime ministeris significant because he chose Korea as hisfirst overseas travel destination for a bilat-eral summit ldquoThis means the Hatoyamaadministration attaches great importanceto Korea-Japan tiesrdquo a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read
Lee and Hatoyama had met in Koreain June when Hatoyama was leader of theJapanese opposition Democratic Party butnot yet prime minister On Sept 23 thetwo also held a bilateral summit in NewYork on the sidelines of the United NationsGeneral Assembly
Following their summit in Seoul Leeand Hatoyama held a joint press confer-ence and made public their strengthenedcooperation in resolving the North Koreanuclear crisis promoting a one-step solu-tion to end the pattern of rewarding thecommunist regime for bad behavior
ldquoWe agreed that a fundamental changein North Korearsquos attitude is crucial toresolve the nuclear crisisrdquo Lee said ldquoTofacilitate the change we agreed to imple-ment the UN Security Council resolutionwhile leaving the door for dialogue openand continuing diplomatic efforts to per-suade the North to return to the six-nationtalksrdquo
Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreedto consult closely with China Russia and
the United States to advance his ldquograndbargainrdquo proposal
Hatoyama backed Leersquos proposal ldquoIthink the presidentrsquos grand bargain plan isprecise and properrdquo the Japanese leadersaid ldquoThe idea is that we need to grasp theNorth Korea issues comprehensivelyincluding nuclear and missile develop-ment and no economic cooperationshould be provided unless the Northrsquos will-ingness to change is seenrdquo
Hatoyama said North Korearsquos pastabductions of Japanese civilians must be
addressed as part of the package deal andhe appreciated Leersquos support for includingthe issue in his comprehensive packagesolution
Japanrsquos new leader also emphasizedonce again his governmentrsquos willingness toface up to the nationrsquos military pastHatoyama took the office on Sept 16 andexpectations have been high in Korea thatthe two countries will move beyond theirtroubled past under his liberal leadership
ldquoIt is important that each and every person in the government and the peopleof Japan understand the Murayama state-mentrdquo Hatoyama said at the press confer-ence ldquoThis is a matter where emotions caneasily prevail It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese and Ihope Koreans can also understand such asituationrdquo
Admitting that Japanrsquos colonial ruleand aggression caused tremendous dam-age to Asia then-Japanese Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama issued an apology in
1995 The statement has become Tokyorsquosofficial stance on its military past
Shortly after Hatoyama took officeLee expressed hope that Korea and Japanwill move beyond their troubled historyHatoyama also said his government isready to face up to his countryrsquos wartimeacts and improve ties between the twoAsian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-tember in New York
While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-
ing summit talks Korearsquos first lady KimYoon-ok and the Japanese first lady Miyu-ki Hatoyama paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-ticipated in kimchi making The Japanesefirst lady is known as a great fan of Koreancuisine and pop culture
The first couples also had a luncheonafter the summit and Kim Eun-hye Pres-ident Leersquos spokeswoman said the Japa-nese guests enjoyed the traditional Koreanmeals and drinks served for the event
By Kim Soo-ae Seo Ji-eun
Leersquos travels are part of his New Asia Initiativeto strengthen ties with Korearsquos neighbors
Hopes are high Japanrsquos new leader will workto improve long-neglected Korean relations
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3336
66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 1136
20 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 21
transorming the image o the Seoulinstitution rom a traditional ldquomakge-olli-drinkingrdquo school into a ldquowine-drinkingrdquo school he massive English-only lecturing program he implement-ed across curriculums rom 2003 to2006 has made Korea University one o the most globalized campuses in thecountry as relected by several localcollege rankings
And he is taking a similar approachin his new job Euh admits He hopes toincrease the English-language signageand literature on Korea as councilchairman Ater all the council wasounded to help oreigners stay on thecutting edge o Korean business andculture
But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing oreign aid
ldquoJust as a human being has dignityso does a country have national digni-tyrdquo Euh said ldquohe rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity In the samesense a country that is not generous ingiving out international aid lacks dig-nityrdquo he said
he scale o oreign aid is indeed asigniicant consideration in evaluatinga countryrsquos nation branding AnholtrsquosNation Branding Index the worldrsquosmost authoritative measurement o anationrsquos brand ranked Korea 33rd inthe world last year in part due to itsinsuicient oreign aid relative to itsgross domestic product
Korearsquos oicial development aid orODA as a percentage o GDP was 009percent last year much lower than theUnited Nations target or advancedcountries 07 percent
During his two-year stint as councilchairman which started in JanuaryEuh says he will try to lit KorearsquosAnholt index ranking to 15th by 2013
In the interview Euh stresses thatraising international aid could help litKorearsquos ranking but that the acclaimwould be a secondary goal
ldquoKorea becoming a country thathelps others is a goal in and o itselmuch more important than raising itsbranding rankingrdquo Euh says ldquoakingcare o less developed countries is
Scholarshipsand a job fair
were part of
the eight-dayfriendship
week in
Vietnam
Korearsquos obligation increasingly required by the inter-national community that once helped usrdquo
hat idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week aneight-day estival held to promote riendship betweenthe two countries last month in Vietnam Featuringaround 40 economic diplomatic and cultural sub-events the estival marked the biggest nationalriendship event sponsored by a oreign country inVietnam
Most o the events organized by the council incooperation with the Vietnamese government wereaimed at beneiting the Vietnamese including schol-arships and a job air or young people An economicorum and a CEO orum both aimed at passing onKorearsquos economic development ormula to Vietnamwere other key events
ldquoWe hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will providemomentum or Korea and Vietnam to share a uture
vision and accelerate the opening o a mutually pros-perous chapter in our historyrdquo Euh says adding theKorean government and Korean companies haveplans to continue economic aid to Vietnam
ldquoWe believe it will also become a signiicant stepin our plan to increase oreign aidrdquo he says
According to Euh the council will expand suchriendly events and ensuing economic aid packagesto other developing countries in Asia and urtheraround the world Next year our other countries mdashIndonesia Cambodia Nepal and Uzbekistan mdash willbe the main beneiciaries along with Vietnam
By Moon Gwang-lip
W
hat is the best way toenhance Korearsquosnational brand
Some say urtherdevelopment o the inormation tech-nology industry an area in which thisonce agricultural country has gainedan edge over many advanced countriesover a short period o time Otherspoint to Hallyu the wave o Koreanpop culture that spread across Asia andis lapping at the shores o the rest o theworld
But Euh Yoon-dae chairman o thePresidential Council on Nation Brand-ing looks at the question rom a dier-
ent angleOering a helping hand to coun-
tries in need will make Korea more
popular than anything else could Euhsays
ldquohat is the most important thingin raising a nationrsquos brandrdquo Euh remarksduring an interview last month at hisoice in the central Seoul building thathouses the council ldquoWithout givinglove you cannot receive itrdquo
hat might be a somewhat unex-pected answer rom a person who builthis reputation as a bureaucratic bull-dozer on reorm Euh a ormer presi-dent o Korea University is known or
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential
Council on Nation Branding gives a keynote
peech at a Vietnam-Korea riendship night
a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea
Week in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 19
To Fix Brand Help the Needy
Euh Yoon-dae chairman o the Presidential Council on Nation Branding addresses about strategies
to boost the competitiveness o Korean companies through improving Korearsquos nation branding at a
lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct 15
P r o v
i d e
d b y
P r e s
i d e n
t i a l C o u n c
i l o n
N a
t i o n
B r a n
d i n g
[ Y O N H A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 1336
24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
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Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 1236
22 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 23
Global village centers
oer oreign residents
opportunities to expe-
rience Korean culture
by visiting historic
palaces or watching
Korean flms
Beore the Seoul Global Center and its SeoulGlobal Village Center branches kicked o lastyear many expats in Korea still had troubledoing such elementary tasks as paying their
gas bills signing up or Internet service or getting themost out o their -Money transit cards
he only way to answer these questions was to con-sult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier butsometimes this inormation could be unreliable mdash andan expat acing a situation their riend hadnrsquot aced wasout o luck
But then the Seoul Global Center was established at
the Seoul Press Center on Jan 23 2008 with ive ldquoglob-al villagerdquo centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with oreign residents Yeonnam YeoksamHannam-Itaewon Ichon and Seorae Village
Each center oers helpul inormation and tips ororeigners registering or a cell phone paying utility bills learning the Korean language and more Heads o the centers are all oreigners who have lived or at leastthree years in Korea so they share the diic ulties expatsexperience coming to Korea or the irst time
Because the neighborhoods that host the villagecenters are home to dierent ethnic groups sta havetailored programs to speciic nationalities
he regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-ter where many Japanese live are moms andchildren who want to get tips about Koreantourist attractions or learn the local language
ldquoJapanese residents here share a high inter-est in learning about Koreardquo said Yukiko Ishi-hara who works at the Ichon branch ldquohey ind living here is a window onto ways to knowmore about Korea O the programs IchonGlobal Village Center oers Korean languageclasses and bojagi [Korean traditional wrappingcloth] making classes are very popular amongJapanese mothers Bojagi class is very popularbecause once Japanese moms know how tomake it they can give it to their riends in Japanas a souvenirrdquo
Ishihara met her Korean husband when shewas studying or her masterrsquos degree in Englisheducation in England and they got married inBusan in 2004 Ater living or two years inBusan the couple moved to Seoul
he main clients o the Seorae Global Vil-lage Center are French expats just like Marie-Pierre Allirol who works at the center and ismarried to a Korean man Allirol said the Seor aecenter receives over 240 inquiries by e-mailphone and in person in a single week
ldquohe main clients are French expats butmany English speakers visit the center [too]rdquoAllirol said ldquohe most requently asked ques-tions in our center are or help with accommo-dations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets or upcoming concerts and exhibi-tions here are still plenty o Web sites that donot oer English-language service and many o them are not capable o accepting registrationusing oreigner registration cards or oreigndiplomat ID cardsrdquo
Alan imblick a British native who came toKorea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-ter said he receives many inquiries rom expatbusinessmen who want to set up small compa-nies in Korea
he center also tackles larger problemsldquoWersquore proud [o our work on] a problem thatrose to a head a couple o years ago when Kore-an banks stopped letting oreign customers usetheir AM cards overseasrdquo imblick said ldquoWeound a solution the Foreign Ministry changedits regulations and banks were able to resumethat service [in June last year] Irsquom very happy about thatrdquo
Cristina Conalonieri an Italian native whoheads the Yeoksam Global Village Center is aamiliar ace in Korea appearing on the popularKBS-V show Minyeodeuleui suda(Beauties
Talk)Conalonieri said she applied or the job at
the center because she wanted give back toKorean society Her main clients are Englishteachers students and corporate workers heItalian is most proud o a progr am Yeoksam hasthat the other centers donrsquot
ldquoWe oer a movie night every third Fridayrdquosaid Conalonieri ldquoWe show amous moviesrom around the world herersquos no problemunderstanding them because every movie hasEnglish subtitlesrdquo
When asked about the most rewarding parto the job without hesitation sta memberstalked about the grateul words rom ellowexpats whom they have helped imblick saidone customer was so satisied with the servicehe opened his wallet to pay or it
ldquoI had to convince him that our service wasree and he was amazedrdquo imblick recalled
ldquoBeore returning to Japan Japanese expatsoten ind the time to visit the center in personto say thank you or the helprdquo Ishihara saidldquoWhenever I greet such guests I canrsquot ind thewords to express my eelings Irsquom very happy with my role and the center Many told me thatbeore the center was established in Ichon theonly way o solving living problems was to con-sult the Japanese community but that it was sorto limited because one canrsquot ask about minutedetails such as reading Korean manuals or elec-tronics productsrdquo
Center heads treat each question equallybut some are unnier than others
ldquoOne time an expat visited our center andasked us i there was a way to stop his son romgoing to PC rooms because he went s o oten hisather believed it distracted him rom his schoolworkrdquo said Allirol ldquoHe asked our sta to writea letter in Korean asking the PC room ownersnot to let his son visit His sonrsquos photo and ullname was attached to each letter and he visitedevery PC room that his son went to to hand
them to the ownersrdquohe sta agree other regions in Korea should
establish similar centersldquoIrsquom aware that it will take some time to
make such expat help centers nationwiderdquo Alli-rol said ldquohe Seorae center sends a newsletterto French expats in Ulsan about concerts andother cultural events in Korea We also helped aFrench expat in Daegu with Internet and cableV We were glad we were able to help someonewho lives ar rom Seoul but our role is limitedbecause o the sta and other actors More cen-ters are n eededrdquo By Kim Mi-ju
Seoul CentersAre Oases for Expat Residents
No longer forced to trust unreliableWeb information foreign residentscan now find help just down the street
P r o v
i d e
d b y
G l o b a
l V i l l a g e
C e n
t e r s
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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24 korea November 2009
Global Korea
November 2009 korea 25
Team Rushes to Help Victimsof Earthquakes in Indonesia
A devastating earthquakestruck Indonesia in late Sep-tember but Korea has beenthere to oer a helping hand
according to the Foreign MinistryA day aer the powerul temblor
which measured 76 on the Richterscale hit the western island o Sumatra
trapping thousands o Indonesiansunder debris President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter o condolence to Indone-sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono He said the Korean govern-ment would do all it could to help earth-quake victims providing emergency aidworth about $500000
Te situation grew even more des-perate when a second quake ollowedthe rst last month triggering disas-trous res destroying inrastructure
and leaving many homelessldquoKorea has a responsibility to pro-
vide humanitarian aid as a member o the international communityrdquo read arelease by the Foreign Ministry inresponse
Te Korean government dispatcheda 43-member relie team with two sta members rom the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency or KOICA and 41rom the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency Tey brought with thememergency relie items including blan-kets and medicine to help panickingresidents and oreign tourists caught upin the disaster
Indonesian President Yudhoyonosaid aer the quake that the country wasworking on an emergency action planand that what it needed most were doc-tors and paramedics In response 14countries including Switzerland Aus-tralia and Japan also sent relie teams tohelp nd survivors trapped under col-lapsed buildings
he Korean rescue workers let
Incheon International Airport on Oct 1and arrived at an airport in Jakarta
ldquoAter Indonesia was hit by theearthquake we examined the situationclosely and prepared to oer helprdquo saidan ofcial rom the National Emergency Management Agency ldquoAnd as soon asthe Indonesian government acceptedour oer to dispatch rescue workers wetook ordquo
Te team was equipped with somehundreds o pieces o cutting-edgeequipment to help them sni out andhelp survivors It was the relie grouprsquoseighth dispatch to a neighboring coun-try ollowing missions to aiwan ur-key Algeria and China in the aermatho major earthquakes to Cambodiawhen the country experienced a tragicairplane crash and to Phuket Tailandaer a large tsunami
ldquoOur active role oering relie aidallows us to strengthen riendship tiesand also reshape Korearsquos national imagebased on humanitarianismrdquo the NEMAofcial said By Lee Eun-joo
When the western
Indonesian island
o Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
76 on the Richter
scale Korea sent in
help and $500000
in emergency aid P r o v
i d e
d b y
K O I C A
Taking Korean Flavors Home
Members o the group Friends
o Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept 29
A great country serves greatood And the Korea Inter-national CooperationAgency is traveling halway
across the world to prove it deserves thattatus holding a Korean cooking class
or 20 members o the group Friends o Korea and their amilies at a restaurantn El Salvador Sept 29
Friends o Korea is a 200-membergroup o El Salvadoran public ofcialswho trained at various ministries anduniversities in Korea thanks to grant aidrom KOICA
Te cooking course was created athe request o the group because they aid they wanted to remember and
relive the tastes they experienced whiletaying here
ldquoMembers still have good memorieso their stays in Korea and were truly ascinated with Korean ood so wedecided to ask the El Salvador OverseasOfce under KOICA to teach us how tocook itrdquo said Milton Magana leader o the group and a senior ofcial in chargeo Asia-Arica aairs at the El Salvador-an Foreign Ministry
ldquoI was able to deeply understand the delicacy o Korean-style cooking
It was a great opportunity or not just me but therest o the members to
understand Korean oodrdquo Magana saidldquoTe cooking course cannot teach usabout overall Korean culture but welook orward to learning more aboutKorea through many activities I think we are going to love Korea morerdquo
Members listened attentively toinstructions rom the restaurantrsquos headche as they tried their hands at classicssuch as kimchi bibimbap and gimbap
Some took notes on the recipes whileothers wrote down the chersquos advice
ldquoI am not going to taste Korean ood just or my own satisactionrdquo said JessicaCastro who earned her masterrsquos degreein international development rom theGraduate School o International Stud-ies at Korea University in 2008 ldquoI wanttake advantage o this cooking class tolearn how to cook Korean ood on my own so that my neighbors can eat it aswellrdquo
Aer the lecture was nished groupmembers tried out cooking the dishesthemselves then tasted the resultsWhile they cooked some shared theirexperiences in Korea
ldquoWe rely on these local Salvadoranswho have tasted Korean ood duringtheir time in Korea to popularize Kore-an ood culture and ultimately theKorean national brand as ambassadorsrdquosaid Kim Eun-seob head o the El Sal-
vador Overseas Ofce o KOICABy Lee Min-yong
The Salvadoran would-be
chefs are perfect ambassadorsfor Korean culture Koica said
It wasnrsquot the firstmission abroad for theKorean rescue team
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29
Culture
Five additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO at thefourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that gov-erns the list in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates from Sept 28
to Oct 2 There 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member statesof the committee
A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for theSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which was adopted in2003 The convention names oral expressions rituals festive eventscrafts music dances performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation This living heritage is passed on from generation to gen-eration providing communities and groups with a sense of identity andcontinuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity
With the inscription of the five traditions Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list including the Gangneung Danoje Festival
pansori chant and ldquothe royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and itsmusicrdquo all added in 2008 The Cultural Heritage Administration intendsto apply for 40 more inscriptions next year
ldquoDifferent countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heri-tage such as making kimchirdquo Yi Kun-moo the administrator for theCultural Heritage Administration said in an interview during the con-
vention in Abu Dhabi ldquoThus it is important for us to take the initiativeahead of countries like Japanrdquo
The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year areGanggangsullae Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Namsadang NoriCheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae
CheoyongmuThe Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of
the mystical character Cheoyong featured in a ninth century Koreanlegend According to the story Cheoyong son of the dragon king enteredthe human world arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynastyrsquos King Heongang After making it to the capital hemarried a beautiful woman and won an official rank On moonlit nightshe would wander the city and one night when he returned home hefound a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing
and dancingThis legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong
on onersquos gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house It alsoled to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu which was performed at royalbanquets or at exorcisms on New Yearrsquos Eve to ward off smallpox andpromote good fortune That tradition is still carried on today
With an artistic history of over a millennium the Cheoyongmu alsoreflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elementswhich prevailed in Joseon society
GanggangsullaeSince its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No 8 in 1966 Ganggangsullae has been safe-
Saving Korearsquos Living CultureUNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditionsadding them to its list of humanityrsquos intangible heritage
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae
once perormed in villages as part o the
Chuseok holiday
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 1536
30 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 31
Culture
guarded and preserved A primitiveform of composite art performed by groups of women Ganggangsullae hasbeen handed down for two millennia Its a representative folk art as well as a
seasonal custom celebrating the KoreanThanksgiving holiday
As a prayer for a good harvest Gang-gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-ary custom from primitive religion
corresponding to the lunar year andwomenrsquos fertility Although the artisticyrical verses are simple they echo theoys and sorrows of life Research is beingconducted on Ganggangsullae in widevariety of fields including anthropologyfolklore dance literature medical sci-ence costumes and economics Thisntangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make asignificant contribution to the well-being of the senior citizens and in artherapy
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut is an annual Jeju ritual It isperformed in the second month of theunar calendar called ldquoYeongdeungrdquo in
honor of the goddess of wind Grand-mother Yeongdeung to pray for anabundant harvest and sea catch On thefirst day of the Yeongdeung monthGrandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
her family the winds to enjoy the islandrsquos beauty Springcomes when she leaves
Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China entering viaBokdeokgae Port She climbs Mount Hallasan toinquire after the rocks known as the Five HundredGenerals passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeorion Mount Hallasan and goes to Sanbanggul a cave onMount Sanbangsan before reaching Gyorae-riJocheon-myeon Jeju Island
While enjoying the peach and camellia blossomsshe sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweedseeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of cropsshells abalones and seaweed On the 15th day sheleaves Jeju from Jiljinggak During her stay each villageperforms a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut Of thesharman rite the most representative is the Chilmeori-dang Yeongdeunggut which begins with the ldquoYeong-deung Welcome Riterdquo on the first day of the secondlunar month and ends with the ldquoYeongdeung FarewellRiterdquo on the 14th day
Namsadang NoriNamsadang Nori which literally means ldquoall-male
vagabond clown playrdquo is a folk entertainment handeddown by itinerant groups of multi-talented performerscalled namsadang These generally tawdry light amuse-ments have their roots in the common people and theireveryday lives In pre-modern times various troupesmoved around the countryside to put on spectacularoutdoor shows but today only a single group based inSeoul remains active
The modern namsadang consists of six acts includ-ing a farmersrsquo band a mask dance a puppet play tight-rope walking sieve frame spinning and acrobatics
These folk arts combine music dancedrama and athletic feats sharing generalcharacteristics with other East Asianforms while remaining very Korean intheir technical expressions
YeongsanjaeThe word ldquoYeongsanrdquo is derived
from ldquoYeongsanhoesangrdquo the place atopVulture Peak where Buddha deliveredthe Lotus Sutra In Yeongsanjae or ldquoyes-terdayrsquos Yeongsanhoesangrdquo Buddhistscan experience for themselves thepreaching of Buddha and perform ritu-als In the ceremony the participantsstrive for spiritual enlightenment It issaid that heaven and earth vibratetogether while flowers descend from theheavens enhancing the musical perfor-mance
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) large Buddhist rituals may havebeen developed based on the LotusSutra Like the rituals of other religionsYeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy and a means of practicing self-discipline Unlike therituals of the Qing Dynasty Korean Bud-dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-al so that the performance can also beconsidered an act of self-discipline Inthe artistic sphere beompae (Buddhistchanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music alongwith gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs)
Gangneung Danoje Festival
The venue of the annual GangneungDanoje Festival is Gangneung CityGangwon-do Province which lies in theeastern part of the peninsula in the Tae-baeksan mountain range The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-gwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to themountain god and male and femaleguardian gods Used in it are traditionalmusic and odokddegi folk songs theGwanno mask drama and oral narrativepoetry The Nanjang Market Korearsquoslargest outdoor marketplace is animportant part of the festival todayLocal products and handicrafts are soldthere and contests games and circusperformances are held
The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of thefour-week festival In the rituals a central role is playedby the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritualobject made of feathers bells and bamboo wood) Oneof the festivalrsquos most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian shamanistic and Buddhist rites
Pansori epic chant Pansori a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964) consists of musical storytelling by a vocalistand a drummer The popular tradition features expres-sive singing stylized speech and a repertory of narra-tives and gestures It embraces both elite and folk cul-ture During performances lasting up to eight hours amale or female singer accompanied by a single barreldrum improvises on texts that combine rural and eru-dite literary expressions The term pansori originatedfrom the Korean word pan meaning ldquoa place wheremany people get togetherrdquo and sori meaning ldquosongrdquoPansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the south-western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-ued as an oral tradition among commoners until thelate 19th century by which time it acquired more liter-ary content and enjoyed popularity among the eliteThe settings characters and situations that make up thepansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-1910) Pansori singers go through long and rigoroustraining to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo ShrineJongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the JoseonDynasty that includes song dance and music The rit-ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descen dents of the royal Yi clanInspired by classical Chinese texts concerning theancestral cult and the notion of filial piety it alsoincludes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestorsrsquospirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual restingplace By Limb Jae-un
Let the Cheoyongmu was traditionally
perormed to dispel evil spirits and pray or
tranquility at royal banquets on New Yearrsquos
Eve Above a man walks a tightrope during
the Gangneung Danoje Festival
At Chuseokvillage womensang in acircle throughthe night mdashnot normallyallowed inpatriarchalold Korea
The livelyNamsadangNori showsused satireand humor toappeal to thepoor andoppressed
Let a man perorms the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Above the Yeongsanjae a
reenactment o the Buddharsquos delivery o the Lotus Sutra is perormed in ront o a Korean
temple
P r o v i d e d b y C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f K o r e a
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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32 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 33
Culture
[ Y O N H A P ]
100 Years of Pridein Korean CultureRemembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates and the National Museum was born
On Nov 1 1909 EmperorSunjong officially openedthe grounds of Chang-gyeonggung Palace to the
public for the first time With a newbotanical garden and zoo one of themain attractions of the palace groundswas the Jesil Museum the first modernmuseum in the country which show-cased cultural assets such as Buddhistpaintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty The emperorrsquos phi-osophy was encapsulated in the phrase
yeominhaerak or ldquoA good leader shareshis enjoyments with the peoplerdquo
This event at the close of the JoseonDynasty with Japanese colonial forcesclosing in is c onsidered by some to beKorearsquos symbolic point of transitionfrom kingdom to modern society
The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926 buthe museum remained The Japanese
renamed it the Yi Royal Museum and
it went through two other names beforebecoming in 1969 the National Muse-um of Korea Today it occupies a beau-tiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu
just north of the Hangang River inSeoul
This year to celebrate the museumrsquos100th birthday a special exhibition isbeing held until Nov 8 named after theaphorism that led to its existence ldquoYeo-minhaerakrdquo The event brings together
some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage In fact amongthe 150 exhibits on display 55 havebeen designated national treasures
The special exhibition consists of two parts mdash historical artifacts relatedto the museumrsquos centennial and Koreanrelics collected from overseas
The first section of the exhibitionincludes about 120 pieces from theoriginal royal museum The exhibitionalso showcases the museumrsquos activitiesand evolution through the Japanese
A visitor points to an inrared
photo o Cheonmado ldquopainting
o heavenly horserdquo presumed
to have been created in the 6th
century
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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34 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 35
Culture
is designated National Treasure No207
The saddle flap is formed of severalthick layers of white birch bark with amystical-looking white horse drawn onthe outmost layer The horse has a hornon its forehead and flames coming outof its mouth It is postured is as if it wereflying through the air surrounded by swirling patterns of white red brownand black
Because of the horn on its headsome experts believe that the creature isnot a horse but a girin a mythical crea-ture whose appearance was thought tosignal the arrival of a holy man Visitorshad a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infraredcamera at the exhibit with a resolutionof 12 million pixels
Though Cheonmado is part of theNational Museumrsquos permanent collec-tion it is usually kept in a special stor-age area because of the fragility of thebirch bark It has been displayed to thepublic only twice before since 1973
For those interested in the real-lifewords of a Joseon king 66 letters writ-ten by 18th century King Jeongjo arealso on display King Jeongjo was knownto be meticulous and thoughtful andsavvy in dealing with people
The letters are divided into two cat-egories ldquo jeongjosinhanrdquo letters sent tohis minister Sim Hwan-ji discussingstate affairs and ldquo jeongjoeopilrdquo letterssent to his uncle Hong Nak-im usually concerning family matters
Just as Emperor Sunjong openedthe palace to the p eople the museum is
making this special exhibition accessi-ble to the public for free
But this isnrsquot the only event held tocelebrate the 100th anniversary Amuseum expo was held at various sitesaround the museum including themain gate plaza and reflecting poolfrom Oct 10 to 18 with the participa-tion of 600 museums and art galleriesfrom 15 regions around the country
At the main gate booths introducedthe participating institutions while atthe plaza visitors enjoyed cultural pro-
colonial period (1910-1945) afternational liberation and even during theKorean War of 1950 to 1953
The second section contains 30pieces including national treasures andartifacts collected by other countries
One of the exhibitrsquos most importantpieces mdash which unfortunately was tak-en off display early on Oct 7 mdash isundoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-wondo the oldest Joseon-era (1392-1910) painting still intact Created by Ahn Gyeon a painter who flourishedduring the cultural heyday of KingSejongrsquos rule (1418-1450) the work wasshown to the Korean public for the firsttime The piece depicts an idyllic para-dise that Prince Anpyeong KingSejongrsquos third son described to the art-ist from a dream of his The artwork isaccompanied by poetry written in cal-ligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the timeWhile An strongly influenced Korean
traditional art for ages to come thepoems written out by hand by the poetsthemselves also hold a significant placein the history of local literature and cal-ligraphy
Mongyudowondowas on loan fromthe central library of Japanrsquos Tenri Uni-
versity Its whereabouts became unclearafter 1453 when Prince Anpyeong wasslain by his older brother Suyang But itturned up in 1893 in Japan in the p os-session of the Shimazu family fromKagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu The
painting was designated a Japanesenational treasure in 1939 and was pur-chased by the university when it wasput up for sale in the early 1950s At thetime with war ravaging the country noKorean buyer could afford the paintingwhich cost several thousand dollars
The other exhibits have also trav-eled across sea and land to take part inthe exhibition Suweolgwaneumdo apainting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy owned by the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York andChiseonggwangyeorae another depic-tion of Buddha owned by the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston are both on theirfirst outings in Korea Also from theBoston institution comes a gilt-silverewer and basin from the GoryeoDynasty among the finest of their kindremaining today The narrow mouthand cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique to this12th-cenutry vessel
Another star artifact was Cheon-mado the only painting still in exis-tence from the Silla Kingdom whichwas on display until Oct 11 Cheonma-do or Painting of Heavenly Horse ispresumed to have been created in the6th century Though itrsquos called a ldquopaint-ingrdquo the canvas is somewhat unusualmdash part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark It was found in a tumulus atomb for an unknown king located inGyeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do Prov-ince that was excavated in 1973 and it
The only extant painting
from the Silla Dynasty is
part of the museumrsquos
collection but has only
been exhibited twice since
1973
A traditional pavilion
topped with majestic
green celadon was built
at the museum as part of
the celebration
grams organized by 39 organizationsincluding arts and crafts workshopsthat let them try making traditionalfans masks and pottery Other attrac-tions included an Africa Museumworkshop on African crafts a perfor-mance by dancing robots from theBucheon Robot Park and even a recre-ation of a traditional blacksmithrsquos shopby Korearsquos Lock Museum
On Oct 17 and 18 a special showfeaturing music dance and other per-formances inspired by the history andcultural heritage of the museum washeld ldquoThe Island of Timerdquo will look back on the 100-year history of themuseum as a place where the past pres-ent and future collide
On the academic side an interna-tional forum is scheduled for Nov 3with some 10 directors invited frommuseums around the world
A symbolic traditional paviliontopped with green celadon roofing tileshas also been built as a symbol of themuseum and is set to open to the publicon Nov 1 By Lim Ji-su
Below let museum visitors stand in long
lines or their chance to glimpse the ex-
hibitrsquos star attractions Below right visitors
view green celadon pieces dating back to
the Goryeo Dynasty
This painting o the Buddist Goddess o
Mercy Suweolgwanumdo was also on its
frst outing to Korea
[ Y O N H A P ]
Mongyudowondo was shown to the
Korean public or the frst time since its
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer-
sity It depicts an idyllic paradise
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37
Culture
the party It has been seven years since the two metThe fans mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia
had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-mated version of Winter Sonata When Bae greeted fansfrom a hot air balloon some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama When the actormade eye contact with his fans they seemed to be over-whelmed
About 5000 lucky fans celebrated the launch togetheroutside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24cinemas around the country
A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-bunctious More than 300 journalists from countriesincluding Korea Japan and Taiwan were present for thefirst public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan
The conference was aired on news channels includingNHK Fuji TV and TBS
ldquoThe press conference today showed the unchangingpopularity of Baerdquo said one of the journalists who waspresent ldquoItrsquos often the case that fewer than 100 journalistsattend a conference for a Japanese popular star but todaysome 300 attended which is unbelievablerdquo
A member of the animation production team saidldquoThe attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation hasbeen huge in Japanrdquo
At the conference Bae said ldquoBy participating in theanimation lending my voice I was able once again to feelthe passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shootingthe dramardquo
With the sustained popularity of the program whichfirst aired in 2002 the Korean media company Key Eastsigned an agreement with the Japanese entertainmentcompany Total Promotion to coproduce an animationbased on it The drama helped launch the ldquoKorean Waverdquoin Japan after it aired on the NHK public television net-work in 2004 Since then Bae has become a superstaramong Japanese female viewers
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends mdash played by Bae and Choi mdash and the trag-edy that follows them in the years to come
The first season of the animation started airing inmid-October on Japanrsquos cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV
Meanwhile Bae also introduced to Japanese fans hislatest book Journey in Search of Korearsquos Beauty a compila-tion of essays about traditional Korean culture playingthe role of a Korean cultural ambassador Among thecrowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama wife of Japanrsquosnew Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as leadingJapanese political and government figures
By Lee Eun-joo
[ Y O N H A P ]
Some say Hallyu the Korean wavehas reached its peak and is nowgradually losing its special appealmdash but that does not seem to be the
case in Japan where actor Bae Yong-joon ismore popular than ever
In late September 45000 peopleswarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch aglimpse of the Korean star known affection-ately there as Yon-sama Bae was in Japan tocelebrate the production of the animated
version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata in which he starred Though theevent started at 6 pm fans arrived beforesunrise and the dome was soon surroundedby a line 2 kilometers (12 miles) long
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo whoplayed the female lead both lent their voicesto the animated series and were on hand for
Play It AgainYon-samaWinter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joonhis popularity in Japan unflaggingends his voice to new animation
36 korea November 2009
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon ar let and actress Choi Ji-woo
sitting next to him attend a press conerence in Tokyo
Japan dedicated to the release o the Winter Sonata anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name Reporters rom all around Asia were present
Winter Sonata
Bae Yong-joon amp Choi Ji-woo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 1936
38 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 39
Culture
has attracted more than 8 million view-ers
There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema The first spot-lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil-chong who was an icon for local intel-lectuals in the 1970s while others werededicated to director Yu Hyun-mok andactress Jang Jin-young both of whompassed away this year The final retrospec-tive titled ldquoArchaeology of Korean Cine-mardquo was an outgrowth of a program thatworks to restore Korean films and fea-tured three Korean movies rarely screenedfor general audiences
The other attention-grabber of thefestival was I Come with the Rain whichwas screened in t he festivalrsquos Gala Presen-tation section Directed by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung itstarred three heartthrobs mdash Lee Byung-hun from Korea Josh Hartnett from theUS and Takuya Kimura from Japan mdashand was the talk of the town throughoutthe festival as all three leads were in townmeeting with fans in events includingone at Haeundae Beach the center of thelive activities during the festival
The Asian Film Market a venue for promising filmmakersand producers to meet withpotential investorsalong with the
Pusan PromotionPlan was also asuccess this yearThe Asian FilmMarket has become akey marketplace for thefilm business since itsinception in 2006 draw-ing 75 participating com-panies this year Morethan 20 films includingKorearsquosDeath Bell and theaward-winning documen-
tary Old Partner were sold during thefour-day film market in Busan scoring anestimated $2 million in total sales theorganizers said Two major distributorsKorearsquos CJ Entertainment and JapanrsquosT-Joy also announced the launch of a
joint venture at the market which isexpected to boost cooperation betweenthe two countriesrsquo film industries
The wide selection of films at PIFFwas accompanied by various specialevents such as Open Talk where fans metand talked with actors and directors andoutdoor concerts every night during thefestival giving festivalgoers the unforget-table memory of music and movies underthe starlit Busan autumn sky
By Park Sun-young
This year saw the most films ever screened 355 including 98 world premieres
From right to let actors Josh Hartnett Lee
Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose or a
photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
the flm estival The trio starred in I Come with
the Rain which was screened at the estivalrsquos
Gala Presentation
The spectacular display o freworks
celebrates the opening o the 14th Pusan In-
ternational Film Festival on the night o Oct
8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor
Theater
E
very autumn Korearsquos southernport city of Busan turns into anAsian Hollywoood with the
arrival of one of the regionrsquosmost influential film events
This year about 200000 people fromsimple movie buffs to renowned actorsand directors swarmed into the city forhe Pusan International Film Festival
which retains the host cityrsquos old spelling ints name
This yearrsquos PIFF now in its 14th yearwas held from Oct 8 to 16 and includedhe biggest lineup ever with a record 355
films from 70 countries including 98world premieres and 46 international
premieres (films that are shown for thefirst time outside of their home country)reflecting the festivalrsquos growing impor-
tanceBut what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the filmsscreened but also the number of glamor-ous guests who put in appearances
The festivalrsquos grand opening at theBusan Yachting Center on Oct 8 wasattended by more than 5000 peopleamong them a slew of local and foreignmovie stars including Jeon Do-yeonKim Yun-jin Lee Byung-hun and JoshHartnett
PIFF has grown over the years to rank
among the worldrsquos most prestigious inter-national festivals Event director KimDong-ho said ldquoWhen there are interna-
tional film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited Iam now included on the guest list whichseems to be a sign of the festivalrsquos growinginfluencerdquo
Korearsquos biggest film fest is well-knownfor its traditional focus on Asian cinemaand on the discovery of young and prom-ising Asian filmmakers through ldquoNewCurrentsrdquo the main competition sectionBut this year the scope of the festival wasbroader featuring films and directorsfrom non-Asian regions in the ldquoFlash
Seaside Cheers for Asian Film
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun metwith fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival
[ Y o n h a p
P I F F ]
Forwardrdquo section which turned com-petitive for the first time this year
The 14th PIFF also screened moreKorean films old and new than everbefore The opening film was a Koreancomedy Good Morning President by director Jang Jin known for the sharphumor of Welcome to Dongmakgol whichhe penned The new film stars Korean
Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteranactors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shimand touches upon the lives of three fic-tional Korean presidents each trappedbetween political and moral choices
A number of other first-run Koreanfilms were also shown during the festivalhelping promote the countryrsquos revitalizedmovie industry Behind the resurgenceare the blockbusters Haeundae whichwas shot in Busan and topped 10 millionmoviegoers in Korea in just over a monthand the sports dramedy Take Off which
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2036
40 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 41
Culture
K orean folktales havenrsquot reached the same level of global familiarity as Aesoprsquos fables or the BrothersGrimmrsquos stories But one is now featured in anAmerican elementary school
textbook with illustrations by a Koreanpainter mdash a fine first step
Ahn Mi-hyang a Korean housewifein Denton Texas was recently surprisedto open her second-grade sonrsquos textbook to see a familiar story ldquoHeungbu andNolburdquo is one every Korean knows Itrsquos atale of two brothers Heungbu the young-er poor and good-hearted and Nolbuthe older rich and selfish It was titledldquoThe Swallowrsquos Giftrdquo in the English text
ldquoI think it is very meaningful that a
Korean folktale is being included in aregular course book for reading compre-hension not in supplemental materialrdquoAhn said ldquoMost Korean residents in Denton are families of students at nearby universities including the University of North Texas and we all welcome the textbook since our chil-dren donrsquot usually get to read Korean folk tales Americanchildren also seem to like the storyrdquo
More than 20 pages in the textbook Literacy Place 23are devoted to the story with illustrations depicting thecharacters wearing traditional Korean hanbok These werecreated by Huh Yoo-mi a Korean painter Huh 44 has con-tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and
childrenrsquos stories published in English in the United Statesincluding ldquoThe Green Frogsrdquo ldquoThe Rabbitrsquos Escaperdquo ldquoTheRabbitrsquos Judgmentrdquo ldquoFatherrsquos Rubber Shoesrdquo and ldquoOne Sun-
day MorningrdquoHuh came to New York in 1989 to
study at the School of Visual ArtsldquoAfter getting my masterrsquos degree
from SVA I started drawing illustrationsfor English versions of Korean folktalesrdquoHuh said in a telephone interview withYonhap News ldquoIn the United StatesKorean folktales are popular and thebooks have been sold to schools librar-ies and bookstores across the countryrdquo
According to Huh ldquoThe GreenFrogsrdquo a story about a frog who always
does the exact opposite of what hismother tells him to is one of the mostpopular stories among her work ldquoAmer-
ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frogalways disobeying his motherrdquo said Huh
Huh was pleased to hear the news that ldquoSwallowrsquos Giftrdquowas featured in a textbook ldquoThe story was published about10 years ago Like Aesoprsquos Fables the story is about encourag-ing good deeds and punishing evil I think thatrsquos why they picked the story for the textbookrdquo
Huh currently a lecturer at SVA is now planning to publishbooks introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces withher illustrations By Kim Soe-jung
Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader
Brotherly Folktale in US Text
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
or editions o many Korean
stories in English [ Y O N H A P ]
In 1377 a group of monks in Cheongjunow part of Chung-cheongbuk-do Prov-
nce rolled ink across a setof moveable metal type andhistory was made Todayevery two years artisansgather in this city to pushhe envelope just like those
monks of old as part of theCheongju InternationalCraft Biennale
This yearrsquos event whichruns until Nov 1 at theChoengju Arts Center andvarious locations aroundhe city is the sixth since the
biennale began in 1999 andorganizers hope it will behe first to draw real global
attention The competitions stiff with similar biannual
events taking place inGwangju and Busan buthis year Cheongju packs
more prominent artists thanever
More than 158 artistsfrom 25 countries partici-pated under the themeldquoOutside the Boxrdquo with art-
sts hoping to re-establishconnections between artdesign technology and theenvironment
Director Dr Lee Ihn-bum wanted to make theCheongju biennale uniqueby focusing not just onKorean artists but on under-appreciated foreigners too
Biennales are always fullof variety This one is divid-ed into two main exhibi-
Biennale in home of worldrsquos first metal type brings art into everyday life
Cheongju Korearsquos City of Craft
P r o v i d e d b y t h e o r g a n i z e r
tions ldquoPressing Matterrdquo andldquoDissolving Viewsrdquo along
with the community artsprogram ldquoThe River WithinUs The Sea All AroundUsrdquo
Pressing Matter curatedby Elaine Kim deputy direc-tor of the World Jewelry Museum Seoul gathered apeculiar array of crafts madeof different materials fromall over the world Amongthe foreign artists at thisexhibition were furniture
designer David Trubridgefrom New Zealand who
uses only natural materialsBelgian ceramics maker anddesigner Piet StockmansDutch designer Hella Jonge-rius and the worldrsquos mostfamous Brazilian designersthe Campana Brothers
Organized by Kim Ju-won Dissolving Views took
viewers beyond the conceptof art as an object andtowards ldquothe idea of craft asa living human impulserdquo
These works incorporatedperformance art musictheater dance film poetry and prose
Perhaps the festivalrsquosmost different section TheRiver Within Us The SeaAll Around Us was morethan an exhibit mdash it playedout in spaces around the city of Cheongju breaking outof the boundaries of the gal-lery and onto the street
Among the most talked-about items was a couchdesigned by the CampanasThe piece grafted cutting-edge technology onto pureBrazilian craft techniquesusing materials rangingfrom plastics to abandoneddolls to produce a surpris-ingly attractive piece
A variety of special pro-grams were held during thefair including an exhibit by this yearrsquos spotlight countryCanada an internationalacademic symposium andarts forum educational pro-grams and citizen partici-pation projects
Dr Lee hopes to bringCheongju into the main-stream art and culture worldhelping people gain a deeperunderstanding of artistic
value and spreading the joy of craft across the worldwhile at the same time show-ing how these artists dealwith politics economicssociology and history intheir often complex work
By Yim Seung-hye
Above Korean designer Yee
Soo-kyungrsquos Translated Vase
on display at the Cheong-
ju biennalersquos ldquoDissolving
Viewsrdquo exhibition Let
Fabela Chair by the world-
renowned Brazilian designers
the Campana Brothers It
was designed with comort
and art in mind
The Korean olktale ldquoHeungbu and Nolburdquo
now appears in an American elementary
school textbook under the name ldquoThe Swal-
lowrsquos Gitrdquo
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2736
54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2136
November 2009 korea 43
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
Oh Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of themost important woman writers inKorea Recipient of the 1980 Yi SangLiterature Prize the 1983 Dongin
Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Litera-ture Prize Oh explores the chaotic often terrify-ing landscape of the feminine psyche hiddenunder a veneer of tranquility with chillingdetachment elegance and lyrical beauty
An important motif in her early stories is the
suppressed emotions of alienated individualsUnable to achieve harmonious relationshipswith others the characters in Ohrsquos stories leademotionally detached lives often manifestingtheir loneliness and self-hatred through destruc-tive behaviors directed at themselves and othersIn stories such as ldquoThe Misty Leveerdquo ldquoDawnrdquoand ldquoRiver of Firerdquo their violent urges are encap-sulated in physical deformity and allowedexpression only in perverse or sterile sex In the
mid-1970s the author shifted her focus to thetedium of everyday life within the safe but suf-focating enclosure of family and marriage Theprotagonists of Ohrsquos later stories are mostly mid-dle-aged married women who long to escapefrom their socially defined roles in order to finda truer more fundamental existence At timesthey manage to escape but only for a brief timeand they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment Among her
stories from this period are ldquoChinatownrdquo ldquoGar-den of Childhoodrdquo ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo ldquoWay-farerrdquo and ldquoSpirit of the Windrdquo The coming-of-age stories ldquoChinatownrdquo and ldquoGarden of Child-hoodrdquo suggest that the authorrsquos pessimistic per-spective toward life is in part shaped by herexperience of the Korean War But her collectionof childrenrsquos stories Songi Itrsquos Morning Outsidethe Door suggests that the author is now engagedin shaping a new literary vision for herself
Major works
River of Fire
(Bul-ui gang 1977)
Garden of Childhood
(Yuneon-ui tteul 1981)
Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs1986)
Evening Party
(Yahoi 1990)
Old Well
(Yet umul 1994)
Fireworks
(Bulkkotnoli 1995)
Bird
(Sae 1996)
From violent self-destruction to household repression
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
Source Korea Literature
Translation Institute
oh Jung-hee
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Korean Literature
42 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 43
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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44 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 45
The eight stories collectedn this volume present a clear
picture of Oh Jung-heersquos literary world which revolves aroundwomen and the feelings of
despair disillusionment anddispossession they experiencewithin the confines of Koreansociety
Set in the period immedi-ately before and after the Kore-an War the title story ldquoGardenof Childhoodrdquo tells the story of a seven-year-old girl ldquoYellowEyerdquo Her father is away in thearmy and her mother supportsthe family by doing odd jobs atthe village market late into thenight The girlrsquos older brotherwho is in effect the head of the
household in his fatherrsquosabsence does little to fulfillpaternal responsibilities butsimply rules over the familyoften turning violent Fearful of his authoritative presence thegirlrsquos older sister often stays outlate into the night The subtleshades of pain and hatred thatcolor the family interactions areobserved through the eyes of this young girl
In ldquoEvening Gamerdquo an ane-mic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every
night with the ailing father wholives with her A suffocatingsense of stagnation sterility andshapeless doom pervades theirlives as they wait for the wom-anrsquos vanished brother
After the father goes to bedthe woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous witha man But the cold mechanicalsex she has with him at an aban-doned construction site provesto be almost sadistic in naturean exercise in self-hatred ratherthan the escape she seeks
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
Including the Dongin Liter-ary prize-winner ldquoA BronzeMirrorrdquo the nine stories in thisvolume explore the desire forescape from dysfunctional real-ty and the fear that accompanies
it as well as the problem of death
Though they all focus on thefemale psyche these stories arenarrated by men or from a maleperspective The narrator of ldquoThe Soul of Windrdquo is a 30-year-old bank employee He is able tofind an amount of satisfaction inhis ordinary uneventful life buthis wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together She takesevery opportunity to leave homeand wander about One daywhile hiking alone she is rapedby three men Returning homeshe is confronted by her hus-
band who can no longer endureher frequent absences and asksto separate Moving in with hermother Eun-su learns she is nother motherrsquos biological daugh-ter With this revelation Eun-subegins a long journey into theabyss of her lost memories toreconstruct the truth of her exis-tence
ldquoA Bronze Mirrorrdquo is thestory of an old couple who leada quiet lonely life after the deathof their only son Expecting visi-tors from church the old womanprepares dough for fresh noo-dles she intends to serve The
visit is canceled however andinstead a young waterworksemployee who reminds her of her dead son comes to read thewater meter As a way of pro-longing his stay she offers himnoodles Her kindness andattention make the young manuncomfortable and angers herhusband The old man turns hisattention to a bratty girl playingin the yard Through these mun-dane details the story provides akeen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil faccedilade of their lives
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
오정희 단편소설선 Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 老井
중국인 거리 Chinatown
유년의 뜰 Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 LrsquoAme du vent
Book Title Year of publication LanguageGenre
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Novel
Polish
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
French
Published translations
List of Ohs translated works
Korean Literature
A Literary TalentBorn at a Young AgeSometimes called Korearsquos Virginia Woolf Oh Jung-hee wrote
her first prize-winning story while still in high school
Ohrsquos best stories are powerful portraits of
families strained by suppressed emotions
November 2009 korea 45
O
h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the mostaccomplished writers of short fiction in acountry that is justly proud of its accom-
plishments in this literary genre She is one of the fewauthors to have captured both the Yi Sang and theDongin awards mdash Korearsquos two most prestigious priz-es for short fiction mdash and translations of her worksinto Japanese English French and other languageshave won her a small but growing international rep-utation English translations of her works have wonher comparisons with such writers as Americarsquos JoyceCarol Oates Canadarsquos Alice Munro and EnglandrsquosVirginia Woolf
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst ontothe literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-
ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo a Seouldaily in 1968 The prize-winning story ldquoThe Toy-shop Womanrdquo concerns a high school girlrsquos descentinto madness punctuated by kleptomania and anobsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop Thatthis highly original debut story was being writtenwhile the author herself was in high school suggested
the arrival of a gifted literary talentOh has since published some four dozen stories
and novellas It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual-ity consisting of provocative densely textured sto-ries many of them infused with a restrained inten-sity that is unsettling sometimes shocking Not until1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic-tion River of Fire There followed an especially pro-ductive period in which many of her most memo-rable stories were composed Ohs production sincethe 1990s has been more sporadic but works s uch asThe Old Well (Yet umul 1994) and The Bird reflectthe high standards she set for herself at the very
beginning of her careerOhrsquos command of language is formidable mdash her
vocabulary impressive her word choices deliberateand suggestive Stories such as ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo andldquoMorning Starrdquo reveal a good ear for dialog Flash-backs stream-of-consciousness technique and inte-rior monologues constitute much of Ohrsquos narrativesLong paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
view of family members past and present are notuncommon
ldquoWords of Farewellrdquo which depicts separate butparallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her losthusband is a striking example This concern with theinterior landscape of the characters is for Oh a meansfor dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness Heighteningthe impact of these themes is the authorstypically dispassionate narrative tonewhich in her earlier stories takes theform of a nameless first-person narrator
(every story in River of Fire is told in this manner)These nameless narrators become Everywoman andEveryman (some of her narrators are male) strug-gling in an emotionally parched landscape
Oh has been fascinated with family relationshipsever since her literary debut Her best stories arepowerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to
the breaking point by suppressed emotions andinvisible external forces In these works Oh pene-trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives toreveal nightmarish family constellations warped by divorce insanity abandonment abuse and deathDarkness is prominent in these stories representingamong other things these family nightmares In ldquoTheToyshop Womanrdquo ldquoThe Cookoutrdquo ldquoThe BronzeMirrorrdquo and elsewhere darkness creeps upon thescene like a sinister beast unleashing black memo-ries among the characters
By Bruce Fulton
professor University of British Columbia
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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46 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 47
Autumn is cold water too is cold
The moment my shadow that had been wandering here
and there in a circular cruel room
slowly nibbling leaves sighed
At that moment might the word man have arisen
That remote long-ago today
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached
Itrsquos a breast kneaded with sorrow like the wind like a
bow
otherwise surely it could never be so out of breath
Saying itrsquos the sound of a faraway train wonrsquot do
and saying itrsquos the smell of rain will do even less
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
an
but the word man that nothing seems capable of replac-
ing
is sorrowful and cold so as I try to grasp my wife who
struggles to escape
it seems hot blood will well from my hands
At first sunlight appeared but then eyesrsquo light would also
appear
the breast would appear feelings would appear
The windrsquos habit turning one man into two
ten men into twenty a hundred a thousand
then commits them to the flames
devouring that wind as I look back
making the blood circulate in my tree and branches
is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you
That wind has not yet not yet ended splendidly
From ldquoThe Windrsquos Private Liferdquo by poet Lee Byung-ryul
가을은 차고 물도 차다
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던
순간
그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘
고드름은 매달렸을까
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은
사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워
도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간
내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다
처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
열 사내를 스물 백 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
랐던
바람의 습관들
되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고
내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다
그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다
Poetry
Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul where he grew upHis poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power He has published two collections of poems You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Windrsquos Private Life in 2006 Hewas awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006
바람의 사생활
The Windrsquos Private Life
P r o v i d e d b y t h e K o r e a L i t e r a t u r e T r a n s l a t i o n I n s t i t u t e amp
C h a n g b i
46 korea November 2009
of wheat leave a footprint on the corner of the mat andbe on our way The wheat grains clicked against our teethand after the tough husks had steeped in our warm sweetsaliva the kernels would emerge sticking like glue every-where inside our mouths About the time they becamegood and chewy we would reach the railroad
While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbleswith our wheat gum set up rocks we had gathered fromthe roadbed and threw pebbles at them or hunted fornails we had set on the rails the previous day to makemagnets
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stopwith one last wheeze We would scurry between thewheels rake up the coal dust and then hook our armsthrough the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of theegg-shaped briquettes Usually by the time the cartersfrom the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance we had filled our school-slipper poucheswith coal mdash the bigger and faster children used cement
bags Then we would nestle the coal under our arms andhop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of thetracks
We would push open the door to the snack bar on thepier and swarm to the table in the corner Depending onthe dayrsquos plunder noodle soup wonton steamed bunsfilled with red bean jam or some such thing would bebrought to us And sometimes the coal was exchanged forbaked sweet potatoes picture cards or candy In any eventwe knew that coal was like cash mdash something we couldtrade for anything around the pier mdash and so the childrenin our neighborhood looked like black puppies through-out the year
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil-lage others called it Chinatown The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like ashadow and the sun hung faint in the bla ckened sky look-ing more like the moon
(2)Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese
in the two-story houses on the hill they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity Smugglers opiumaddicts coolies who squirreled away gold inside every
panel of their ragged quilted clothing mounted banditswho swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors-esrsquo hoofs barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of aslaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank outcastebutchers who made wonton out of human flesh peoplewhose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchu-rian plain before they could pull up their pants mdash this washow we thought of them What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses And what lay deep insidetheir minds seldom expressed even after years of friend-ship Was it gold Opium Suspicion
Chinatown
1)
Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the cityending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of theharbor When a coal train jerked to a stop there the loco-motive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the seasending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floorsof the cars
There was no lunch waiting for us at home duringhose winter days short as a deerrsquos tail so we would throw
aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill The straw mats that coveredhe south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat
drying in the sun If the custodian was away from thefront gate we would walk in help ourselves to a handful
The two excerpts below showcase Ohrsquos
formidable use of language
From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2436
48 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
V iolinist Kim Min 67 receivedthe ldquoUna Vita per la Musicardquo(ldquoa life of musicrdquo) certificateand medal from Italian Presi-
dent Giorgio Napolitano at the VentidioBasso Theatre becoming the first SouthKorean recipient of the honor The honorsare presented to the musician of the yearselected by the Ascoli Piceno Festivalcommittee whose chairperson GaetanoRinaldi presented the award on behalf of he president
ldquoOf course it is a big honor for me anda vote of confidence in Korearsquos musicworld which is being acknowledged at annternational levelrdquo Kim said ldquoBut I am
most thankful to the Korean ChamberOrchestra members as they made it pos-sible for all of us to be here in this honoredplacerdquo
Kim was referring to his 30 years of raveling and playing through excitement
and anxiety together with the KoreanChamber Orchestra which has held morehan 700 performances in countries across
Asia North America and Europe Oneunforgettable performance came on April3 on Sorok-do Island a former Koreaneper colony where many victims of the
debilitating illness still live
ldquoThe islandrsquos first classical music orga-nization was founded recently 100 yearsafter the town was founded and our visitbrought both [groups] to tearsrdquo Kim saidThe connection and passionate reactionKim felt from the island dwellers had a bigmpact on his music he said
ldquoWith the Sorok-do Island perfor-mance I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspirationand encouragement to everyone in any hardship and that was what I had to do Iwill keep communicating with everyone
Italy Honors Devoted Violinist andConcert Master for his lsquoLife of Musicrsquo
equally and try to open their hearts todeliver the joy of life through my musicmy violinrdquo
For Kim who described his violin asmore important to him than anythingelse ldquoA Life of Musicrdquo seems a suitablelabel But it wasnrsquot always that way
ldquoI have not come from a straight roadI have taken the other path wanderingaround I was interested in s o many differ-ent fields like painting photography andowning a business so there were timesthat I had doubts in my music life as wellas financial obstacles that kept me away from the violinrdquo
On 1965 Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation Unfor-
tunately his family went bankrupt andKim had to sell his violin and run a smallcoffeehouse for a year In spite of thesehard times that year Kim was away fromthe music world was when he realized des-perately that music meant everything tohim
ldquoOnce I realized that playing musicwas my way I battled to keep at it withoutstoppingrdquo says Kim ldquoAlthough I did nothave enough resources I was just happy toplay the violin againrdquo
Four years later Kim moved to Ger-
It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kimrealized that music was his life
November 2009 korea 49
Korean Artist
P r o v i d e d b y K i m
m i n
Kim Min let receives the ldquoA Lie o Musicrdquo
certifcate rom the Ascoli Piceno Festival
Committee
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-formed while he studied In 1979 hereturned to Korea and was appointed con-certmaster of the Korean PhilharmonicOrchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-tra He also took over leadership of theKorean Chamber Orchestra and wasappointed to the faculty of Seoul NationalUniversity as a violin professor
In his capacity as music director andconcertmaster Kim led the Korean Cham-ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-tryrsquos most prominent music groups bring-ing them world attention with successfulinternational tours
In 2010 the Korean Chamber Orches-tra will celebrate its 45th anniversary mdashand it will go on its 100th internationaltour In this meaningful year Kim said hehopes to develop a uniquely Korean clas-sical music series by finding and support-ing talented composers with a distinctivelocal sound while broadening his orches-trarsquos repertory building a better recordingsystem and of course going on globaltours
Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly and its music has tochange accordingly ldquoThe music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimina-
tion against anyone It has to grow withbalance between the musicians the audi-ence and the culture itselfrdquo Kim notesldquoSociety needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematicarts education that is open to everyonerdquo
Kim had four requests for Korearsquosfuture musicians First be patient secondmaster a piece of music perfectly once youstart on it third listen to a variety of musi-cal selections and four always think aboutyour future and once you learn from apast mistake let it go By Susan Yoon
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2536
50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51
Sports
U-20 Team Hits QuarterfinalsBut Canrsquot Top African Champs
They may have come up one game short of tying theirall-time record but they had an impressive run none-theless
Before Korearsquos explosive soar to the final four of the2002 World Cup the standard of excellence was set by the squadat the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico Clad in red the Koreanteam made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil Thefeisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname ldquoRed Dev-ilsrdquo which has stuck through the years being adopted by theofficial support group of the national team
Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Eg ypt many werehoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team
captain Hong Myung-bo But the more realistic goal turned outto be the round of 16 Hong had never managed a team Mean-while the teamrsquos biggest star FC Seoulrsquos Ki Sung-yeung couldnrsquot
join due to obligations to the senior team Considering Ki recent-ly signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse CelticFC it was a loss for Korea
ldquoMy players showed a lot of mental toughness and adaptedto changes quickly Despite lacking recognizable names on ourroster our players came together and tried their best until the
very end They deserve applause for their effortrdquo said Koreanmanager Hong Myung-bo
Placed in what was dubbed the ldquogroup of deathrdquo by manyKorea had to face Germany Cameroon and the US Led by
Hong the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfarelosing their first game to Cameroon 2-0 But Hong known forhis stoic demeanor made some lineup changes for the secondgame One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman KimMin-woo who listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) was theshortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster inthe first game
Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game withKim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managingto get past three German defenders Facing a must-win situationKorea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to theround of 16 Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay
team which had given up only one goal in the group phase Kimonce again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victoryKim assisted on Hongik Universityrsquos Kim Bo-kyungrsquos openinggoal and then went on to score two of his own to help Koreaadvance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the firsttime since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991 ButKorea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana 3-2
ldquoOur players got a chance to play in an international tourna-ment and although it wasnrsquot perfect the results reflect the playerrsquosefforts Our players put forth 100 percent effort However they need to try harder to improve their game They need to put intwice the work of other playersrdquo said Hong in a postgame inter-
view following the game against Ghana By Jason Kim
[ Y O N H A P ]
Though the Korean team played hard it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfnals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt
C
hoo Shin-soorsquos achievementcan be summed up in threenumbers 300 20 20
The Korean batter forhe Cleveland Indians has become the
first Asian in Major League Baseball tohit 20 home runs make 20 steals and hita 300 batting average in a single seasonPlaying in his first full season in hisMajor League career Choo hit 20 homeruns and made 21 steals to become theonly player in the American League topass 3002020
With a sizeable number of hittersrecording over 40 home runs in a sea-on recording 20-20 might not seemike much to some However only 11
other players achieved the feat this yearand in the history of the Indians datingback to 1901 Choo is only the eighth
The left-handed 27-year-old is alsothe first Asian Some of the best Asianpositional players in the MLB includingIchiro Suzuki of the Seattle MarinersHideki Matsui of the New York Yankeesand Kosuke Fukudome of the ChicagoCubs failed to make it to the magicnumbers Ichiro came closest in 2005hitting 15 homers and recording 33steals and while Matsui has regularly hitover 20 home runs he lacks runningspeed and his single season best stealstotal is only four
With 21 stolen bases Choo was at 19
home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct 4 over BostonrsquosldquoGreen Monsterrdquo Choorsquos towering two-run homer in the top of the seventhinning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox
ldquoAs I got closer to reaching 20 homeruns I became fixated on reaching thegoal and focused on pulling the ball My batting coach advised me to try to hittowards the opposite field and it was ahuge helprdquo said Choo in a post-gameinterview
It was the Indiansrsquo second-to-lastgame of the season The right fielderhad hit his 19th home run of the seasonfive days earlier on Sept 29 against theChicago White Sox In reaching the20-20 mark in his first season as a start-er Choo also finished with 86 RBIAppearing in the third and cleanup spotin the Cleveland batting order duringthe season Choo topped the team inhome runs stolen bases and RBI
The Busan native signed with theSeattle Mariners after leading Korea to atitle and earning the Most ValuablePlayer and Best Pitcher awards at the2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-ship in Edmonton Canada He was con-
verted to an outfielder and although hemade his MLB debut on April 21 2005he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea-son in the minor leagues until beingtraded to the Indians along with ShawnNottingham for first baseman BenBroussard on July 26 2006
Choo showed flashes of his currentself in 2007 but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in Septemberof 2007 After missing a chunk of the2008 season Choo had a hot Septemberin which he hit 400 five home runs and24 RBI to earn the American LeaguePlayer of the Month award and finishthe season with a 309 14 home runsand 66 RBI
Choo was rewarded with a one-yearcontract in the off-season and it isexpected the Indians will try to lock upthe right fielder with a lengthy andlucrative deal By Jason Kim
Out of the ParkTimes Twenty Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20home runs 20 steals and a 300 average
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run o the season on Oct 4 o Paul Byrd o the Red Sox
[ A P ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2636
Korea through the Len
Above Joseonrsquos Sage King mdash A new
bronze statue of King Sejong the Great
(1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct 9 at
Gwanghwamun Plaza central Seoul incelebration of the 563rd anniversary of the
creation of Hangeul the Korean alphabet
King Sejong the Great is one of Korearsquos most
respected ancient rulers credited with over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet
Above right Panopticon mdash Seoul City
has selected Millennium Eye a work by three
local artists as winner of a competition to
create a model to represent the Digital MediaCity a media cluster under development in
the western part of the capital
Right Colossal Sea Link mdash The bridge
linking Songdo to the Incheon InternationalAirport was completed and opened to the
public on Oct 16 Incheon Bridge is 21 kilo-
meters long (13 miles) making it the worldrsquos
seventh-longest and the longest in Korea
with a main span of 800 meters It was called
one of the ldquo10 Wonders of the ConstructionWorldrdquo by Construction News and ldquoDeal of
the Yearrdquo by Euromoney magazine [ N E W S I S ]
ClickKorea
ht First ladyrsquos own
oking show mdash First Lady
m Yoon-ok left the wifePresident Lee Myung-
promotes the healthy
alities of hansik (Korean
sine) in an interview with
N anchor Kristie Lu Stoutangchunje in Cheong
Dae on Oct 16th Kim
leading proponent of
globalization of Korean
sine
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2736
54 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 55
The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass
Pampas grass in Mindung-
an in southern Jeongseon-
gunGangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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56 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 57
In these late days of fall tall pam-pas grass fills the mountains toreplace the autumn leaves to thenorth while the band of red and
yellow trees inches south transformingthe southern hills into splashes of beau-tiful color
Meanwhile under the crisp clearsky the pampas grass shines and swaysto the music of the wind like naturersquosorchestra playing a symphony
Mount Mindungsan (1120 meters3675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun Gang-won-do Province and Mount Myeong-seongsan (992 meters) in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province are two popularsites to visit in the autumn for their mag-nificent pampas grass
Mount MindungsanThere are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea One is in south-ern Jeongseon-gun Gangwon-do Prov-ince and the other is in PocheonGyeonggi-do Province The name liter-ally means ldquobald mountainrdquo and it suits
these peaks well since theyrsquore complete-ly bare with no tree in sight The crownof Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-gun even has what could be called aldquobald spotrdquo ringed by brown ldquohairrdquo thatwaves and crackles in the wind mdash acircle of pampas grass
The end of October to early Novem-ber is the best time to climb MountMindungsan but a hike to the peak dur-ing snow season can also be very reward-
brisk walk along the northern ridgelinetoward Samnaeyaksu Spring Fromthere take the left-hand path into theforest When you are done with theclimb you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station The entire journey takes aboutsix hours though the trip down toByeoleogok Station could be a bit chal-lenging for beginners The local PampasGrass Festival continues throughout themonth until Nov 1
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-bikes run on 72 kilometers of the now-abandoned Jeongseon line tracks atspeeds of up to 30 kilometers per hourWeekend rides are available by onlinereservation only (wwwktx21com) Thefee is 18000 won ($16) for two or 26000won for a group of four Other sites to
visit include Kangwon Land (1588-7789) a leisure center built to revive theold mining town The facility includes acasino hotel golf course the High 1 skislopes and a theme park
One local specialty is gondeure na-mulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and
vegetables) once distributed to relievefamine First the herbs and vegetablesare cooked with the rice then perilla oiland seasoned soy sauce are added beforethe dish is served Though slightly bitter
the rice is great for c utting through thegrease urban climbers are used to Localestablishments serving the dish includeGukhwang (033-563-9967) Daraed-deul (033-563-5840) and DongbakgolSikdang (033-563-2211)
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup isanother local favorite The local nativescall the dish ldquonose ridge hitterrdquo becausethe noodles are very elastic and some-times spring up and hits the diner in the
Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
anchovies pumpkin and potato in soybean
paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area
ing The climb is not too difficult start-ing off at 600 meters above sea levelwith a train ride available for families
Mindungsanrsquos tanned bald head is visible to the far north from JeungsanStation in Gangwon-do Province and a15-kilometer walk along Dongnam-
cheon Stream takes you to the trailheadCross Mureunggyo Bridge to the rightand walk parallel to the tracks for about10 minutes and you will soon find your-self standing under the railway Walk another 50 minutes and you will reacha trail leading into the forest Forty moreminutes and yoursquore at the peak knownas Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields
The climb down the mountain is a
nose after a particularly enthusiasticslurp The soup is boiled with anchoviescabbage pumpkin and potato in soy-bean paste Donggwang Sikdang (033-563-3100) near Jeongseon Station isfamous for this dish
Mount MyeongseongsanMyeongseongsan is a mountain
with historic ghosts Near Seoul thiswas the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918) the ruler of a short-lived Korean kingdom who died whilefighting to protect his state from crum-bling Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynastywhich ruled Korea from the 10th to 14thcenturies
Born as a member of the Silla royalfamily Gung Ye made himself a king in901 and named his state Later Gogu-ryeo But Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo tracked him to this mountainafter he lost a major battle Legend has it
ldquoMindungsanrdquo literally
means ldquobald mountainrdquo
but this is no Mussorgsky
nightmare mdash the pampas
grass provides a tranquil
escape from urban life
Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-
ungsan in late autumn surrounded by tall
pampas grass
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 2936
58 korea November 2009
Travel
November 2009 korea 59
Korearsquos Taste Masters
November 2009 korea 59
Join Top Chef at HislsquoZen Hideawayrsquo
Walkerhillrsquos Hans-Werner Vogt values
simple tastes passionate cooking
Cooking isnrsquot all that difficult according toHans-Werner Vogt the executive chef atthe Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-ern Seoul
All you need are good ingredients some simpleequipment and the desire to cook for those youlove
Vogtrsquos philosophy as chef coincides with his spe-cialty which is always based on fresh ingredients andtasty food such as regional dishes from Europe andsimple but tasty Asian food
This is Vogtrsquos second time in Korea He workedas an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotelfrom 1997 to 2004 and hersquos been executive chef at theWalkerhill since 2006
ldquoI came to Korea a second time because I like ithererdquo he says ldquoI like the people and many of its tradi-tions as well as the four seasonsrdquo
A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway an Asian
dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul The
restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta
that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting hisdefeat was heard across the mountain
There is a natural cave at MountMyeongseongsan where Gung Ye andhis 200 remaining men are believed tohave hid while f leeing from Wang Geonrsquosarmy People call this Gung Ye Cave
Myeongseongsan is also calledWeeping Mountain because PrinceMa Ui of the Silla royal family also vis-ited it after his kingdom lay in ruinsLegends say that people heard themountain itself weeping when theprince arrived
There is only a little pampas grasshere but the view of Sanjeong Lakefrom the mountaintop is fabulousattracting scores of climbers duringweekends
The trail begins at the Sangdongparking lot After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field the trail leads toBiseon Falls Here the real hiking startsSome 30 minutes into the valley sitsDeungryong Falls named after a leg-end that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky hereThe beauty of this waterfall is oftencompared with the famous Peach Fallsat Mount Seoraksan
There is one morereason He enjoys themany fine restaurants intown especially ZenHideaway an Asian din-ing and wine bar in Sinsa-dong southern Seoul
ldquoWhenever I take my friends to Zen Hideaway theyrsquore surprised to seesuch a tranquil dining place inthe busy streets of Seoulrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos Seoulrsquos secret sanc-tuaryrdquo
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-fort and relaxation and he likes the artificial p ond out-side the restaurantrsquos garden surrounded by tropical treesand plants
The menu includes a range of Asian dishes frompumpkin croquet (10000 won $724) and salmon veg-etable roll (16000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroomsalad (19000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24000 won)
There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dongMyeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik Univer-sity northern Seoul
To visit the Sinsa-dong branch go to Sinsa Stationline No 3 exit 1 For reservat ions call (02) 541-1461
By Lee Eun-joo
Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope Twenty minutes up you will reach the pampasgrass best seen as the sun pours downon it in the high afternoon
For a nice view of Sanjeong Lakeclimb another 20 minutes to Samgak-bong Peak then start your descent Theentire journey is 65 kilometers andtakes about 3 hours
Mount Myeongseongsan is just twohours away from Seoul making it theperfect site for a family climb
What to enjoy - A theme park nearSanjeong Lake boasts a pirate shipamusement ride and bumper carsalong with other rides
Also nearby is Jainsa Templefounded by Wang Geon the founder of Goryeo under his pen name It burneddown in a forest fire but was restored in1227 It was destroyed again during theKorean War in 1950 Todayrsquos buildingsdate from 1964
About an hourrsquos car ride from thetemple is the Hantangang River Sun-dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls TheSanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium(031-534-5500) there offers spa bathsfor 8000 won and a 30-minute tradi-tional Chinese foot massage for 30000won
Galbi marinated barbecued ribs isa Korean delicacy and about 30 min-utes from Sanjeong Lake the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun ispacked full of about 60 restaurantsserving the sumptuous dish concen-trated around the streets leading fromJangam-ni and the Baekun Valley
One of the most popular eateries iscalled Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872)
meaning simply ldquoSong family galbirdquoThanks to its location nearHeungryongsa Temple on MountBaekunsan itrsquos usually full of hikers
The place is 30 years old and startedoff as a small studio The marinatedsauce is all natural Acorn-starch jellynon-spicy kimchi and assorted vegeta-bles are served together with the bar-beque One serving costs 24000 wonSongsine Galbi also serves cold noodlesin chopped pickled radishes for 3000won By Kim Sei-jun
The view of Sanjeong
Lake from the peak is so
breathtaking itrsquos hard to
believe itrsquos just two hours
to Seoul
Clockwise Sambuyeon Falls is located near
Myeongseongsan also known as ldquoweeping
mountainrdquo The village of Yidong-myeon
n Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well
known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs
and makgeolli traditional Korean liquor
Hans-Werner VogtExecutive ChefSheraton Grande Walkerhill
[JoongAng Ilbo]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
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60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3136
November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3236
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3336
66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3036
60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61
Travel
With 2010 just two months away Korearsquos tour-ism officials are scrambling to prepare forthe ldquoVisit Koreardquo campaign
In fact the Ministry of Culture Sportsand Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 asldquoVisit Koreardquo years vowing to put the country once and forall on the global tourism map
Just last month that ambitious campaign got a signifi-cant boost from a prestigious source At the 18th UnitedNations World Tourism Organization General Assemblymeeting held in Astana Kazakhstan in early OctoberKorea was named the next host of the UNWTO confer-ence
The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN fortourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how It has154 member states and Korea has been a member since1975
ldquo[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momen-tum to develop into a tourism power house As the meetingwill take place during our Visit Korea campaign I think we can expect some synergyrdquo said Vice Minister Shin Jae-min who attended the meeting in Astana last month
The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011 As theworldrsquos largest international conference on tourism theassembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary generalthe culture ministers of the the member nations and tour-ism experts At least 1500 guests including governmentofficials experts and journalists are expected to gather forthe 2011 event which is expected to bring some 15 billionwon ($13 million) in economic benefits according to theCulture Ministry
It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meetingon its own after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001
The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided ButKorean officials show little concern about Korearsquos readi-ness to host such a huge event
ldquoKorea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-al meetings and conferences Korean cities like SeoulBusan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right nowrdquo Shin told reporters
In the meantime Korearsquos tourism officials have highhopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam-paign
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during thecampaign and special marketing events are among theways Korean officials will use to hit their target mdash 10 mil-lion foreign tourists by 2012
The sector has been struggling this year hit by theeconomic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus In factthe UNWTO expects to finish the year with the worldindustry contracting by 5 percent
But at the assembly last month UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see amodest uptick in 2010
Korearsquos overseas marketing promotions in fact beganat last monthsrsquo UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan
with ldquoKorea Nightrdquo on Oct 6 where representatives gaveindustry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer totourists
Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism andgave a showcase on Nanta the famous nonverbal perfor-
mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion withmodern musical forms among others
ldquoWe choseNantabecause it shows a good mix of some-thing traditional and something modern which in a way represents Korea nowrdquo said Kwon Do-yeon at the CultureMinistry
At the reception delegates were fed Korean food suchas kimchi bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls Globali zing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korearsquos tourism initiatives
In May the Korean government set up a Korean foodglobalization committee aimed at devising ways to pro-mote Korean food abroad By Kim Hyung-eun
Top the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how within the UN Above the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and
Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its ldquoVisit Koreardquo
campaign Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok third from left poses with
actor Bae Yong-joon fourth from left and Minister Yu In-chon second
from right after the announcement of the campaign
Making Korea No Longer Asiarsquos Best Kept SecretConference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011
at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors
The Nanta show now an
internationally-known tourist
attraction blends traditional
Korean culture with modern
showmanship
[ Y O N H A P ]
[ N E W S I S ]
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3136
November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3236
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3336
66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3136
November 2009 korea 63
People
62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63
People
Korean Design Makes aSplash in London
Cell phones and cars arenrsquot the only Koreandesigns getting attention on the globalmarket
That was the message at the LondonDesign Festival last month attended by young Koreanswith cutting-edge mind-warping work such as a lampmade to look like a porcelain tea set
One of the events at the festival 100 Design Lon-don is recognized as one of the three major designexhibitions in the world and is held at Earls CourtAnother Designersblock displays more experimentaldesigns
A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designersincluding eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy participated in 100 DesignLondon this year The London design exhibition isknown for its tough reviews of its applicants
At 100 Design London Lee Seon-gyong KimEun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist forthe Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Mag-azine an influential London design magazine The
judges were Vicky Richardson editor of Blueprint andGareth Williams a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art
Cha ended up winning the award for his simpleand elegant radio Appearing somewhat like a com-puter mouse it had only two controls volume andtuning Cha was also selected as a ldquoNext GenerationDesign Leaderrdquo by the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
motionIn recognition of these awards Charsquos products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during nextyearrsquos exhibition
ldquoMy work has been given a huge promotionalboost as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazineand the Sunday Timesrdquo Cha said
ldquoAnd since it cost s more than 5 million won [$4300 ]to rent an exhibition booth Irsquom really glad Irsquoll have abooth in a nice location [for free]rdquo
There was even a Korean designer invited by theevent organizers Chung Myeong-yong a furnituredesigner working in Milan Italy said that he hadnrsquot
planned to participate in the design fairthis year
ldquoBut the judges who were at MilanDesignersblock asked me to join the fes-tival in London [as well]rdquo Chung said
Some of the Korean products exhib-ited during 100 Design London soldquickly
Kim Hyun-been also chosen as aNext Generation Design Leader by theKorea Institute of Design Promotion forher ldquoDrinKliprdquo cup holder was able tosell all 200 of the products she broughton the first day of the festival
Lee Seung-ho who works in Fin-land sold over 1000 of his aboutBlank notebooks lined in white so that the
P r o v i d e d b y d e s i g n e r A n o t h e r C e r a m i c
Kim Eun-young
Kim Hyun-been
Companies and individuals winpraise for their unique productsat 100 DesignLondon part of the LondonDesign Festival
lines do not scan or photocopyldquoA British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
book as presents for their VIP guestsrdquo Lee saidProducts from Korean design studios and compa-
nies are also gaining wider popularity The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standinglamps made of porcelain Saturn Bath also receivedhigh praise from other designers for its exquisite TVTub a bathtub with a television attached on the end
ldquoA foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea as a country that only copies other peoplersquosdesigns had been brokenrdquo said Lee Gyu-seon who iscurrently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-my of Arts
ldquoIrsquom really glad that Korean designers are partici-pating more than they did a year ago and their abilitiesare being recognizedrdquo By Lee Ho-jeong
Kim Eun-youngrsquos lamp is top let and Kim Hyun-beenrsquos DrinKlip above let Other ceramic accessories at the estival are pictured above center
and right
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3236
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3336
66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3236
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65
People
E
very Sunday 22-year-old uni- versity student Dang NgocThanh heads to Ansan Gyeo-
nggi-do Province to teachadults mdash some over twice his age
Thanh came to Korea four years agofrom Vietnam But his ties to Korea gofurther back to his childhood ldquoMy father has been in and out of Korea since was a little boy striking up business
deals involving Korean companiesrdquo saysThanh in almost perfect Korean Hisfather who works for an investmentconsulting firm in Vietnam is also flu-ent in Korean
Thanhrsquos sister now attends Yonsei
Universityrsquos Korean Language Institutethe same place Dang Ngoc started hisKorean language learning a few years
agoThanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity as a junior majoring in businessadministration but once every weekthe student becomes a teacher at theAnsan Migrant Community ServiceCenter ldquoI first started my relationshipwith the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May when Itaught Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea how to pass the inter-national driverrsquos license exam Especial-ly for workers passing this test was cru-
cialrdquo he saidThanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter at Hanyang University After his classlast year won rave reviews Thanh wenton to teach Korean there starting April5 He now meets with a class of around15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours starting at 10am The young professor says that whenhe teaches the class he tries to remem-ber the challenges that he faced when hefirst started learning Korean Every week he prepares his own instructionalmaterial on about 20 pages of A4-sizedpaper
ldquo[Thanh] is always extremely hard-working and enthusiastic toward hisstudents I am very thankful that he is apart of our program I think he pos-sesses a strong will to look after peoplefrom his native countryrdquo says Lee Mi-ryeong public relations head at the cen-ter
Even though the commute to Ansantakes him around two hours by trainThanh has never missed a class ldquoEvenduring exam time I went to Ansan toteach because all my students were wait-ing for me How can a teacher not goAlthough I have to sacrifice a weekendday every week when I see that the Viet-namese workers and immigrants I teachhave improved on their Korean lan-guage skills it all feels worth itrdquo Thanhsays
ldquoEvery language has its own charac-teristics but I find the Korean languageone of the most fascinating Take theword lsquomaeumrsquo [Korean for heart] Youcan use that word in so many differentways and depending on how you usethe word sentences become totally dif-ferent in meaningrdquo
Thanh points out that ldquomaeumrdquo canmean relief determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbsldquoIn Vietnam we also use Chinese char-acters but the pronunciation and gram-mar are rather tricky Thatrsquos why I makemy own instructional materials so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-ate between Korean and Vietnamese ina clearer wayrdquo
One of Thanhrsquos proudest momentscame in July when one of his Vietnam-ese students at the center a 31-year-oldfactory worker at Ansan went back toVietnam to take a job at a Korean com-pany there mdash thanks to his Korean lan-guage skills Thanh says reading thethank you e-mail from him brought himgreat satisfaction
Even though the Korean Wave has
[ J o o n g A n g I l b o ]
Every Sunday or three hours Dang Ngoc Thanh 22 teaches the Korean language to Viet-
namese migrant workers in Ansan Gyeonggi-do Province
brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and otherAsian countries for Vietnamese immigrants andworkers in Korea it is a difficult task to learn the lan-guage from scratch
ldquoPopularizing the Korean language will really helpKorearsquos efforts to globalizerdquo Thanh says ldquoMany peoplefrom all over the world want to come to Korea How-ever Korea is not too English-friendly even thoughthere are a lot of foreigners here To work or live herelearning Korean is essential because communicationthrough English is difficultrdquo
Particularly for workers Thanh says it is hard tocommunicate and carry out everyday activities inplaces like hospitals insurance companies and banks
Though he is majoring in business Thanh says hewould like to continue his language studies as well Thestudent-teacher is also considering going to graduateschool and getting into the financial sector But fornow hersquos devoting himself to his studies mdash and of course to his students By Cho Jae-eun
The Gift of CommunicationIt takes Thanhtwo hours to reach Ansan to teach but he says the successof his students isall the thanks he
needs
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean
Language Institute at Yonsei University in
Seoul and is now completely fuent in the
Korean language
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3336
66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3336
66 korea November 2009
Foreign Viewpoints
I you have never tasted Korean
green tea you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes o Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing sunshine we watch as our hostess
prepares tea she hersel has dried only
a day or two beore over a wood-re
using very small just-budded leaves
The water or brewing the tea is drawn
rom a spring that rises just behind the
house The taste o the rst cup o tea
is so intense so unexpectedly rich and
varied so indescribably ragrant that
rom that day on the only question
would be ldquoWhen shall I be able to go
back and drink that tea againrdquo
Even in Korea the nest green tea is
not easily obtained It is easy to buy
boxes o one-cup tea bags o green tea
at very low cost but when it comes to
lea tea it is hard to nd Besides in
Korea there are relatively ew people
who regularly drink good green tea
whereas anyone traveling through the
southern regions o Japan is accus-
tomed to seeing serried green ranks o
tea bushes almost everywhere There
a cup o simply brewed green tea is
automatically oered wherever one
goes I we cross the sea to the regions
o China west and south rom Shang-
hai or to Taiwan large tea plantations
can easily be ound Tea drunk in vari-
ous ways is the staple orm o reresh-
ment everywhere in China
In Korea extensive areas planted in
tea are very ew and ar between
They are mainly ound on the slopes o
Mount Jirisan around Boseong-gun
and on Jeju-do Island In Seoul green
tea rom a small number o recognized
producers handmade or mechanized
can be bought in the department
stores Other rarer teas have to be
sought out in specialized shops and
tea rooms or obtained directly rom
the producer even inside Korea This
means that people shopping or green
tea in San Francisco or London have to
search extremely hard to nd any kind
o Korean green tea while Japanese
and Chinese varieties are common
Korean tea is rare almost unknown
In recent years a new interest in tea
has spread across the world People
in Europe or North America have dis-
covered the health benets o tea and
have developed a liking or white and
green teas oolongs and Pu-erh teas
Specialty tea stores in Paris London
or New York oten stock hundreds o
kinds o teas rom many countries
Yet Korean tea is oten almost com-
pletely absent rom their lists Many
books about tea have been published
oten beautiully illustrated Yet quite
oten there is not one mention o Ko-
rea even in a book entitled ldquoTea in the
Eastrdquo Another called ldquoThe True His-
tory o Teardquo does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end and then just
briefy
More important the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing o tea elds by giving generous
nancial support It takes several years
or tea plants to grow the elds only
produce useable shoots or a short
period and the elds need constant
weeding trimming and care It is un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a nancial burden Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required or
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional scale
For Korean tea to become a worldwide
commodity a long-term eort should
be made to support the individualsand companies producing it There is
a great uture or Korean tea which is
among the worldrsquos best but it is very
urgent or the government to show its
interest and support It is just begin-
ning to promote Korean ood Deli-
cious Korean green tea should always
be available at the end o a Korean
meal and I do not mean in a tea bag
dipped in hot water Korean tea is as
ancient in its history as that o Japan
Why is it so hard to nd
Fine Japanese and Chinese
green tea is ubiquitous but
Korean growers suffer from
poor distribution and
nsufficient scale
In Search of
Real Korean
Green Tea
Brother Anthony (Korean name An
Sonjae) frst came to Korea in 1980 He
s a proessor emeritus at Sogang Univer-
ity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea He has translated many
volumes o Korean literature
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3436
IBRSCCRI No 10024-40730
KOIS15 Hyoja-ro Jongno-guSeoul (110-040)Republic of Korea
NE PAS AFFRANCHIR
NO STAMP REQUIRED
PriorityPriorilaire
By airmailPar avion
REPLY PAIDREacutePONSE PAYEacuteEKOREA (SEOUL)
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
S u b s c r i b e onl i n e f or
y o ur f r e e c o p y of k or e a
I t s a s s i m pl e a s
1 Ar e
t h e c on
t en
t s i nk
or e am
a g az i n
e u s ef ul f or
un
d er s t an
d i n
gK
or e
a
( 1 ) V e r y u s e f ul ( 2 ) U s e
f ul ( 3 ) S om e wh a t u s e f ul ( 4 ) N
o t u s e f ul a t a l l
2 Wh
a t k i n
d of
c on
t en
t s d o y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n g or
u s ef ul i nk or e a
( 1 ) C ul t ur e ( K or e a nW a v e t r a v e l f o o d b o ok s e t c )
( 2 ) I n t e r -K or e a nR e l a t i o
n s
( 3 ) I n t e r n a t i on a l C o o p e
r a t i on
( 4 ) E c on om y amp B u s i n e s
s
( 5 ) O t h e r s ( pl e a s e s p e c i f y )
3 H
ow
d o y o uf i n
d t h e
e d i t i n
g l a
y o u t an
d pr i n
t i n g
q u al i t y
of k or e a
( 1 ) E x c e l l e n t ( 2 ) G o o d
( 3 ) S o- s o
( 5 ) B a d
( 6 ) V e r y b a
d
4 Wh i c h
ar t i c l e
d i d
y o uf i n
d m
o s t i n
t er e
s t i n gi n
t h i s
i s s u e an
d wh
y
5 D
o y o uh
av
e an
y s u g g e s t i on
s f or i m
pr ovi n
g t h e c on t en
t s of k or e a or
an
yn
ewi d
e a s f or r e
g ul ar
s e c t i on
s
6 Y
o ur P
er s on
al I nf or m
a t i on
G e n d e r
F e m a l e
M a l e
C o un t r y
E -m a i l
R e a d er s
C omm
e
n t s
Y o ur i d
e a s wi l l
b er
ef l e c t e d i nm
ak i n
gf or t h
c omi n gi s s u
e s of k or e a
2 0 0 9
N ov em
b er
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3536
3 E n t e r y o ur s t r e e t a d d r e s s f or a f r e e h a r d c o p y
or
d ownl o a d a P D F f i l e
of t h e m a g a z i n e e a c h m on t h
2 H om e gtL i b r a r y gtP u b l i c a t i on s gtP e r i o d i c a l s
K or e a
T h i s m on t h l y m a g a z i n e pr ov i d e s f i r s t -h a n d
i nf or m a t i on on p ol i c i e s c ul t ur e a n d t o ur i s m
S u b s c r i p t i on
s
L a t e s t U p d a t e N ov e
m b e r 2 0 0 9
6 8 p a g e s
1 K
or e
an
e t
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8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites
8142019 KOREA [2009 VOL 15 NO 11]
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullkorea-2009-vol-15-no-11 3636
G a t e w a y t o K o r e a
Korearsquos ofcial multi-language website has
bull constant updates on Korearsquos government economy tourism culture and lifestyle
bull details on exciting events in Korea what to see and eat and even ticket prices
bull countless music les videos photos and e-publications
bull links to over 500 selected reliable websites