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V E R S T O R Y

Written by Kaye H. Lee

K-ANIMATIONKorean characters and animated productions are winning over a global audience

Most Koreans who grew up prior to the 1990swere ond o American animated characterslike Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny or Japanesecharacters like Astro Boy and Anpanman.

In the early 2000s, however, new animated characters

began to appear. One o them was Korean company Iconix

Entertainment's Pororo the Little Penguin, which recently

celebrated its 10th birthday at the Seoul Character & Licensing

Fair 2013 (July 1721, 2013).

In January o this year, then President-elect Park Geun-hye

attended a preview screening oPororo: Te Racing Adventure,

an animated eature produced to celebrate the 10th anniversary

o the popular character. In her opening remarks or the event,

Park stressed the ever-increasing role o cultural content.

WatchingPororo, I came to have great hope or the

possibilities o the Korean cultural content industry, she said.

As I pledged during the presidential campaign, we must

actively support cultural industries, including animation, as a

new major industry and a new engine o growth, and we are

actually doing so.

Nowadays, the most popular animated character in Korea

is without a doubt Pororo. Pororo the Little Penguin is a

computer-animated V series that began broadcasting in

2003. We can ascertain the popularity o the characternot

just among children but also the general publicrom the

nicknames it has been given, such as Pororo the President

and Pororo the God. Its popularity extends beyond Koreas

boundaries as well; beginning with its debut on French

broadcasting giant F1, it is now shown in over 130

nations.

In her inaugural address on Feb 25, 2013,

President Park declared that the creative

economy would become Koreas new growth

paradigm.

In the 21st century, culture is power. It is anera where an individuals imagination becomes

creative content, she said. Across the world,

the Korean wave is welcomed with great

aection that not only triggers happiness and

joy but instills abiding pride in all Koreans. She

said creative industries would be supported, and

the content industrymerging culture with advanced

technologywould be nurtured. In so doing, the gov

will ignite the engine o a creative economy and creat

Even i we ignore the presidents speech or the mo

can see that cultural content has already become a ke

industry.

According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (

Pororos brand value is KRW 85 billion, and its total

eect adds up to KRW 5.7 trillion. It has produced ab

1,500 kinds o products, rom toys and published ma

perormances and insurance. It recorded KRW 50 bil

sales in 2010 alone.

Following Pororos phenomenal success, a variety o

animated characters have been poised to be Pororos

to the throne.

Firstly, we have Robocar Poli, the super transorm

robotic car that saves our riends and neighbors whe

are in danger. Robocar Poli was the most popular pr

animation in Korea in 2011. It was so popular, in act

earned the nickname Prime Minister Pol.

Next is Kioka, a curious little girl with a great imag

Kioka is being shown not only on broadcast televisio

cable and IPV.

Other challengers include the troublesome polar bea

Backkom, the sausage monkey Cocomong, the baby g

Pororo the Little Penguin

(let) and his riend Crong

ICONIX/ OCON/ EBS/

SKbroadband

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V E R S T O R Y

Doongdoong, the alien prince I-Kooo, and the baby bus ayo.

Keep in mind, all these characters appeared over just the last 10

ears.

Korean Animation in the World

oved at home, Korean animation is getting a good response

rom international lm estivals and the international market.

ince 2008, exports o critic ally well-received Korean animation

ave steadily increased, and export markets have grown more

aried.

At MIP Junior, a global showcase or childrens programming

eld annually in the French city o Cannes, Korean animation

s attracting more attention and bringing home awards.

In 2010, Robocar Poli was awarded the MIP Junior Licensing

Challenge prize. Aer this, it began to air on leading channels

n 50 countries worldwide, including Frances Canal Plus,

aiwans YoYo V, Al Jazeera, Russias CC, Japans V okyo,

Israels Nick Jr., and Disney Asia.

Te same year, Canimals was selected as the best animation

by a jury composed o children ages seven to ten. Korean

production company Vooz, the makers oCanimals, was already

well-known internationally or its popular character Pucca. It is

now conducting a global marketing campaign aimed at not only

all o Asia but also Europe and South America.

Te Airport Diary, which was awarded a Grand Prix by the

Kids Jury at MIP Junior 2012, began airing in China in late

April 2013. Te animations Korean production company,

DPS, has ormed PDL, a joint venture with its Chinese partner

Pinggo, and is now pushing to air its program on 150 channels

throughout China.

Kioka won the Best Animation Award at the 2012 Shanghai

V Festival; a global sales contract was later signed with

major French distributor AWOL. In its rst week o airing on

Australian state broadcaster ABC, it was the most watched

childrens show and the ourth most-watched program overall.

In August o this year, it became the most-watched program

overall. Contracts have been signed with over 20 more major

channels worldwide.

ickety oc has agreements to air on channels in about 170

countries. In April 2012, it aired in Britain through Nick Jr. It

is now being shown in 35 nations, including the United States,

Australia, and European countries. It was the most-watched

program on Nick Jr. in the United States and Great Britain; the

French language-version was the most-watched program on

Canadas Disney Junior channel.

Because animation requires a lot o capital and personnel,

it cannot survive or long i it doesnt make money. Popular

character animation can become a rm basis or value-added

industries and an eective marketing method.

When Robocar Poli toys were launched, demand ar

outstripped supply. Eager parents paid premium dollars to

get the toys or their children. Aer Robocar Poli aired onFrench kids channel Piwi Plus, Robocar Poli toys sold out

at oys R Us shops across France and was the stores best-

selling product among preschoolers in the rst hal o 2013.

Keita Sato o Dreams Come rue (DC), which owns the

rights to the program in Japan, discovered the show when he

came across the character at shops during a market research

trip to Korea. aken by the products quality and the charm

o their characters, he decided to push to make the characters

the prime content o his company. Several products released in

Korea are currently being distributed in Japan; talks are under

way with about 10 other Japanese licensers. DC has been

continuously promoting the character on Japanese broadcast

television and cable as well as through a series o published

cartoons.

Launched in Korea in 2011, Buru & Forest Friends

an average viewer rating o 23%spiking at 45%w

aired on Danish national broadcaster DRV. Consid

how dominant DRVs childrens programs are in De

this is a considerable accomplishment. aking advant

its local popularity, the program has linked up with g

Danish toy company Lego to use the character in a to

and discussions are being held with major Swedish p

house Egmont to launch a publishing project.

Children can also experience the world o Korean an

through 3-D stereoscopes, 4-D lms, and character th

Some 600,000 people a year visit seven Pororo them

the latest o which opened in August 2012. Character

parks are a stable source o income; they are opening

variety o regions and orms, rom small-scale kids

multicharacter theme parks.

Seoul Land, which was Koreas rst amusement pa

transormed into a ull-scale character theme park, in

ocusing on Vroomiz, Canimals, and Pucca and now

1

3

1. An exhibit celebrates the 10th

anniversary oPororo at theSeoul Character and Licensing

Fair 2013

2.Robocar Poliis one o Koreasmost popular animations.

RoiVisual

3. Red and Yellow, two maggots

rom the series Larva. Tuba

Entertainment

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V E R S T O R Y

Robot Arpo, ickety oc, and Te Airport Diary.

Te rst ickety oc Land opened in Cheonan in May; one

month later, Robocar Poli Play Park opened up. Te regular

and special musicals hosted by these parks have become

popular events with amilies. Within a decade, we could see

K-animation theme parks opening up across the world and

Korean musical perormances going on world tours.

More Challenges or

Korean Animation

Unlike K-pop which relies on the

popularity o its idol stars,

or K-dramas which require

a certain degree o cultural

understanding, K-animation

can be directly appreciated by

the world thanks to its un and

universal stories and cute, lovable

characters.

Moreover, Korean animation producers have ound

in animation or preschoolers. Tis is in part because

and Japanese animation has dominated the markets o

age groups.

Spanish animation producer BRB Internacional de

invest in Backkom aer seeing a one-minute pilot vid

the Internet. RG Animation, the Korean production

that produces the series, had previously been experie

business diculties. Tanks to the character, howeve

right the ship and grow. While details may dier, mo

animation companies likewise started small but grew

strength o their animations.

Preschool animation is no longer Koreas only mark

Moreover, Korean animators have begun to embrace

mobile revolution, leaving V or smartphones and t

Te 90-second slapstick comedy animation Larva

a wider audience than the one most animation target

than being limited to V, the series catches the eyes o

audience wherever they may be, be it on a bus, subwa

1. Korean animation on display at the 2013 Angoulme International Comics Festival. 2. Korean and European cartoon producers talk at the Korea-EU Cartoon Connectio

3. Poby, one o Pororo the Little Penguins riends. CONIX/ OCON/ EBS/ SKbroadband

1

POPULAR KOREAN ANIMATED CHARACTERS & FILMS

Pororo the Little Penguin

(Iconix Entertainment)

One o the most popular Korean animated

fgures o all time, Pororo is a little

penguin who lives in a orest in a ar-o

land with his anthropomorphic riends.

Through the challenges they encounter,

they learn practical and moral lessons.

Robocar Poli (RoiVisual)

This childrens cartoon is so popular

Korea it was even eatured (along with

Pororo) on a set o commemorativestamps. Like the Transormers, Robocar

Poli and his riends are transormable

robots. The titular character is a police

car, while his riends are a fre engine,

ambulance and rescue helicopter.

Together with their human riend Jin, they

come to the rescue when woe bealls the

residents o Brooms Town.

Tickety Toc(The Foundation)

Now shown aound the world on the

Nick Jr. channel, this series o 11 minute

episodes tells the story o twins Tommy

and Tallulah, who live in a antasy world

behind the Tickety Toc Clock. Episodes

ocus on their madcap eorts to make

sure the clock keeps chiming on time.

Backkom

(RG Animation Studios)

Also calledBernard

, this series oanimated shorts is a coproduction

between Korea, Spain, and France.

The titular character is a curious but

bumbling polar bear who manages to

get himsel in trouble by the end o each

episode.

Kioka (Goldilocks Studio)

Kioka is a very curious little

girl who meets her riends in a

snow globe village. With their

extraordinary imaginations,

they turn everyday situations

and objects into sources o

adventure.

Dooly the Little

Dinosaur

(created by Kim Soo-jung)

Despite a history that goesback to 1983, the tale o the

mischievous baby dinosaur

Dooly and his human amily

didnt take o until the late

1990s. Kidnapped by aliens,

Dooly now has magic powers,

although he doesnt always

know how to use them.

Robot Taekwon V

(directed by Kim Chang-gi)

Released in 1976, this

groundbreaking animated

eature produced by amed

director Yu Hyun-mok was

Koreas response to Japans popular giant robot manga o the

same era. Incredibly popular when it was released, it provided a

Korean hero to a generation o Korean children. As the title would

suggest, the titular character perormed the Korean martial art o

taekwondo.

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elevator. With no dialogue, the series relies on expressions and

body language, and thanks to this, it is capturing audiences o

all age groups and even crossing borders.

While eature-length lms o popular V animation series

are bringing V viewers to the theater, creative animated

shorts have opened a new path.

Based on a best-selling childrens novel,Leafe, A Hen into

the Wild(2011) set a Korean animation box oce record by

recording over 2 million viewers. It also garnered the Best

Animation Award at the 5th Asia Pacic Screen Awards and

the Best Sitges Family Film award at the Sitges International

Fantastic Film Festival. Bringing together animation studio

Odoltogi and live-action lm production company Myung

Film, it was the rst successul example o such a coproduction.

For director Oh Seong-yun, it was an impressive debut. He is

now working on a new eature-length animation,Underdog.

A much younger pioneer in animated eatures is director

Yeun Sang-ho, the man behind the 2011 eature Te King

o Pigs. Maggie Lee o the Hollywood Reporterwrote about

the lm, Ugly, pitiless, and mightily provocative in its

representation o human debasement, his satire on class

inequality burns like acid. Te lm won three awards at the

16th Busan International Film Festival and was invited to the

Directors Fortnight at the 65th Cannes Film Festival. Yeuns

second eature, Te Fake (2013), was invited to the Vanguard

section o the 38th oronto International Film Festival. Its

theatrical release is scheduled or later this year.

One o the major options or producers o eature-length

animation is international coproduction. Korean production

company Redrover partnered with Canadian rm oonBox

Entertainment to produce the animated eature Nut Job,

scheduled or release in 2014. Te production cost o the

action-packed comedy is the highest ever or a Korean

animation, totaling KRW 2.3 billion. It will be distributed to

over 3,000 theaters in North America. Full-scale promotionwill begin with the oronto Film Festival in September and

the American Film Market in November.

Future o Korean Animation

I you watch the ending credits o any recent Hollywood

lm, youll soon learn that the number o Korean computer

graphic artists, animators, and researchers who have entered

Hollywood and its animation industry has grown. Hundreds

o Korean artists now work or major Hollywood studios like

Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks, where they help produce some

o the worlds best-known animated works.

wo representative names are Peter Sohn, who directed

Pixars animated short Partly Cloudy(2009) and was the basis

or the little boy character Russell in Up (2009), and director

Jennier Yuh, who directed Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011).

In 2012, ve Korean artists working or Pixar visited the

Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival (SICAF)

to share the secrets o Pixars production process and

promote their recent lm Brave (2012). o them, it was now

commonplace to see artists who were born and raised in Korea

nd work in Hollywood studios.

Te Koreans in Hollywood can be divided into two groups:

the rst are those pursuing their goals in the very best

environment, and the second are those who wish to

Korea and set up their own studios. Both will lend st

uture generations o Korean animators.

I we are to predi ct the uture o Korean animation, p

should rst take a look at some people who are about t

According to the Contents Educational Institution R

2010, conducted by KOCCA rom December 2010 to

2011, there were 1,736 regular academic institutions

irregular academic institutions with animation-relate

Regular institutions range rom high schools with sp

animation programs to universities.

For something a bit more recent, there were 71 col

universities on the list o the 6th Best University Cart

Animation Festival.

Lets take a look at our unique and major schools p

much o the nations outstanding animation talent.

V E R S T O R Y

1

2

3

1. Director Lee Dae-hees Padak, Padak (2012) 2.Yeun Sang-hos The King o Pigs (2011)

3. Oh Seong-yuns Leafe, A Hen into the Wild (2011) 4. Korean-American director Jennier Yuh oKung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

5. Cartoon Network Arabia Studios Creative Director Adam Khwaja explains the Middle Eastern market to Korean animation industry ofcials in Abu Dhabi in 2012.

4

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As the production

company behind

Pororo the Little

Penguin, Iconix

Entertainment is very

much in the vanguard

o Korean animation.

At the corporate

headquarters in

Seouls Gasan Digitial

Complex, Iconix

Entertainment CEOChoi Jong-il explains

that while the Korean animation industry has its strong points,

there are also things that could use improving, too.

He cites two major strengths. Firstly, Korean animation

is very diverse, he says. I you compare it with American

and Japanese animation, Korean animation shows you a very

diverse world view. Te diversity also includes mastery o

newly created media. While the United States and Japan ocus

on theaters and V, respectively, Korea looks at multi

In the case o Korea, weve been ocusing on new pl

such as mobile phones and the Internet and animatio

preschoolers.

Te other strength o the industry, says Choi, is its b

the buck. Its true that the most technologically adva

animation companies are in the United States, but in

o major American studios like Pixar or Dreamwork

produce blockbusters by spending astronomical amo

cash, he says. But in the case o Korea, you can get n

such as 3D animation or a reasonable cost.

Te weaknesses o the industry are primarily connto its youth. I you look at the Korean animation ind

its not that old, he says. Tis means it does not hav

o accumulated experience. Tis lack o experience m

some acets o the industry have developed more tha

I think in character design, weve reached a global le

completion, but it seems our story development capa

lags a bit behind, he says. I think i we can supplem

we can become much more competitive.

PLAYING TO YOUR STRENGTHSIconix Entertainment CEO Choi Jong-il surveys the Korean animation landscape

Korea Animation High School

Founded as an autonomous high school in 2000, this school is divided into our departments:

comic creation, animation, lm direction, and computer game production. Each class has about 25

students, many o whom are producing results like winning awards in local and international lm

estivals like the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Most o the graduates continue their

studies locally or overseas.

Chungkang College of Cultural Industries

Te animation major here includes everything rom traditional 2-D animation to 3-D animation, CGI

special eects, 3-D stereographics, and real-time high-tech animation. Students work on their own

creative animated shorts and commercial work, including some o Koreas best academic-industrial

cooperative projects. Students works are oen selected by amous international lm estivals, and

graduates are active in many production companies in the Korean animation industry.

Korea National University of Arts (K-ARTS)

K-ARS Department o Animation at the Film, V & Multimedia School was ounded to

overcome the limitations o Koreas comics and cel-animation industries, produce outstanding

talent or 21st-century animation art, and create unique content in the new, ever-changing theaterand multimedia environment. Since 2010, the school has operated an International Exchange

project in cooperation with okyo Art University. Te Communication University o China joined

this project in 2012.

Korea Academy of Film Arts

Te Korean Film Council (KOFIC) runs this school with the goal o producing specialized talent

or the Korean lm and animation industries. Te Animation Direction Course began in 1999 with

12 students. In 2006, it began a eature production research course or graduates o the schools one-

year and one-year, two-month programs. Many o the schools works have been introduc

and overseas lm estivals such as the Busan International Film Festival and Annecy Inte

Animation Festival, including Te Story o Mr. Sorry(2008), What Is Not Romance (2009

was the grand prize winner o the 14th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festiva

House (2010), and Te Dearest(2011).

oday, Korean animation rms are displaying their characters and products at all sorts o

airs, and lm estivals. Everyone loves taki ng their photos with actors in character costume

Mouse and Anpanmanboth born in the 20th centuryare still very much active.

What will the uture o Korean characters born in the 21st century be?

Can you see these characters with the amilies o the 22nd and 23rd centuries?

O course, new characters will be born, but you cant orget the ones you grew up with.

Interview by Robert Koehler

udents learn animation at the

hungkang College o Cultural

dustries.

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N & B R U S H

Awoman keeps a living lizard on the tip o her tongue.Te time skippers jump rom one timeand one

placeto another. A man risks his lie growing a

merciless gingko tree under his nger while a magician joins the

ause o a young giant who wants to be a cat. In a homogeneous

ociety that squeezes everyone into a mold o conormity and

redictability, these type o characters may sound not just

nathomable but dangerous.

Writer Kim Un-su turns those potential monsters lurking in

n imaginary modern-day Korea into the subject o compassion

n a page-turner that heralded the advent o another standard-

earer or a new Korean literary wave.

Te Cabinet, which earned Kim the prominent Munhak Dongne

terature grand prize in 2006, is now bidding to join the ranks o

Asian classics as it reaches out to readers outside o Korea.

It was introduced to Chinese readers by a Shanghai-based

ublishing company in 2009. A French translation was

ompleted and published in France this April under the French

ame Le Placard.

Te Literature ranslation Institute o Korea, which operates

nder the wing o the Ministry o Culture, Sports and ourism,

hose it as a priority Korean novel deserving o translation and is

lanning to translate it into English.

Te lead character o this 344-page novel, a Mr. Kong working

t a research institute aliated with a public company, nds

imsel having become an inadvertent custodian o the 13th

abinet sitting in the reerence room o the institute. Te

abinet was originally under the care o Dr. Kwon, a mysterious

KIM UN-SUAuthor oTe Cabinetexamines the hypercompetiviness o Korean society

Written by Moon Gwang-lip

Written by Moon Gwang-lip

hotographed by Roy Cruz

man who entrusts Kong with managing X-les o marginalized people c

symptomers that he kept inside the cabinet.

Te symptomers, which the writer admits got some inspiration rom

AttalisA Brie History o the Future, are not just mutants or losers o nat

selection but oreshadow the Neoanthropinae that will take over human

the lords o the Earth in the not-so-distant uture, according to Dr. Kwo

Te implausible yet ascinating stories o the 375 symptomers kept in

cabinet come to light one by one by in Kongs narration as the abnorma

protagonist goes through improbable riendships, ventures, and jeopard

own.

Due to its clever adoption o surrealism, an approach that has been un

in the realistic tradition o Korean literature, the novel draws a parallel b

the 41-year-old writer and such vanguards o magical realism as Gabriel

Marquez and Haruki Murakami.

Mirroring Korean Society

Kim calls it simply a Korean novel that straightorwardlyor reversely

Korean society.

Tis is a society where everybody competes so hard to eat and live. T

why such changed human beings cannot but be born here, said Kim in

interview in Busan, his hometown.

Looking back, many people that I met in my 20s and 30s were all like

Tey all looked exhausted.

A month aer his book was translated into French, he was invited to t

Louis Book Fair in Alsace, a northeastern border region o France, with

Korean novelist, Cheon Un-yeong. Tere, he saw people living in very d

conditions than in Korea; people would invite riends over or dinners t

lasted seven hours.

He had a an meeting in Alsace and was asked by a French an wheth

symptomerslike Mr. Ok Myung-kuk, an architect in the 13th cabinet

claims that he came across his doppelganger in Sillim-dong, southweste

and had sex with him; or Mr. Kwak in Bonghwa, Gyeongsangbuk-do, a

who sleeps 172 days nonstop and awakes aer his amily has held his u

by-products o their own boredom.

Kim said he ound the question intriguing, as no one asked it in Kore

gured that in a slow society like Alsace, people may try to be someone

out o boredom. In a ast-paced society like Korea, boredom is a luxury

Korean people have a deeply entrenched psyche that they have to run a

throttle speed all the time. Tey ear that once they all behind, they will d

said. It is a society o hyper speed.

Everybody is eager to get admitted into Seoul National University, th

said, reerring to the prestigious college, which used to symbolize the be

French translation oThe Cabinet

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6

Korean society and is still a source o rustration and resentment or many in the nation.

Every school is ranked rom top to bottom. Every student is measured by how good

GPA they have. Once they graduate rom college, they compete to have an apartment

n Seoul. Tey see everybody else has one, so they eel like they also need to have one. It

s a atigue society.

Opting Out

n such a hypercompetitive society, he remains as an exception.

Graduating rom what he calls the most neglected o high schools at the time in

Busan, he stayed away rom college or several years, pursuing a writing career in

etween short stints.

He said that it never occurred to him that he had to settle into society by such eorts

s seeking a stable job. He once taught at private institutes or teens, and there were

right students in his class, six o them the best test-takers in each o their schools.

I asked them what they wanted to do in the uture, and nobody there knew exactly

which major they wanted to study at which college, let alone which job they wanted to

ave in the uture. Tey just wanted to surpass other students. Tat is the raison dtre

or many people in Koreacompeting to prove themselves, Kim said.

He said he was lucky that he did not all into that trap. I knew what my dream was

arly on. I was 17 and I realized that I wanted to be a writer, he said.

Te wandering years aer high school gave him a perspective on society and lie,

valuable asset or a writer, but writing was constantly disturbed by his day or night

obs. He wanted to become more systematic about realizing his goal o becoming a

roessional writer and nally went to college at the age o 26. He enrolled at Kyung Hee

University in Seoul with a major in Korean literature and continued his studies through

raduate school at the same college.

Armed with a growing knowledge o literary theory, he continued to produce writing

uring his college years, nally launching his ocial literary career at the age o 31. His

ovella Farewell to Fridaywon the annual literary contest hosted by the Dong-a Ilbo

ewspaper in 2003.

A ollow-up success, however, did not come quickly, and his eight or nine eature-

ength novels written since 2003 went unnoticed.

Beore I turned 35, I thought that I may have a special soul like that o [Fyodor]

Dostoevsky, but as I screwed up with several novels, I realized that I am not that special,

Kim said.

Te epiphany shied his ocus rom his ambition to become a literary giant that would

write convoluted novels to the stories, which are precious in and o themselves.

Tat worked well, he said.

Te Cabinet, one o the 112 entries or the 2006 Munhak Dongne award, earned a

nanimous decision rom such talented panels including writers Lee Seung-woo and

eon Kyung-rin, the rst time such unanimity was reached by the awarding panels in the

istory o the literary awards d oled out by the publishing house. Kim said he nally elt

N & B R U S H

that he had become an author when he nished writing Te

Cabinet. Kim went on to write, and his 2010 novel Te Plotters

earned him greater ame with Korean readers. Te Plotters, a

story about assassins, is now being made into a movie in Korea,

and an English translation project is also in the works. In June,

he publishedJab, a collection o nine short stories, to avorable

reviews.

Te person o Kim Un-su can be sloppy, but the story thatKim Un-su writes can be great. Tat is what Te Cabinetis

really about, Kim said. A novelists job is not to talk about

himsel but to keep in store very beautiul stories in a cabinet

and pull them out to show them to the people who need them.

In 2009, he moved his base rom Seoul to Jinhae, a small

Gyeongsangnam-do city now incorporated into Changwon.

It is only an hour away rom Busan, and he requents his

hometown port city to see his amily and do the rese

needed or his upcoming novel.

He is now working on a story based on his childho

experiences. He was born in Gamcheon-dong, Busan

cluster o shanties dot the steep hills. In recent years s

rediscovered the area, calling it Koreas Santorini or

landscape. In act, it is one o the most poverty-strick

in Busan and has been home to many leaders o orgagangs which are inamous across the country.

It is a rural area within the city, Kim said. Some

acquaintances told me had told that I could write a no

the experience o living there, but I didnt like the ide

now, I am more attracted to such a story than the sto

Cabinet. I I had liked a story o a ca in the past, no

the story o a dabang(traditional teahouse), he said.

Dr. Kwon said that thetime had come or the humanspecies to give way. Will

humans leave history the

way dinosaurs quietly le the

stage? Why? Well, it seems

they are ed up with the very

civilization they built. Whata laugh! Environment does

not even matter here; it is

the very order they created

themselves that pushes them

to go. Next!Le Placard, p30

1.Jap (2013), a collection o

2. The Plotters (2010)

3. The Cabinet(2006)

1 2 3

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1

When alpinist Kim Chang-ho describes the sensation o being atop the peak oMt. Everest, its not quite what one might expect. In lieu o breathtaking viewsand a billowing sense o accomplishment, what Kim describes is a gruesomecene o a slow, delirious death by asphyxiation, brought upon by the peculiar nature o his

atest eatclimbing all 14 eight-thousanders (the 14 peaks in the Himalaya and Karakoram

mountain ranges that exceed 8,000 meters above sea level) without bottled oxygen.

Past the 8,700-meter point, I couldnt control my own body, says Kim. I was almost at

he peak, and when I tried to pull mysel together, my breath elt as though it had stopped,

lost control o my bowels, and my sense o memory and time seemed like a choppy black-

nd-white lm reel.

Tough thousands have succeeded in climbing Mt. Everest as o 2013, ew have done

o without supplemental oxygen, and even ewer have successully climbed all 14 eight-

housanders with this limitation. Having completed Everest as the nal, 14th peak this past

May, Kim is the rst Korean to achieve this accomplishment and an international record-

E O P L E

1

1. Kim makes his way up Mt. Everest without

the aid o bottled oxygen.

2. Kim in his o-mountain attire.

setter or astest completion, having completed the eat over a span o seven years, 10 months, and

six days. Te only other Koreans to have successully conquered all 14 peaks are Park Young-seok,

Um Hong-gil, Han Wang-yong, and Kim Jae-soo, but none have done so without the aid o bottled

oxygen.

But what makes Kims eat even more impressive is yet another sel-imposed limitation on his

expeditionthe complete rejection o motorized transportation. Tough many climbers employ

quick transportation to base camp, Kim, keeping true to his slogan o rom 0 to 8,848, started at

0 meters (sea level) rom the Indian Oceans Bay o Bengal, kayaking 156 km, cycling 893 km, and

walking 162 km to Everest Base Camp beore embarking on the actual climb.

I wanted to rise to the challenge with human ability alone, says Kim. Climbing the Himalayas

requires something more than just tough stamina or strength o mind. I needed to become one

with the mountaineven the calluses on my heels yearned or and devoted themselves to climbing

Mt. Everest.

Dangerous Territory

However, even with such rigorous preparation, Kim says that

the aer-eects o his climb were debilitating. Known as the

death zone, prolonged activity at heights o over 8,000 meters

above sea level are reported to have a crushing eect on even the

most well-trained human body.

At such altitudes, the human body acts on its instinct to

survive, says Kim. Tis means that the body cuts its losses by

abandoning nonessential organs arthest rom the heart and the

brain. Te rst ones to go are toes, ngers, and ears.

Even when saely out o the death zone, Kim says that the

body is unable to immediately regain normal unctionality rom

the deadly eects o oxygen-deprivation, making the descent an

exponentially dicult task.

I couldnt drink a single sip o water, let alone eat, says Kim. I

couldnt even speak properly or two days aer the expedition.

Te most dicult chapter o the expedition, however, wasnt

the atigue; on the last day o the descent, May 21, 2013, tragedy

struck Kims team as ellow climber and teammate Suh Seong-

ho was discovered dead in his tent, presumably due to hypoxia

and extreme exhaustion.

It was the most dicult time in all my 24 years o climbing.

Suhs death didnt seem realit still doesnt, says Kim. Seong-

ho was 10 years my junior and together we climbed 11 o

the eight-thousanders. We spent the better part o each year

sleeping in the same tent, working or the same goal. More than

a teammate, he was a brother, and no accomplishment can ll

the void he has le behind.

8

FROM 0 TO 8,448Mountaineer Kim Chang-ho and his unaided ascent to becoming the Kingo the Eight-Tousanders

Written by Max Kim

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Written by Robert Koehler

Scenic seaside trekking course is an exercise in healing

YEONGDEOKBLUE ROAD

Wind arm near Sunrise Park Yeongde

R A V E L

0

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R A V E L

2

Places to Eat

In Yeongdeok, the snow crab

is king. The best places to

score crab are the fshing

ports o Gangguhang

and Chuksanhangthe

ormer alone has 300 crab

restaurants. Many sellers can

even ship crates o crab to your

home, ofce, or anywhere you want them.

Admittedly, crabs require some skill to eat,

but restaurant sta will usually help you out.

Where to Stay

Downtown Yeongdeok and the

port o Gangguhang have a

good many motels and hotels,

although nothing especially

ancy. Many homes along thetrail serve as guesthouses,

too. The most intriguing

place to stay, though, is the

campground (T. 054-730-6337) near Sunrise

Park. Here youll fnd ten colorully decorated

capsule houses. Be sure to reserve ahead

o time as they can fll up quickly.

Getting There

Buses to Yeongdeok depart rom Seouls

Dong Seoul Bus Terminal (travel time: 4

hours, 20 minutes).

MOR

Seoul

Jejudo

Yeongdeok

H iking along Koreas scenic East Sea coast is a supremelysalubrious experience. Te rereshing wind, the sound othe waves as they crash upon the beach, the smell o thealt water, the splendid sunrises over the ocean horizonit soothes the

oul, i only or a weekend. Reconnecting with nature, we at last eel

whole, our spirit rejuvenated.

Stretching along the entire coast o the southeastern port town o

Yeongdeok, the Blue Road is one o Koreas most popular hiking trails.

And not without good reasonthe 64-km route takes you through

eautiully bucolic scenery, including striking ocean vistas, picturesque

ills, and quaint shing villages. Trow in a meal o the towns legendary

now crabs, and youve got all the makings o a spiritually invigorating,

ulturally rewarding, and gastronomically satisying travel destination.

Road o Healing

n January 2013, the Korea ourism Organization asked Korean Internet

sers to name their top 100 tourist sites in Korea. Yeongdeok Blue Road

laced 12th, a reection o Koreans growing desire or healing, or

ositive, healthy liestyles to overcome the stress o todays extraordinarily

ompetitive ones. On the Blue Road, hikers can become one with the

erdant hills and the green-blue sea extending as ar as the eye can see.

Te Blue Road runs rom below the port o Gangguhang in the south

o Goraebul Beach in the north. All told, the course stretches 64.6 km,

ut it has been broken down into our smaller sections that take around

ve to six hours each to walk. I youre planning to hike the whole thing,

et aside at least two days.

Land o the Snow Crab

Te most popular o the Blue Roads sections is Course A, a 17.5-km

trek along the coastline o southern Yeongdeok. Most hikers begin

at Gangguhang, a scenic shing port that takes in the lions share o

Yeongdeoks snow crab catch. While in town, youll be tripping over

restaurants serving snow crab, Yeongdeoks signature dish and the

towns best-known product nationally. A decent-sized crab can be a

tad expensivethe best variety, the bakdalsnow crab, can sell or over

KRW 100,000but their rich meat makes or sublime eating. Crabs are

usually served steamed.

Te highlight o Course A is a beautiul wind arm near the end o

the trailits especially lovely at sunrise and sunset. Another highlight

is Sunrise Park, which oers vistas o the sea rom its blus.

At 15.5 km, Course B ollows the coasts clis rom Sunrise Park to

Chuksanghang, another major crabbing port. Tis is a very pleasantcourse that brings you right up to the sea itsel. Chuksanhang is much

like Gangguhang, except with even more rustic shing port charm. Its

also a very good place to enjoy a post-hike meal.

Course C takes you all the way to Goraebul Beach, the northern end

point o the Blue Road. Along the way youll pass Goesi-ri raditional

Village, the ancestral home o the Yeongyang Goesi branch o the Nam

clan, a Joseon Dynasty aristocratic amily. Its well worth the visit

some o the homes are over 200 years old.

A recent addition to the Blue Road, Course D ollows the pretty

coastline south o Gangguhang. Te highlight o this stretch is a lovely

little pier built above the green-blue sea.

1. Snow crab market in Gangguhang, the primary port o Yeongdeoks

snow crab catch. Yeongdeok County Hall

2. Green-blue seas along the Yeongdeok Blue Road. Yeongdeok County

Hall

A

Y

s

G

T

V

2

1

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EAGER CHUNGJU TAKESON THE ROWING WORLD

Written by Kim Tong-hyung

1

4

P O R T S

Chungju is a quiet town in the countrys interior thateven its most committed residents would describeas sleepy. However, it does have a distinguishingttraction in the beautiul and huge angeumho Lake, which

s at the center o the citys plans to rebuild itsel as a dynamic

ub or water sports and leisure.

Te lake is the venue or the 2013 World Rowing

Championships, to be held rom Aug 25 to Sept 1 and seen

s an important audition or Chungju in attempting to

eintroduce itsel as a tourist destination.

Chungju is only the second Asian city to host the rowing

worlds, which took place in Kaizu, Japan, in 2005.

At the time o this writing, organizers said about 2,000

athletes rom 80 countries had expressed their commitment

to compete in Chungju. Tis is more than the 68 countries

represented at the 2011 event in Bled, Slovenia, which had been

the largest world championship by participation.

We spent three years preparing this event, which we believe

will provide the platorm or Chungju and the province o

Chungcheongbuk-do to emerge as an international destination

or water sports and tourism. We will do our best to make sure

this happens, said Kim Jeong-seon, secretary general o the

events organizing committee, in the weeks beore the event. He

stressed that the quality o the acilities and the way the design

blends well into the beauty o the natural surroundings makes

angeumho Lake one o the worlds best venues.

Local Interest

Te municipal government spent around KRW 67.2 billion(about USD 60 million) to build state-o-the-art acilities at

angeumho Lake, including a 2.25-km rowing course and a

spectator stand capable o seating 1,100 people.

Also notable is the oating, 1.4-km concrete bridge installed

on the rowing course. Seven meters wide, the bridge is capable

o holding broadcasting vans and other television equipment,

which organizers believe will enable more exciting ootage

or V broadcast. Accommodations have been sprea

23 acilities providing some 2,000 rooms, many o wh

disability-riendly and provide childcare services or

with children.

All o the rowing events take place over a straight 2,0

course and vary rom those eaturing solo rowers to cr

eight. In the open category, all athletes can participat

o weight; in the lightweight category, men are not al

surpass 72.5 kilograms and women 59 kilograms in we

It remains to be seen whether the World Rowing

Championships in Chungju will spark local interest i

sport, which barely registers in the public consciousn

Te list o strong rowing nations is heavy with Eur

ones, including the traditional powerhouse o Britain

United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia h

been successul in the sport.

Te Korean presence has been close to anonymous

the perormances o athletes have been improving.

At the Samsung World Rowing Cup in Australia in

Ji Yoo-jin won a silver medal in the womens lightwe

scull, while her teammate Lee Hak-beom won a bron

mens lightweight single scull, representing the count

medals in a World Cup event.

Both Ji and Lee are part o Koreas 13-member team

Chungju, led by head coach Yoon Yong-ho.

Great Britain, which topped the medal table in the

the 2012 London Olympics, appears once again as th

watch in Chungju. Britains rowers are targeting a mi

three medals at the tournament, which they see as a p

or the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

1. Athletes train hard or the 2013 World Rowing Championships.

2. Championships venue on Chungju's Tangeumho Lake.

2013 World Rowing Championships brings the worlds best to Korea

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PUNGMULTURNS ON THE CHARMGovernment eorts to rejuvenate Korean percussion music are paying o

Written by Yim Seung-hye

ERTAINMENT

Despite the scorching summer heat on a recent

Saturday evening, a group o Koreans wearing red

and yellow traditional clothing were all in a sweat,

umping up and down, turning their heads around and around,

nd beating their traditional instruments to the rhythm at the

Nam Insa Madang in Insa-dong, central Seoul.

Tey are the members o the Yeonheedan Palsandae, a

ungmul(traditional Korean olk music and dance) band,

ne o several groups that have been holding ree traditional

erormances or the public since June 8 as part o the Ministry

o Culture, Sports and ourisms Oulmadang Pungmulsaesang

project to revitalize the traditionalpungmul.

As the memberseach wearing a hat that has either a long

white ribbon, a large tassel, or eathers attached to the end

turned their heads around and around, the audience cheered

and clapped in amusement.

I cant believe how they can manage turning their heads

around so close to each other without getting their long

ribbons tangled, exclaimed Helen Bain, 67, rom Australia,

who was in Seoul on a two-week holiday with her husband. Its

6

just amazing. Te rhythm and the energyits just killing the

summer heat. Ive never seen such a perormance beore.

Yamaguchi Hiroko, 33, rom Japan, also said that shes been

to many K-pop concerts throughout her ve visits to Seoul but

that it was her rst time to see a traditional perormance.

I just happened to walk by and had to stop my journey to

watch the show, said Yamaguchi. My riends and I started

dancing up and down together with the beat. It's so interesting.

Te Yeonheedan Palsandae members knew how to please

oreign audiences, not orgetting to greet oreigners in their

language. Last year, the group also participated at the annual

Tames Festival in London, putting them in the limelight.

During Saturday's show, which lasted about 50 minutes,

Yeonheedan Palsandae showed o their repertoire opungmul

perormances.

Although it may not have been the rst time or most locals

to witness such traditional perormances, they were busy

pressing the shutters o their cameras.

Kim Joon-sik, 42, rom Seoul, who came to Insa-dong with

his wie and two children to take a look at the traditional

market, said he last saw a traditional perormance as a high

school student many years ago.

Back then, I watched the show because it was compulsory.

I didnt know traditional perormances were this exciting,

said Kim, who had his six-year-old daughter hoisted on his

shoulders to give her a better view. Its such a great opportunity

or my kids to watch the show, not in a dark concert hall but

outdoors among people, to experience the whole atmosphere.

Hand in Hand in the Heart o the Capital

Gina Guarracino, 39, rom Italy, gave a thumbs up at the stage,

shouting out, Bravo! as the perormance came to a

She said she lmed the whole perormance with he

camcorder so that she can show her amily and rien

home.

Ive heard a lot about traditional Korean ood, dan

music, but Ive never imagined it would be somethin

amazing as this, said Guarracino with a laugh. I ee

couldnt record when we did thatgang gang. . . you k

holding others hands thing.

What Guarracino was reerring to is theganggangs

a traditional Korean circle dance play that involves w

around in circles, hand in hand. Gathering the audie

together to join hands or the ganggangsullae is the s

repertoire o Yeonheedan Palsandae when it closes th

Te Ministry o Culture, Sports and ourisms Oul

Pungmulsaesang, which runs under October 20, is h

our more locations: Culture Station Seoul 284 (the o

Seoul Station in central Seoul), Dongseong-ro Outdo

Stage in Daegu, Gugok Falls in Gangwon-do, and Sun

Naganeupseong in Jeollanam-do. en dierent tradit

perorming groups will hold 20 perormances at each

during this period.

According to Park Jeong-gyeong, an arts and scien

researcher at the ministry, an average o 400 people g

perormance at the Culture Station, 200 at Insa-dong

Daegu, 100 in Suncheon, and 50 in Gangwon-do.

As the Gangwon-do perormance is held by a wat

its quite dicult or people to just stop by and watch

show like people do in Seoul, said Park. Considerin

circumstances, we believe the project so ar has been

successul, said Park.

1

2

1. Pungmul show in Seouls Insa-dong district. 2. Korean drumming at Suncheons Naganeupseong Fortress.

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based on two dozen criteria including disability access,

the existence o publications and databases, the presence

o privacy policies, security policies, contact inormation,

and the number o online services. In 2012, the United

Nations E-Government Survey also placed Korea at

the top o the e-government world rankings, despite

an overall trend o international improvement and

increasing competition in the previous two years.

Open System Benefts SMEs

Among recent success stories is Korea On-Line

E-Procurement System (KONEPS), operated by the

countrys Public Procurement Service. Described by the

PPS as a single window or comprehensive inormation

on procurement o all public organizations, providing

one-click online service or government procurement,

KONEPS is one o the largest e-commerce systems in

the world. By 2010 it already surpassed global on-line

commerce giant eBay in terms o trade volume, achieved

between some 44,000 public entities and 228,000

suppliers. In the rst hal o this year, KONEPS clocked

up trade o 43.8 trillion won, an increase o 6.2% over

the same period in 2012 (the Korean governments entire

spending budget or 2013, by comparison, amounts

to 342 trillion won). Particu larly encouraging was the

act that small and medium enterprises, which ace sti

competition in the Korean business ecosystem dominated

by large conglomerates, accounted or no less than 70.5%

o this gure.

But perhaps the most convincing endorsement o

KONEPS is its unprecedented international success.

As o the end o 2012, Korea had signed MOUs with

19 countries worldwide on e-procurement. Vietnam,

Mongolia, Costa Rica and unisia have imported

the KONEPS system itsel, while additional MOUs

on e-procurement knowledge sharing and system

establishment were signed in July this year between Korea

and Indonesia and Algeria. A previous MOU between

Korea and Italy on cooperation was also renewed. A 2011

report on mobile government published jointly by the

OECD and the International elecommunication Union,

meanwhile, cited South Korea as a model example o a

mobile public procurement service provider.

Promising Statistics

KONEPS is not the only Korean e-government

enjoying success overseas, however. In August l

MONSIS, a Mongolian version o Korean stati

KOSIS (Korean Statistical Inormation Service

on-line in the giant central Asian state. Built as

Koreas ocial development overseas program,

is a one-stop portal oering access to a wide ra

ocially approved government statistics. Statis

the government agency that operates KOSIS, p

the launch o MONSIS as a springboard or co

overseas exports o comprehensive statistics pr

and distribution systems.

Korean e-government is now attracting more

than ever among other Asian countries. Early i

a delegation o high-ranking Vietnamese oci

Seoul or a two-week e-government training se

becoming the tenth such group to do so this ye

visiting delegations so ar in 2013 have include

rom Bahrain, urkey and Uruguay.

As telecommunication inrastructures impro

worldwide, making the switch to e-governmen

easible and desirable than ever beore, Koreas

status in the eld looks set to ensure continued

o its cutting-edge systems and the orging o n

international relationships.

C I A L I S S U E

Written by Ben Jackson

8

2

Got a product or service to sell to your

government? I so, you may be bracing yoursel

or a storm o paperwork and a bureaucratic

eadache. But the days when government bureaucracy

meant bundles o paper documents, rubber stamps and

ong queues at oces with awkward opening hours may

oon become a thing o the past, thanks to the ever-

eveloping array o e-government services available

round the world.

Korea is now rmly established as a global leader in

e-government. Having set itsel ambitious targets early

in the 20th century or e-government service provision

and usage in a bid or greater eciency, openness and

convenience, the country now oers its citizens the chance

to access government bodies and deal with bureaucratic

matters on-line in a wide variety o areas. By 2006, Brown

Universitys Annual Global E-Government Study was

ranking Korea rst globally in terms o e-government

Koreas world-leading e-procurement and other electronic government services going romtrength to strength at home and abroad

BRINGING BUREAUCRACY INTOTHE 21ST CENTURY

1. Visitors take a look at some massive Samsung LCD screens at the

Procurement Expo 2012.

2. Delegates gather or the Global e-Government Forum 2012 in Se

1

2

3

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1

conditions have caused people to turn to traditional markets.

Although items at the traditional markets may appear less

clean and attractive than those at the large retailers, they

certainly are cheaper. According to NongHyup (the National

Agricultural Cooperative Federation), ruits and vegetables at

markets are usually 10 to 30 percent cheaper than at discount

stores, while sh can be between 20 to 50 percent cheaper.

Technology and Travel

Advancement o technology has also changed the scene o

Koreas autumn har vest holiday.

Many people share greetings and gratitude on their

smartphones through giicon applications, through which

they can send coupons that can be used as cash at various

retailers, such as coeehouses.

Jeong Gi-il, a mobile business manager at SK Marketing &

Company, said that downloads o giicon apps rose explosively

in the days leading up to Chuseok.

Young wives also resort to smartphone apps to prepare

the table or the ancestor veneration ritual, which can be

complicated and ull o rules that the younger generation may

nd hard to remember.

Koreas No. 2 mobile carrier, K, says that applications having

to do with Korean ancestor veneration rituals have topped

the popular app list every holiday period since the countrys

adoption o smartphones several years ago, right alongside

apps or road navigation and expressway trac congestion.

ravel patterns have also changed over the years. In the

past, Koreans would endure the hardship o crowded

and endless trac jams to travel downcountry to the

hometownsbut not anymore. Korea is seeing an in

number o cases in which parents living outside cities

the homes o their children in cities.

My in-lawswho live in Busanvisit us every oth

so that we dont have to suer the horrible trac ever

says Maeng Min-kyung, a 32-year-old working moth

And with the increasing number o single-person ho

in Korea, many are opting to travel overseas, get plastic

or stay home during the holiday. It is now a common sc

see airports packed with travelers during the holiday, an

tickets soar. Also, convenience stores have launched D

(lunchboxes) or Chuseok, targeting single-person hou

0

1. A very busy Bujeon Market in Busan just ahead o the Chuseok holiday.

2. A amily uses an app to prepare the Chuseok ancestral rites table.

3. Many Koreans return to their hometowns or the Chuseok holiday.

Chuseok, the holiday sometimes reerred to as KoreanTanksgiving, is all about amily.It is one o two major holidays in Korea (theother being the Lunar New Year) that traditionally see people

making a mass exodus out o the city to meet their amilies in

their hometowns.

Tere, they catch up, indulge in traditional homemade ood,

and most important o all, pay respect to their ancestors by

visiting their graves and engaging in sacred oering rituals

calledjesa and charye.

But although some things remain the same, times have

changed. KOREA Magazine examines some o the latest trends

o the jubilant estivities o this Korean harvest estival season.

Back to the Markets

Aer years o government campaigns to promote traditional

markets, Korean wives have nally begun to return to

traditional markets to prepare meals and tables orjesa and

charye. Tis comes aer many observers voiced concerns

over the decline o traditional markets amid the rise o large

discount stores run by conglomerates.

Over the past several years, the Korean government has

mandated that large discount stores close on certain days. It

also distributed vouchers to its employees that can be used

at traditional markets. raditional markets also sought to

transorm themselves through various marketing campaigns.

Sales rose at least our times in days leading up to the last

years Chuseok compared to average days, said Han Seong-

sik, who has been running a ruit market in Bangsin Market

in western Seouls Banghwa-dong. Fruit is traditionally placed

on tables or ancestor veneration rituals.

Figures also support this trend. E-mart and Lotte Martthe

top two discount chainssaid that their sales during Chuseok

last year declined or the rst time. While the ormer reported

a 5.3-percent sales decline on-year, the latter logged a 1.7

percent sales decrease.

In contrast, sales o the Onnuri vouchers that can be used

at traditional markets were at their highest during Chuseok

last year. Jeon Nam, representative o butchers at traditional

markets, also estimates that sales at traditional markets

increased by 20 percent during last years Chuseok compared

to the year beore. He said that it appears sluggish economic

A 21

ST

-CENTURYCHUSEOKTe most traditional o Korean holidays isundergoing some changes

Written by Kim Hyung-eun

R E N T K O R E A

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MIT DIPLOMACY

P resident Park Geun-hye marked the 60thanniversary o the signing o the KoreanArmistice Agreement by thanking Korean Warveterans or their enormous sacrices.

I would like to show my respect or the supreme

sacrice and devotion o all war veterans who gave

their lives to protect the Republic o Korea, said Park

at a ceremony held at the War Memorial o Korea on

July 27. Te great spirit o all war veterans, including

UN soldiers and patriots, who devoted and sacriced

everything or the reedom and peace o this country, will

be remembered in our hearts orever.

President Park announced that the government

had designated July 27 as UN War Veterans Day to

commemorate the sacrices made by UN orces in the

Korean War.

President Park expressed her desire that the 60th

anniversary o the Armistice open a new era o peace and

hope on the Korean Peninsula. She urged North Korea

to abandon its nuclear program and make changes or

the lives and reedom o the North Korean people so that

peace on the Korean Peninsula could be built through a

trust-building process.

President Park also reiterated her call or a DMZ World

Peace Park in order to transorm the heavily armed area

into a zone or peace and trust and a starting point or

peace and the reunication o the Korean Peninsula.

Te ceremony, hosted by the Ministry o Patriots and

Veterans Aairs under the title Our Future ogether,

was the governments rst ocial unction to express

Koreas appreciation or the countries that helped out

in the Korean War. Some 4,000 people attended the

event, including leaders and representatives o the 21

nations that participated in the war, the Neutral Nations

Supervisory Commission, oreign ambassadors to Korea,heads o government organizations, citizens, students,

and the war veterans themselves. Included among the

attendees was New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and

Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary o the UN Economic

and Social Commission or Asia and the Pacic.

During the three-year Korean War, 178,000 soldiers

were killed and another 555,000 wounded.

President Park Geun-hye held a summit with New

Zealand Prime Minister John Key at Cheong Wa Dae

on July 27.

Prime Minister Key was on a visit to Korea to attend the

ceremony marking the 60th

anniversary o the signing

o the Korean Armistice

Agreement. President Park

noted the sacrices o New

Zealanders in the Korean

War, saying these sacrices

allowed South Korea to

saeguard reedom and

democracy and achieve

economic development. She

recalled that New Zealand

sent 6,000 soldiers to Korea

during the course o the war,

even though the country had

only about 10,000 troops at the time.

Prime Minister Key said he was very impressed by Koreas

impressive progress in democracy, economic development,and education in the six decades since the Korean Armistice

Agreement. He expressed certainty that remarkable

achievements would also be made during President Parks

tenure.

Noting the strong anity Koreans eel or New Zealand,

President Park said the two nations had great potential

or cooperation thanks to their complementary industrial

structures. She also noted that New Zealand was one

countries Koreans wished to visit most and that the 8

Koreans studying in New Zealand and the other 30,0

residing there was evidence o the brisk people-to-pe

exchanges between the two countries.

President Park expressed hope or e nhanced cooper

in science, technology, inormation, and communicati

through the Korea-Australia-New Zealand Communi

Ministers Meeting. She asked Prime Minister Key to p

assistance to Korean businesses so that they could part

in public transportation and electricity distribution-re

inrastructure projects in New Zealand. She also expre

or strengthened cooperation in national deense matte

the recent eectuation o the agreement between Kore

Zealand on the protection o classied military inorm

President Park also expressed gratitude or New Zea

unending support o Seouls North Korea policies. Prim

Minister Key noted

governments con

support, especiall

acilitation o con

dialogue with Pyo

Prime Minister

said the conclusio

Korea-New Zeala

was important gi

expectations o b

relations over the

years. He express

that such an agre

would be signed

early date conside

potential or collaboration between the businesses o

countries, the need to enhance the competitive edge

Zealand businesses currently at a disadvantage to burom Koreas other FA partners, and the potential b

to Korea o transers o New Zealand technology in t

agricultural sector.

President Park said the conclusion o such an agreem

promote bilateral trade and investment and suggested

countries pool their wisdom to come up with creative a

so that a FA could realize a balanced sharing o bene

2

SHOWINGAPPRECIATIONTO VETERANSPresident Park expresses hope that Armisticeanniversary can usher in new era o peace

BOLSTERING ALONG-STANDINGFRIENDSHIPKorea, New Zealand to boost already closecooperation

President Park (right) and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key (let)

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4

Encouraged by a boom in tourists, especially romChina, the Korean government is rolling up its sleevesto usher in a new era in the countrys tourism industryhat will see sightseeing become saer, easier, and more un.

According to the Ministry o Culture, Sports and ourism,he number o oreign tourists coming to Korea in the month

July was a record high o 1.23 million. Tis gure is a 22%

ncrease compared to a year ago.

Te number o Chinese tourists coming to Korea was

90,000 in July, up 83% on-year, as more direct travel routes

were introduced between Korea and China in addition to

oosening visa regulations or Chinese citizens.

In hopes o making things even better, the rst ourism

Promotion and Expansion Conerence hosted by President

Park Geun-hye and attended by various government ocials

and civilian expertswas held at Cheong Wa Dae on July 17,

during which a host o new measures aimed at improvingtourism regulations and inrastructure were announced.

Wider VAT Reunds

For starters, come January oreign tourists will be able to get

reunds on the 10% value added tax (VA) charged on their

hotel bills. Also, getting a reund o the VA they pay when

shopping will be easier; they can get the reund at 13 dierent

KOREAN TOURISM TO BECOMESAFER, EASIER, AND MORE FUN

Written by Kim Hyung-eun

Government lays out series o measures to improve the tourism experience

places in Seoul, not just at the airport.

Tis will cause tax revenues to drop by KRW 50 billion (USD

44,769,290) annually, but income rom tourism will increase

in general by about KRW 300 billion, Cho Hyun-jae, the rst

culture vice minister, said at the conerence.

In an eort to make tourists stay in Korea saer and more

pleasant, the Korean government will also set up a tourist

police orce within regional police administrations starting

in October. It will dispatch tourism police to popular

sightseeing areas like Myeong-dong, Insa-dong, and Itaewon

in initial stages and crack down on illegal activities targeting

oreign tourists.

Other measures include increasing the number o whars or

cruise ships rom the current three to 12 by 2020, allowing the

operation o casinos on oreigner-only cruises, and allowing

oreigners to purchase one condominium in Korea per year.

Also starting next year, more Chinese people will be eligible

or multiple-entry visas, which allow them to visit several times

within a certain period. Residents o Beijing and Shanghai, as

well as spouses and underage children o Chinese who already

have such visas, will be eligible. In addition, qualications or

multiple-entry visas or Southeast Asians will be eased.

Regional Governments Join in

Its not just the central government that is working to improve

the Korean tourism industry. Regional district administrations

are also attempting to make travel to Korea easier and more

convenient.

Te Seoul Metropolitan Government said on July 24 that it

has signed an MOU with Korea Exchange Bank (KEB

a comprehensive tourist inormation center within th

structure o KEB headquarters in Myeong-dong, a ho

tourists.

Under the agreement, KEB will provide the space

center to the Seoul government or ree or the next 1

Te Seoul government said that the centerslated to

sometime beore this magazine goes to printwill n

provide inormation to tourists but also run program

tourists can experience the traditional culture o Kor

Tis comes aer the Gangnam-gu Oce opened a

acility on July 26 near the Hyundai Department Stor

posh area o Apgujeong-dong in southern Seoul. I h

center will not only provide conveniences to oreign

but also introduce the charms o Gangnam through

tourism oerings and Hallyu (Korean wave), GangnShin Yeon-hee said at the opening.

Gangnamthe setting o singer Psys explosive glo

Gangnam Stylewasnt previously as popular to o

tourists as Myeong-dong and Insa-dong in the north

o Seoul. But with the song that captured the hearts o

worldwide, more and more tourists are ocking to th

according to media reports.

1

I C Y R E V I E W

1. Chinese tourists pose in Korean court clothes at an event at the Lotte De

2. A tourist takes in the K-pop display at Gangnam Tourism Inormation Ce

3. Automated departure system at Jeju International Airport.

2

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1

W ith Korea emerging as one o the worlds leadingcountries in terms o Internet connectivityand speed, the government is moving to comep with more eective programs to provide more ree Wi-Fi

wireless delity) Internet access zones across the country so

hat citizens can have better access to the Web.

In Korea, which counts some 23 million long-term evolution

LE) mobile network subscribers and has become the rst

dvanced country to pass 100 percent wireless penetration, ree

Wi-Fi services are likely to be expanded urther in the years

o come. Wireless broadband is a popular technology that

rovides high-speed Internet access or computer networking

access over a broad area.

Te Ministry o Science, IC and Future Planning

announced that it plans to increase the number o ree-o-

charge public Wi-Fi hotspots rom the current 2,000 to 12,000

by 2017, thus expanding its ree public Wi-Fi service to provide

nationwide coverage over the next our years.

As only 2,000 Internet access spots, including bus terminals

and hospitals, have been connected with ree Wi-Fi networks

so ar, the government plan is aimed at providing more ree

wireless Internet access zones around the nation and giving

citizens better access to the Web rom portable devices.

Te ministry plans to newly establish public Wi-Fi networks

ATIVE TECHNOLOGY

6

in 6,000 spots, mostly residents centers, health centers, and

welare acilities by 2016 and 4,000 more commercial Wi-Fi

zones by 2017, with emphasis on provincial areas rather than

the metropolitan regions.

Wi-Fi demand has been increasing rapidly due to the rise

in use o smartphones, tablet PCs, and notebook computers,

especially among the younger generation. In order to cope

with the trend, Korea had been oering wireless broadband

services in major cities. Also, many public restaurants oer ree

Wi-Fi during business hours. But 53 percent o the countrys

Wi-Fi spots are located in the metropolitan regions, including

Seoul, while the majority o other cities and remote areas have

remained underserved with regard to the service.

Ministry ocials say that expansion o Wi-Fi areas will help

ease nancial burdens on consumers and narrow the inormation

gap between people in Seoul and other cities.

Surpassing 100% in Broadband

A recent report says that the high-speed wireless Internet

penetration rate in Korea has surpassed the 100 percent

mark or the rst time among the member nations o the

Organization or Economic Cooperation and Development

(OECD), which means that every resident o Korea uses high-

speed wireless Internet service.

Recent OECD broadband statistics show that Korea

penetration rate o high-speed wireless Internet serv

100.6% as o December o 2012, thus ranking rst am

34 member countries. Te gure is nearly double the

average o 54.3%.

According to the report rom the Paris-based club

advanced economies, Korea edged out Sweden (98%

by Finland (87.8%), Japan (82.4%), Denmark (81.5%

(77.9%), and the United States (76.1%) .

Te rapid distribution o smartphones is viewed as

reason or the nations remarkable high-speed Intern

penetration rate.

High-speed wireless Internet services include those

by third-generation and ourth-generation smartpho

wireless broadband (WiBro), and wireless delity (W

LTE Subscribers Number Nearly 25 Mi

Te number o subscribers to the long-term evolutio

mobile network in the country amounted to a total o

million people in June 2013, according to the Ministr

Science, IC and Future Planning.

SK elecom, the country's leading mobile carrier, to

lions share with 11 million users, ollowed by K wit

million and LG U+ with 5.89 million.

With ree Internet access spots expanding to 12,000 by 2017, Koreas already impressiveT inrastructure continues to improve

Even More Wired

2

1. Koreas ubiquitous Wi-Fi lets people use their mobile devices uninterrup

2. KT workers build a Wi-Fi zone in downtown Seoul's Gwanghwamun area

3. A KT app lets users easily fnd nearby Wi-Fi zones.

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comprehensive materials to help the non-native learner o

Korean develop as extensive a knowledge o the language as

possible without actually stepping oot inside Korea. Outside

o the traditional grammar and language tutorials, students

can also learn through cultural materials such as Korean songs,

traditional music, K-pop, Korean olktales, and more. Tere

is also a shared web space where students can post writing

samples and videos o themselves speaking Korean to exhibit

their abilities in the language. Speaking contests are also held

to promote and celebrate the oundations success.

Materials can be acquired by registering online at the ocial

website, where there is a dictionary or students as well as an

email address to which students can send their questions about

Korean and Korea. Materials, ideas, and methods on how to

make classes more interesting are also available or instructors

who wish to improve their knowledge and teaching talents.

Expansion o Scope and Operations

Te King Sejong Institution Foundation not only ocuses

on education but also invests a great amount o resources

into unding proessors and academic experts in research to

continually develop our knowledge and understanding o the

complexities and beauty o the Korean language. Research is

done not only on the historical and linguistic nature

Korean language but also on how to make Korean m

understandable to non-native speakers.

Tis past July, the Ministry o Culture, Sports and

and the King Sejong Institution Foundation announc

they were allocating the administration o 23 branch

countries to Dongguk University in Gyeongju, eviden

the continuing expansion and ourishing o King Sej

Greats scholarly vision.

1

8

1. More and more oreigners are showing interest in learning the Korean la

2. Chosun University President Jeon Ho-Jong gives a diploma to a Vietnam

the King Sejong Institute graduation ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietna

O B A L K O R E A

In a 2008 presidential cabinet meeting, directions weregiven to take the next step in realizing the revered KingSejong the Greats dream by actively promulgating theKorean language across the world. A couple o years and

a revised governmental bill later, the groundwork was set

to launch a worldwide network o King Sejong Institutes,

academies designed to educate interested global citizens in

Korean language and culture. Although the start was small,

with only 22 institutions in 2010, growth and expansion was as

quick as anything else Korean, and the network now boasts 117

branches in 51 countries as o this past July. Clearly, the world

is quickly alling under the captivating spell o Sejongs creative

and scientic alphabet.

The Beginnings

Aer the idea or the King Sejong Institute was proposed, two

governmental branchesthe Presidential Council on National

Competitiveness and the Presidential Council on Nation

Brandingworked together to eventually orm the King Sejong

Institute Foundation, which became responsible or unding

and managing the institutes various branches in cooperation

with the Ministry o Culture, Sports and ourism

Te oundation determines the conditions or a regular

Korean academy to become an ocial branch o the King

Sejong Institute, which include minimum requirements as

to the size and breadth o the acilities and the academic

qualications o the instructors. Once an application is

submitted, a committee o advisory board members determines

whether or not to ocially sponsor it as a legitimate

representative branch. Once a branch is determined, it can

receive unding, sponsorship, and instructor allocation.

Aspiring instructors can apply or employment through the

headquarters and the institutes website, where training and

instruction will be provided should the applicant meet the

necessary qualications.

Learning Korean, Sejong-Style

All institutes oer a uniorm curriculum that can basically be

divided into Korean Language and Korean Culture. Tere is

also an extensive selection o non-classroom material available

online, including historical lessons on King Sejong, video

clips about Korean lie, video tutorials, and a variety o other

HANGEULS

GLOBALEXPANSIONKing Sejong Institutes bring the

Korean language to global learners

Written by Felix Im

Global Distribution o King Sejong Institutes

117 Branches in 51Countries as of July 2013

Europe 14 countries 23 branches Asia 22 countries 73 branches North America 3 countries 8 branches

Africa 5 countries 5 branches Oceania 2 countries 2 branches South America 5 countries 6 branches

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E A T K O R E A N

Written by Max Kim

ANDREW TAEGON KIMKoreas rst Catholic priest was a martyr or his aith

hough he was martyred at the early age o 25in 1846 amid strong anti-Catholic sentiment inheavily Conucian Korea, Koreas rst Catholicpriest and patron saint Andrew aegon Kims legacy is

widely recognized to this day. His struggle and eventual

martyrdom stood as a symbol not only o resistance but

also o the unbreakable will o the Korean laity, who are

credited as having ounded the Church o their ownaccord years beore Korea welcomed its rst oreign

missionaries.

Born in 1821 into a amily o Roman Catholics during a

time when Christianity was prohibited by the Conucian

monarchy or the threat it posed to traditional hierarchies

(primarily or their reusal to participate in ancestral

worship), Kim was amiliar with the persecution that

came with practicing the orbidden religion. Both his

great-grandather and great uncle were martyred or their

aith, and, concerned or his own amilys saety when

the threat o persecution worsened, Kims ather Kim Jae-

jun (Ignatius) soon took his amily to the mountains near

Yongin to avoid meeting the same ate as their relatives.

Teir new home in Yongin allowed the Kim amily

to practice their aith in stealth, helped by the act that

they were in proximity to a well-established Catholic

community. In such relatively nurturing surroundings,

Kims aith was able to ourish, but with so many male

amily members absent, poverty was inevitable.Aer being baptized at the age o 15 by a French priest

in 1836, Kim le to study at the Paris Foreign Missions

Society in the Portuguese colony o Macao, pledging with

two other seminarians to dedicate their lives to their aith.

Korea at the time was judged to be much too hostile to

oster theological education by the supervising French

priest, Saint Pierre Phillibert Maubant, who took the three

students under his tutelage, teaching them Latin and

0

otherwise preparing them or their theological studies. Father

Maubant and his ellow oreign missionaries eventually became

high-prole targets; the monarchy consequently captured and

tortured many Korean Catholics to track down what were

seen as vehicles o subversive oreign inuences. o quell such

unnecessary brutality, Father Maubant and two other French

missionaries eventually gave themselves up to the authorities

and were subsequently beheaded by the Hangang River in

1839, a tragic ate that Kim himsel would soon meet.

Final Martyrdom

Despite political unrest in Macao and health issues, Kim was

ordained a priest in 1845 by French Bishop, Jean Ferrol, and

returned to Korea to continue the work o his mentors in Seouland Yongin. However, his priesthood and missi on work soon

came to an early end; in June 1846 he was captured on the

southeast coast while trying to establish secret entry routes into

Korea or other missionaries and was eventually imprisoned

and convicted o treason. On September 26, Kim was tortured

and beheaded by the Hangang River.

His last words were, Tis is my last hour o lie, listen to

me attentively: i I have held communication with oreigners,

it has been or my religion and or my God. It is or H

I die. My immortal lie is on the point o beginning. B

Christians i you wish to be happy aer death, becaueternal chastisements in store or those who have re

know Him.

Seven years later, as Bishop Ferrol himsel aced d

physical deterioration, he said, You will never know

I was to lose this young native priest. I loved him as a

loved his son.

In 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized Kim along w

other Korean martyrs.1

1. Portrait o Father Andrew Taegon Kim. 2. Jeoldusan Memorial Church, a Catholic holy site where countless Korean Catholics were martyred in the 19th century.

3. Tile mural o Kim ound at Yangji Catholic Church, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do. Father Ju Ho-sik

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2

Axture o the Seoul diplomatic scene since 2008, theCzech ambassador to Korea, Jaroslav Ola, Jr., willsoon be leaving Korea. Well o course thats verydicult, he says about his departure. Because when you stay

somewhere ve years, you have created a kind o bond with not

only institutions but also persons. And Im pretty sure that I will

keep in contact with some o the people. And I will denitely

keep dealing in a limited way with Korea in the uture.

Staying Longer, Better Branding

Granted, Ola has been here longer than usual. Compared to

most ambassadors, who stay just our years in a host nation,

hes been here or nearly six. I eel that society has changed

signicantly in the 21st century and that longer terms or

diplomats are betterbetter or the nation they serve and

better or the host nation, he says. raditional diplomacy said:

you should be an observer and describe what you see to your

headquarters. Now you should be an active participant o the

daily lie o the host country, because i youre not participating

in whats going on, you cant really do your job.

It can be hard work representing a medium-sized nation in

Seoul, where there were 107 embassies as o August. For Ola,

nation branding is key to making a dierence. I dont have

to deal with big businesses so much, as Korea-Czech trade is

already going wellwe have big investments rom Hyundai,

Doosan, and GS Caltex, and they are well aware o our

potential, he says. But when going to SMEs or universities,

you must create a positive image o your country, and I think

Ive learned rom the Korean side about branding and how to

go into it strongly. I learned many things and used it to create a

better Czech-Korean understanding.

A Changing Nation

As any long-term resident o Korea can tell you, this is a

country that transorms quickly. A gentleman I was talking

with once told me that Seoul changes signicantly every

three years, and that somebody who hasnt been here in

the last three years has no idea what the city looks like,

Ola says, recalling just how much things have changed

over his ve and a hal years. Even coming in rom Incheon

International Airport, you see lots o changes on both sides o

the highway beore you enter Seoul, numerous new buildings,

plenty o new developments that were not there ve y

he says. And thats one o the things that surprised m

which I dont see in many other countriesthat spee

zeal or change. Its almost as i Koreans are living in a

ction lm, which may explain why they enjoy histo

dramas so muchwhen you already live in the uture

got to go back to the