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2011-01-09T16:31:00.000+09:00

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스타들, 주한 대사들 앙드레김 애도물결

2010-08-13T19:27:00.000+09:00

Diplomats, celebrities mourn icon

Friends, acquaintances and even influential public figures ceaselessly stopped by to pay respects to Korea’s fashion industry pioneer Andre Kim at the Seoul National University Hospital mortuary in Yeongeon-dong on Thursday and Friday.

The top South Korean designer died at around 7: 25 p.m. on Thursday after being treated for colorectal cancer and pneumonia. He had been fighting cancer for several months and was hospitalized at an intensive care unit last month due to deteriorating health.

The funeral parlor was quiet and solemn even though it overflowed with mourners and reporters.

Staff members of the Andre Kim Atelier, clad in black skirts and white blouses with puffed shoulders and bearing the Andre Kim signature label, were often spotted coming in and out to cater to the visitors.

Culture minister Yu In-chon arrived at the hospital around 11:40 p.m. on Thursday and offered his condolences to Kim’s surviving family members. Kim, who was unmarried, is survived by a son he adopted in 1982 and two grandchildren.

Andre Kim is seen in this 1992 photo with Princess Josephine- Charlotte of Luxembourg during his post-fashion show reception. The fashion show was from an invitation by the IOC. (Yonhap News)

Many actors, actresses, comedians and singers including Won Bin, Choi Bul-am, Yu Jae-seok, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Hee-sun, Jo Su-mi and Ha Chun-hwa visited the funeral parlor during the two days.

The fashion king was always very close with celebrities, as the main features of his fashion shows were always the top actors, actresses or sports stars of the moment. He had even established the Best Star Award in 2004 to award meritorious stars for their contributions to the development of the country’s popular culture and arts.

Foreign ambassadors and their wives and children often modeled for Kim’s shows as well.

“My wife and I were very good friends with Andre, he was very kind when we first arrived to Korea and his friendship with my wife blossomed throughout the years,” said Rafael A. Salazar, envoy from Guatemala. Salazar and his wife had modeled for some of Kim’s shows.

“We appreciate all that Andre did for our relationship with Korea. We will miss him very much. He was a good friend to us,” said Salazar.

“He was well known to the Australian Embassy and we express our deepest regrets. He is a man who contributed greatly to Korea’s cultural and social life over the past several decades,” said an Australian Embassy spokesperson.

The rites of placing Kim’s body in a coffin began at 5 p.m. Friday following the Buddhist tradition. The designer was Buddhist.

The funeral procession will leave the hospital on Sunday at 6 a.m. It will pass by his house, where he lived for more than 30 years, and then his boutique, followed by his new atelier that was built last year. He will be buried at the Cheonan Memorial Park in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Kim chose the site when he was alive because it is where his parents were laid to rest.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

앙드레김을 기억하다**

2010-08-13T19:25:00.000+09:00

Remembering Andre Kim, 'the magician from fairyland'

Veteran fashion designer Andre Kim, who died of pneumonia Thursday, aged 74, left some unforgettable, significant traces in fashion history.

Born Kim Bong-nam in Gupabal-ri in Goyang city, which is now included in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 24, 1935, Kim started to show his extraordinary talents as a teen, when he enjoyed sketching women in graceful dresses.

“There was no such word as ‘fashion’ or ‘designer’ at the time. I opened my eyes to clothes and art through movies,” Kim said in a TV interview in May 2006.

After graduating Hanyoung High School, Kim studied fashion at Kukje Fashion Design Academy and made his debute as a fashion designer in 1962, at the age of 27. He opened his boutique “Salon Andre” in Sogong-dong, the same year.

Kim was in the limelight from the very beginning of his career, being the first and only male designer for a long time. Kim carved his own path as a designer, proving how beautiful Western dresses created by a man could look on Korean women by dressing top actresses in the 1960s such as Eom Aeng-ran.

His glamorous gowns and wedding dresses were soon acknowledged around the world -- particularly after a successful fashion show in Paris in 1966. His creations were accorded rave reviews from French fashion editors, including one at Le Figaro who called him a “Magician from Fairyland.”

Korea at the time was still a “hermit kingdom” to many countries around the world. Andre Kim was one of the first Koreans to put the country on the world map.

After that pioneering step, Kim held fashion shows at least a couple times every year in major cities around the globe, including Washington, D.C., New York, Honolulu, Singapore, Jakarta and Los Angeles.

Kim became more adventurous as the years passed and chose exotic locations for his fashion shows that were known for their elements of fantasy. He was the first fashion designer ever to stage a gala fashion parade in front of the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Egypt, in 1996. The show was given the honor of the rare presence of Madam Susan Mubarak, the First Lady of the country.

He also held a show in front of another world-famous landmark, Ankor Wat in Cambodia, ten years later. The only cultural event held in Ankor Wat until then had been a performance by Jose Carreras in 2002.

Wherever the venue was, Kim mesmerized the audience with his stunning shows. They were known for featuring the top celebrities of the moment, including actresses Lee Young-ae, Kim Hee-seon, Han Chae-young, Kim Tae-hee, actors Jang Dong-gun, Song Seung-heon, Lee Byung-heon and even sports stars Lee Seung-yub and Lee Dong-guk. Showbiz insiders used to say that one finally gets approved as a star only after being featured as the main model at Andre Kim’s shows.

“Professional models are chic but they have limits in expressing feelings. Actors and actresses, on the other hand, can touch the audience by offering a dramatic show,” Kim said.

Up until his last show held in Beijing in March, Kim scrupulously took care of every single detail.

He died on Thursday from complications of pneumonia and colorectal cancer, at the age of 74. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)

“A fashion show is a total art. It should move the audience’s hearts as if they were watching the highlight scenes of an opera or a musical. That is why I personally write the scenarios, mix the background music and direct all of my shows. At the final rehearsal, I teach the models how they should act and make their facial expressions,” Kim said in May 2005.

For his splendid works and efforts to promote fashion, Kim was honored by numerous organizations during his lifetime.

Finalists of the "2010 Super Model Competition" come to pay respect to the late fashion icon Andre Kim at the Seoul National University Hospital on Friday. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)

Kim was selected as the main designer for the Miss Universe Competition in 1980, designed the Korean national team’s uniforms for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was invited by the International Olympic Committee to stage shows for the Olympics in Barcelona and Atlanta.

He was awarded the Order of Cultural Merits by the government in 1977, received the Culture medal from the President of Italy in 1982, and the Art and Literature medal from the French government in 2000. The mayor of San Francisco even declared Nov. 16 and Oct. 18 as “Andre Kim Day,” in 1999 and 2003, respectively.

His name became more of a brand in his later days. Kim had cultivated the Andre Kim brand, associated with luxury and romanticism, by lending his name to a wide range of goods including golf wear, eye wear, jewelry, underwear, children’s clothing, bedding, home lighting, porcelain dishware, household appliances, wallpaper, and even credit cards.

“The name is being used in various realms but I have a principle of collaborating with only the companies that fit into the image of my designs. Some private lenders and tobacco companies recently made some offers but I declined them,” he said in an interview with a local newspaper in May, 2009.

The designer Andre Kim was very thorough at work, reading 19 newspapers and watching news from five different channels every morning. But Andre Kim as a private person was rather artless and pure.

The lobby scandal in 1999 -- in which Lee Hyung-ja, wife of Sindonga Group president Choi Sun-young was alleged to have lobbied wives of high-profile figures with expensive garments -- unexpectedly reversed the public’s prejudices about the nation’s most famous designer that he must have made a fortune selling overpriced clothes to the wealthy.

At the hearings, which Kim had to go through because garments he designed were involved in the scandal, it was revealed that Kim only used fabrics made in Korea, was an honest tax payer and that he still worked in a rented boutique.

“I learned a big lesson from the scandal, that there is always a good end if the person is honest. No matter how unfairly you are treated, or how much you suffer from misunderstanding, it will be turned into a blessing and truth will be revealed in the end if you hang in there, being honest,” Kim said, ten years after the scandal blew over.

Kim became more of a celebrity after the scandal, in a good way. The public felt closer to Kim -- partly because his rather rustic real name was revealed during the hearing -- and everything about him was the talk of town, from his makeup, hairstyle to the way he decks out in all-white, something he maintained since 1974. His unique way of speaking, especially, inspired many comedians.

“I found it a bit unpleasant at first, because I thought they were ridiculing me. But seeing people racing toward me to ask for my autograph whenever I went out, I feel like I am becoming a star. Now I consider it as a sort of popularity. Although I cannot find one who perfectly mimics me, yet,” he would say with a laugh.

He never married but adopted an 18-month-old boy in 1982. Kim Jung-do, his adopted son, was the designer’s treasure. Kim received attention for how hard he cried the day his son married in February 2004.

The fashion maestro still had more dreams to pursue and believed he would live longer, just as his fans had also hoped for.

“Georgio Armani, who is one year older than me, still actively works without having named a successor. I think I can focus on creating my works for at least the next 10 years. And then I will think of naming a successor,” he said in an interview last year.

“Later on, I would like to make a documentary movie about ‘Andre Kim.’ It would be great to leave a record of my fashion world.”

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

미디어 시티 서울 2010 어떨지?

2010-08-13T19:23:00.000+09:00

Media City Seoul to seek trust in media art

Among art biennales and fairs set to take place in Korea’s major cities in September, one in Seoul will shed light on media art.

“Media City Seoul 2010,” one of the few international biennials in the world to focus on media art, will kick off on Sept. 6 at four venues in central Seoul, including Seoul Museum of Art, Gyunghuigung Annex of Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul Museum of History and Simpson Memorial Hall in Ewha Girl’s High School.

Established in 2000, the biennale hosted by Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by Seoul Museum of Art aims to strengthen the image of Seoul as a capital of technological development. It had changed the name to “Seoul International Media Biennale” in its second year, but returned to its original name this year, its sixth.

“We did not want to give off an image as a one-time event by using the name biennale. So we are going back to the original name, to ruminate about how we had aimed to turn the whole city into an exhibition venue,” said Kim Sun-jung, artistic director of the event and vice director of Artsonje Center, at a press conference on Wednesday.

A man participating in Blast Theory’s outdoor project “Ulrike and Eamon compliant” at the 2009 Venice Biennale listens to orders given through his cellphone. Media City Seoul

The event may not cover the entire city but it does cover the central Seoul area around Gyunghuigung and Deoksugung.

“The event used to take place only in Seoul Museum of Art but expanded to using three more venues. This year’s Media City Seoul will be the best in both quantity and quality,” said Yoo Hee-Young, director of Seoul Museum of Art.

This year’s theme is “Trust.”

“Media and individual lives have become inseparable. Overflowing sources of media continue to redefine and alter everyday life and we have to choose what to see and what to trust. Now would be a timely moment to reexamine our basic notion of media,” said Kim.

Three curators -- Clara Kim, director and curator of Gallery at REDCAT in Los Angeles, Nicolaus Schafhausen, director of Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, Fumihiko Sumitomo, curator at Arts Initiative Tokyo -- selected works by 46 artists from 21 countries.

Some of the participating artists will be familiar to media art fans, such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the Palme D’Or winner at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival.

Other names, however, might not immediately ring any bells because they are not known much as media artists. Instead of using new media, they use various forms of media, including “old media” like magazines, newspapers, photographs, urban detritus and sounds.

As well as indoor screenings of the exhibits, the event will also experiment with outdoor projects which require visitor participation. In one interactive artwork titled “Ulrike and Eamon complaint” by Blast Theory visitors have to wander around the Jeongdong area following orders given to them through distributed cellphones.

The outdoor projects are supported by the British Council.

Media City Seoul 2010 runs from Sept. 6 to Nov. 17. Admission is free. Audio guides are available in Korean and English. For details, visit www.mediacityseoul.org.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

미디어파사드: 랜드마크로 거듭나는 새로운 방법

2010-08-06T16:41:00.000+09:00

Media facade: New way to become landmark

Those who set foot in Seoul for the first time via train in the evening will be dazzled for a moment to see the brightly-lit Seoul Square building right across Seoul Station. Its whole front side turns into a giant electronic canvas after 8 p.m. everyday to show luminous media works such as Julian Opie’s “Walking People” and Yang Man-gi’s “Mimesis-scape.”

Kumho Asiana Main Tower in Gwanghwamun (Kumho Asiana)

Installed in November 2009, the 99 meter wide and 78 meter long media façade on the face of Seoul Square is the world’s largest and it may soon be listed on the Guinness Book of Records.

Media works by five more artists in addition to Opie and Yang -- Mun Gyung-won, Kim Shin-il, Ryu Ho-yeul, Lee Bae-gyung and group mioon -- colorfully light up the 42,000 LED light bulbs dotted on the façade everyday until 11 p.m.

Since Tuesday, a new show titled “Seoul Square Clock Project” has been added to the playlist. Nine graphic artists -- Cho Young-sang, Lee Gyu-man, Park Jeong-sik, Kim Ji-seon, Seok Chang-geon, Park Ho Yeon, Won Ki-hun, Gang Se-hyun, Mun Yong-ho -- created 7 minute-long-works inspired by time or clock. The works are showcased every 59 minutes past the hour.

“Composed of various numbers and clock motives, the art clock offers a unique visual experience. It will also work as a convenient public clock,” said Yeom Yeon-hwa, an official at the Seoul Square Media Center.

Many buildings throughout the world are competitively having media façades installed on their outer walls. The most famous ones like Dexia Tower in Brussels -- which used to be world’s largest until Seoul Square came along -- Millennium Park in Chicago and the Chanel building in Tokyo have all become the cities’ newest landmarks.

Led by Seoul Square, buildings with big and small media façades are rapidly becoming landmarks in Korea as well.

Bus and taxi stops in front of Seoul Station on which eye-catching media art flows continuously is called “Art Shelters.” It is a donation by Hyundai Card to the public to add to the area‘s brilliant ambience created by Seoul Square.

Kumho Asiana Main Tower in Gwanghwamun literally shines among buildings in the area with its 91.9 meter long and 23 meter wide media façades titled “LED Gallery” on its front side.

In southern Seoul, many buildings including GS Tower in Yeoksam-dong and Galleria Department Store in Apgujeong-dong light up the area.

Lotte Department Store’s Gwangbok branch became one of the landmarks of Busan as soon as it opened in December 2009, not only for its unique design, which resembles a ship, but also for the media façade which covers all of its outer walls, consisted of 400,000 LED bulbs.

In Sangam Digital Media City, which is Seoul Metropolitan Government’s ambitious digital media entertainment business cluster project in northwestern Seoul, six out of 22 buildings have media boards installed on them.

It is actually mandatory for companies that plan to construct buildings near Digital Media Street -- the main street in the DMC -- to install media boards on the outer walls.

“The purpose is to raise the brand value of DMC by showcasing something that only DMC can do. As each company has different functions, each media board will be designed to fit different identities of the companies,” said Jin Jae-hun, head of the DMC Management Team.

This media façade craze is welcome news for media artists, who were not so popular in the art market compared to artists of other genres. It is likely that they will be offered more opportunities, according to art insiders.

“The media façade on Seoul Square was made to showcase media art. We display contents made by artists and graphic designers. This could lead to great opportunities for the artists,” said Yeom.

Building owners also benefit by adding such artistic touches on their buildings.

“The building becomes a landmark when a media façade is installed on it. It is great PR. Then the occupancy rate of the building rises, leading to profits. The occupancy rate of Seoul Square actually jumped soon after Morgan Stanley bought the former Daewoo building -- today’s Seoul Square -- and installed the façade,” said Kim Min-ju, president of Read & Leader Consulting Corporation.

Media façades usually consist of LED lights which are less bright than lights used on regular electronic display boards.

“When comparing the same color, the brilliance of LED lights is less than one-tenth of the same lights used on regular electronic display boards. They do not make eyes sore nor cause harm to the buildings nearby,” said Yeom.

“I really like working near Seoul Square. It was difficult to make time to enjoy artworks in the city, but now the media façade offers some great things to see on my way home from work,” said Lim Jae-wan, an office worker who works in a building near Seoul Square.

However, some still voice concern over light pollution. Acknowledging such complaints, Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the Media Façade Guideline on Sept. 1, 2009. All buildings that are to install media facades have to pass deliberation council by the city.

“Now is only the beginning of the media façade trend. We expect to see many more in the future, and it would not be a pretty sight if media façades were imprudently installed everywhere and the city overflowed with flashy advertisements. The guideline aims to have artistic and emotionally satisfying media façades in the city which do not cause harm to the drivers or the pedestrians, cause light pollution or spoil the beauty of the city,” said Lee Myung-gi, head of the Public Design team at Seoul Metropolitan Government.

One of the major guidelines reads: “Only artworks are allowed on media façades. Advertisements, designs that have no artistic value or harm beautiful and fine customs are restricted.”

“Some buildings that use media façades for advertising were already built before the guideline was announced. In the case of BK Dongyang Plastic Surgery Clinic in Sinsa-dong, for example, we told them to make adjustments to the content of the media art and they brought a new design draft. We are currently reviewing the draft,” said Lee.

But opinions are divided concerning the formation of the deliberating council members and how exactly artistic value could be evaluated. The deliberating council currently has 13 members -- 12 lighting experts and one media façade expert.

“It is a sensitive matter, but we do sometimes think that it is illogical for lighting experts to give assessments about artworks, especially when artistic values are supposed to be subjective,” said Yeom.

“Some of the deliberating council members are lighting experts but there is also a media façade expert, Chung-ang University professor Kim Hyung-gi who studied media facades in Paris. We are planning to have one more media art expert to join the council on January, although the lighting experts also do have basic knowledge about media facades. And media arts on the facades do not necessarily have to be ones by professional artists. Only if the works are not detrimental to the public interest, there is no particular reason they could not pass the deliberation,” said Lee. 　

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

국립현대미술관 정창섭전 리뷰

2010-08-06T16:39:00.000+09:00

Chung’s mulberry papers create cultured calm

The second exhibition room in the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, seems like an ideal world of tranquility that exists far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, especially after walking past Paik Nam-june’s flashy media work “Samramansang” which is installed near the room.

Monotone paintings by veteran artist Chung Chang-sub fill the walls there, amazingly turning the place even more serene and simpler than when it was void.

Chung, one of the first graduates of the College of Fine Arts at Seoul National University and currently an honorary professor there, is one of the doyens of Korean art. After his successful debut in 1952, winning the special prize at the National Art Competition, Chung led some of Korea’s important art movements such as Art Informel.

Ironically, however, the “Chang-Sup Chung Retrospective” is his first-ever solo exhibition held at a national museum.

“This might be his last one, too, because he is in critical condition. He never enjoyed presenting himself or cared much about promoting his works. That’s probably why he is less known compared to his close friends like Park Seo-bo or Kim Tschang-yeul. Now is the time that a national museum shed light on his works,” said Lee Sun-ryung, curator of the exhibition.

Chung Chang-sub

Like the artist himself, his artworks are the kind that do not make a strong first impression but reveal much more by not expressing too much. His last series, “Mukgo,” which means the thoughts of silence, is the epitome of Chung’s works.

The secret to his calm but profound paintings is “dakjongi,” or Korean traditional paper made from mulberry bark.

A view of the exhibition “Chang-Sup Chung Retrospective” (National Museum of Contemporary Art)

“Chung practiced Informel paintings after learning the basics of Western painting but was not fond of the gooey and thick texture of oil paint. So he tried to come up with ways to naturalize the texture, like by painting it thin and runny as possible. And one day in the mid 1970s, he met his fate, dakjongi,” said Lee.

“The shades and colors of the works vary although they may be the same kind of dakjongi. The artist hand-dyed dakjongi to bring out the exact color and shade he wanted and made the wrinkles one by one after placing them on the canvas.”

A docent program for the hearing-impaired runs every Wednesday and Saturday, based on reservations.

Musician Hwang Byung-ki’s mini gayageum, or 12-stringed Korean zither, recital will take place at the exhibition hall on Aug.14, which will perfectly harmonize with the exhibition.

The exhibition runs through Oct. 17 at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Tickets are 1,500 won for students and 3,000 won for adults. For more information, call (02) 2188-6000 or visit www.moca.go.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

국립현대미술관 아시아리얼리즘 전시 리뷰

2010-08-06T16:35:00.000+09:00

Asian realism blurs fact and fiction

We expect to find the truth in realism paintings. But seeing the works displayed at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Deoksugung, in central Seoul, that does not seem to be always the case, especially if they were created during extraordinary situations like war.

The museum is currently showcasing 104 realism paintings from ten different Asian countries ― South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and India ― at the exhibition “Realism in Asian Art.” All exhibits, except the paintings by Korean artists, are shown in the country for the first time.

Kim In-hye, curator at the museum and Joyce Fan, curator from the National Art Gallery, Singapore, co-organized the exhibition. A smaller scale exhibition featuring 79 paintings was held in Singapore in April.

“Organizing the exhibition depended a lot on the nation’s political and diplomatic situations. It was most difficult to bring artworks from China while it was smoother with India, because Korea is having good relations with the country after signing a free trade agreement. The officials in India lent us some paintings that they did not allow to be exhibited in Singapore,” said Kim.

“We also considered getting paintings on loan from North Korea, although it did not happen for many reasons. One of them was that we could not contact any North Korean scholars to discuss the paintings with. We thought it was not fair to select works solely based on our point of views,” said Kim.

“Rice Planting” by Filipino artist Fernando Amorsolo National Museum of Contemporary Art

Displayed artworks meticulously reflect the countries’ political, economical and cultural situations at the time, or sometimes intrigue the viewers to search for the real truth hidden under the thick layers of paint.

“Courtesan” by Japanese artist Takahashi
Yuichi National Museum of Contemporary Art

Among the exhibits, a state-commissioned war painting titled “Engineering Corps Constructing a Bridge in Malaya” by Japanese artist Shimizu Toshi is a good example of a realism painting that stretched the truth.

The painting shows Japanese soldiers building a bridge in Malaysia, which the British army had destroyed, in order launch an attack on Singapore in 1942. The artist, however, included locals helping the Japanese soldiers in the painting to glorify the professed intent of the army that the construction was carried out with the ultimate aim of liberating Asia.

Hanging across from the painting is Singaporean artist Koeh Sia Yong‘s “Persecution,” which depicts the massive purge of ethnic Chinese there by Japanese soldiers, a painful moment in Singapore’s history. The positioning of the two paintings renders the Japanese artist’s point of view a bit strange even if one is not aware of the exact history of the time.

“Most of the official war paintings were taken from the colonizer’s view. We must remember what such paintings were for. They were to promote the wars and to justify their actions. When you look at the Japanese paintings and other paintings taking different points of views, you can realize which is by the aggressor and which is by the victim,” said Fan.

Although all exhibits obviously fall into the “realism” category and are from the same continent, each work features a unique style derived from the artists’ traditional cultures.

Japanese artist Takashi Yuichi, for instance, used multiple layers of white lead to depict the rosy cheek of the woman in the painting “Courtesan.” It was a technique often used in Japanese traditional paintings. Vietnamese artist Nguyen Gia Tri, on the other hand, added layers of lacquer to better express black and gold colors. It was a traditional style of painting in Vietnam.

The exhibition runs through Oct. 10 at The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Deoksugung, in central Seoul. Tickets range from 2,000 won to 5,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2188-6000 or asia.moca.go.kr

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

복원된 광화문 공개임박

2010-08-06T16:34:00.000+09:00

Restored Gwanghwamun gets final touches

The restoration of the panel on Gwanghwamun bearing the historic gate’s name is expected to be finished Saturday.

It will be shown to the public on Aug. 15, Korea’s Liberation Day, during the unveiling ceremony of the new Gwanghwamun.

Oh Ok-jin, master engraver and Intangible Cultural Property No. 106, announced on Tuesday that he had completed engraving each of the three Chinese characters for “Gwang-hwa-mun” on the name panel.

Together, these three characters carry the meaning, “Bestowing the great virtues of a king upon the nation and its people.”

“The panel will be attached to Gwanghwamun on July 31 after receiving final Dancheong touches,” said an official from the Cultural Heritage Administration. Dancheong is the traditional multicolored paintwork on wooden buildings.

“But the signboard will be covered with fabric until Aug. 15 because the day is when the restored Gwanghwamun will be officially open to the public for the first time,” he added.

This new name panel, a restored version of the original signboard that was written by Lim Tae-young, head of the Gyeongbokgung reconstruction team and general in 1867, will replace the former one with former president Park Chung-hee’s handwritten Hangeul letters on it. This change is part of the Gwanghwamun restoration project that started in 2006.

The gate has more than 600 years of a stormy history. It was first built in the beginning of the Joseon dynasty during the reign of Taejo, Joseon’s first king, as the main gate of his palace, Gyeongbokgung.

Gwanghwamun, which has been under restoration since 2006, will be unveiled on Aug. 15, Korea’s Liberation Day. Yonhap News

But it was burnt down during the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. Although it was rebuilt under the orders by Heungseon Daewongun in 1864, it was moved to make room for the Japanese Government General during Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

Gwanghwamun was burnt down once again during the Korean War and was reconstructed during the Park Chung-hee government but in a modified way. The current project aims to recover Gwanghwamun’s original form.

Oh is following four steps to recreate the signboard as close to Lim’s as possible, based on a photo from the early 20th century that the National Museum of Korea restored in 2005.

First, five to six professional calligraphers meticulously revised the letters on Lim’s signboard shown on the photo. Then the revised letters were enlarged, made into life-size prints and glued to the wood that would be the new name panel. Oh then engraved the letters in the wood.

These three steps took about 20 days. Now there only remains the final step: Dancheong.

The new signboard will be almost exactly the same as the original one in its size and material, said the officials.

Approximately 428.5 cm wide, 173 cm long with 54cm long wings on the bottom part and 110cm wings on both sides, the signboard is the same size as that of Park’s or Lim’s.

Geumgang pine, which was used to build palaces since the Joseon dynasty and is also assumed to have been the main material for Lim’s signboard, is used again this time.

Meanwhile, some Hangeul academies are still arguing through rallies and media that the characters on the new name panel should be in Hangeul and not in Chinese.

But the Cultural Heritage Administration is standing firm.

“It is a principle that the sign panel should be restored just like what it looked like when Gyeongbokgung was restored. This is the deliberation results from the Cultural Properties Committee,” said Kim Won-ki, head of the Administration’s royal Palaces and Tombs Division.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

에르메스미술상 최종3인 후보 전시중!

2010-08-06T16:33:00.000+09:00

Hermes award finalists display work

Three finalists of this year’s Hermes Foundation Missulsang, or art award, are showcasing their works at Atelier Hermes in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. The final winner, who will take home a plaque and a prize of 20 million won ($17,000), will be selected after the second deliberation on Sept. 2.

Established in 2000 to promote Korean culture and art through sponsorship for the artists, the annual award has put many talented artists such as Kim Beom, Suh Do-ho and Park Chan-kyong in the limelight.

This year’s finalists ― Yangachi, Bae Jong-heon, Park Jina ― were narrowed down from 10 nominees by five judges including Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi; Ahn Kyu-chul, artist and professor at Korean National University of Arts, Seoul; Song Mi-sook, honorary professor at Sungshin Women’s University; Saskia Bos, dean of Cooper Union, U.S.; and Stephanie Moisdon, independent curator.

Sponsored by the Hermes Foundation for new projects, the three finalists offer some peculiar and creative works at Atelier Hermes.

“The Mountain of Casper David Fredrich” (right) and “The Sea of Joseph Mallord
William Turner,” both by Bae Jong-heon Atelier Hermes

Media artist Yangachi introduces a multi-view video series titled “Bright Dove Hyunsook” which is an extension of his recent “Surveillance Drama” series. The new series showcases various points of view including a human’s, a bird’s and several CCTV cameras’.

“We become different people depending on whether we are at work, with parents, friends or a lover. When you look at people from a multi-view, like from a bird’s point of view, then a human’s and then a CCTV’s, you can understand why people are acting in such a way at the moment,” Yangachi told the press last Thursday.

“Measuring Level” by Park Jina Atelier Hermes

In the series, a Korean woman named Hyunsook wears a hat with a dove on top and wanders around the neighborhood in Buam-dong in central Seoul and in Dosan Park, just in front of Atelier Hermes, swinging her arms and making dove-like noises.

“Doves and CCTVs are very alike. They are numerous in the city, people hate it when they are too close but just ignore them when they are not so near,” Yangachi added.

The installation view of Yangachi’s media work “Bright Dove Hyunsook – Dove view”
Atelier Hermes

Inspired by the global climate change issue and fed up with the vague weather forecasts and research, Bae proposes a new project, “A weather forecast,” to question how the scientific analysis of observing and studying natural phenomena has come to control our lives and society.

Bae Jong-heon

One of the most interesting works of the project is “My own weather forecast” in which Bae appears on the TV screen to give the day’s weather forecast for different spots inside his house using his homemade gadgets.

Park Jina

“I didn’t want to make any obvious, outdated works so I created things based on my own personal experiences,” said Bae.

Two of his automatic installations ― “The mountain of Caspar David Friedrich” and “The sea of Joseph Mallord William Turner” ― which he took from Friedrich and Turner’s masterpieces are eye-catching as well.

Yangachi

“I found it interesting how Friedrich thought of nature as a subject to conquer while Turner considered it as greatly powerful. Personally, I think humans are destroying nature. You will see what I mean when you take a look at the works from behind,” said Bae.

Looking from behind, visitors will be surprised to see that the paintings were done on a canvas made from wastes like ramen and cracker packages connected together.

Park’s works are relatively monotonous, compared to Yangachi and Bae’s adventurous works, but unique in their own way. She took snap shots of people installing artworks at a gallery or an art museum, getting ready to hold an exhibition, and painted the scenes on canvas.

“Art museums and galleries are spaces that have special purposes. They are made to be considered as familiar but actually change all the time. I wanted to capture the special place,” said Park.

The 2010 Hermes Foundation Missulsang Exhibition runs through Sep. 19 at Atelier Hermes on the third floor of Maison Hermes Dosan Park in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. For more information, call (02) 544-7722.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

언어의그늘_스페인현대미술특별전 리뷰

2010-08-06T16:32:00.000+09:00

Spanish collection marks relations with Korea

Spain has much more than just its incredible World Cup-winning soccer players. Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, better known as MACBA, is another of Spain’s sources of pride.

Established in 1995, MACBA has a rather short history compared to other prestigious national art museums around the world. But thanks to MACBA founder and director Bartomeu Mari’s foresight, MACBA soon became one of the world’s most acclaimed museums specializing in conceptual art.

“The Shadow of Speech” exhibition, currently underway at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, is offering visitors the chance to see 138 brilliant conceptual art pieces by 68 European artists, straight from the MACBA collection. The exhibition is celebrating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Spain and Korea.

“Speech signifies that one is alive. But before it is spoken, language cannot make shadows by itself because it cannot be seen, like air. It can only make shadows when it is spoken,” said Mari at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

The exhibition implies that language can be spoken not only through speech but also through artworks, movies and more. Most exhibits have little twists that either make visitors laugh or deepen the intended message.

Divided into eight divisions ― “It Starts In Poetry,” “Towards Writing,” “Towards Another Geometry,” “Towards Actionism,” “The Political Action,” “Media And Power,” “The Future Of Cinema”and “Theatre And Play” ― the exhibition invites visitors to see an array of paintings, installations and media art. These can all be considered results and shadows of speech ― in a unique European way of thinking, the organizers said.

“Construction of the Matrix” by Francesc Torres MACBA

The first three divisions showcase works that are literally about language and speech. Marcel Broodthaers, a Belgian artist and poet, visualized poetry by coloring the words in poems black and merged old fashion 16mm film in another work to criticize poetry.

Tapies Antoni, a renowned Spanish informalism artist, expressed a profound message about the components of words through his metaphorical work “Cross and R” in which most of its materials ― sand, fabric, stones, paint and pencil traces ― are in their original state and visible on the canvas.

It is in the “Towards Actionism” section that the exhibition starts to get extra philosophical. Some Spanish artists seem to be still affected by the trauma of the dictatorial Franco regime which took place in Spain from 1938 to 1978.

“Vassels: Worship of the Mother” by Eulalia Valldosera
MACBA

Francesc Torres’ work “Construction of the Matrix,” which was first shown at the 1976 Venice Biennale, is a good example of the influence of the regime.

Torres built a small hill made of sand, rocks and empty bullet shells to symbolize the regime. A bible, which the regime was established upon, and the Communist Manifesto, which the regime was strongly opposed to, each lay open under lamps on opposing slopes. The most astonishing part of the work is the faint silhouette of a fetus projected on the hill, just below a pair of dangling scissors.

“The time was when the Franco regime was about to collapse and new things were about to begin. The fetus, which symbolizes the future of the nation, was to be born as soon as its umbilical cord was cut off, but no one was sure what it would be like,” said Kang Soo-jung, curator of the exhibition.

Another Spanish artist Reimundo Patino resisted the dictatorship by painting a cartoon titled “The Man whoSpoke Vegliota” using the Galician language which was forbidden in Spain at the time. The painting, of course, could not be shown in public back then.

“You can see that, in a way, Spain and Korea have a very similar history,” said Kang.

A less serious but also a meaningful piece is “Vassels: Worship of the Mother” by Eulalia Valldosera in the “Theatre And Play” section.

Valldosera created shadows that appear like female silhouettes by placing detergents in front of beam projectors. Her whimsical way of lining up different sized bottles to express a mother getting fatter as she ages and weakens through time makes visitors realize that the very items women use when doing housework resembles their figures.

The exhibition runs through Oct. 3 at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Tickets range from 2,500 won to 5,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2188-6114 or visit www.moca.go.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

2010 베니스 건축 비엔날레 한국관 작가+커미셔너 인터뷰

2010-08-06T16:30:00.000+09:00

Seoul’s past, present and future to be shown in Venice

A discussion between six middle-aged architects over the final details about the Korean pavilion was heating up Atelier 17, Kwon moon-sung’s architect office in Yangjae-dong, southern Seoul.

Kwon, commissioner of the Korean pavilion for this year’s Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition, and the five architects -- Cho Jung-goo, Lee Sang-koo, Lee Chung-kee, Shin Seung-soo, Hah Tesoc -- who will be representing the nation in Venice from August to November, have been holding more than 50 meetings like this during the past five months.

“Barcity vs citybar” by Shin Seung-soo Shin Seung-soo

“The biennale is just one month away. Now is the busiest time. We usually hold meetings late at night around 10 p.m. because we all have to be at our jobs in the daytime. Today’s an exception,” Kwon told The Korea Herald.

Founded in 1980, Venice Biennale is one of world’s three major biennales along with the Sao Paulo Biennale and Whitney Biennale. The art exposition takes place on odd-numbered years, while the architecture exhibition takes place in the even-numbered years.

Korea and Japan are the only two Asian countries among 25 nations around the world that have their own pavilion at the prestigious architecture festival. This year is the seventh time that Korea is participating in the biennale. Led by director Kazuyo Sejim, the 12th biennale is to be held under the theme “People meet in architecture” from Aug. 29 to Nov. 21 at Castello Gardens and Arsenale in Venice, Italy.

Kwon chose the theme “Re-place-ing, Documentary of Changing Metropolis Seoul” for the Korean pavilion.

“We picked a theme that is familiar to Koreans but could pique the curiosities of foreigners. It is an interesting procedure how Seoul changed its look as it went through rapid economic growth, a concentrated population, the Korean War and more. The exhibition will particularly focus on the historical meanings, influences and the future of apartment houses and public spaces,” said Kwon.

The Korean pavilion will be in a form of a “Hanok,” or traditional Korean-style house, because the experts agreed that it is probably the original form of Korean-style architecture. Kwon said that he also hopes the place will act as a resting place for the Biennale visitors.

The Korean pavilion will be set up like a Hanok that visitors can take a rest in. Cho Jung-goo

“The Korean pavilion is placed at the end of the Biennale venue. So if visitors circle around the place, our pavilion will be at the mid-point. We hope the visitors can meet in the Korean pavilion,’” said Kwon.

An important task was to make the works by five architects to blend together and appear like something created by a single person or team. After numerous discussions, the architects came up with an organized format divided into three big sections, with each representing Seoul’s past, present and future. Each participant sat down to share their thoughts and introduce their works to The Korea Herald.

Section A -- “Seoul’s past” by Cho Jung-goo and Lee Sang-koo

Cho: People think Seoul is changing too quickly, leaving no original traces, but I know that the older parts of Seoul are still vividly present. It is important that we rediscover the values and treasure them as we develop the city.

(From left) Kwon moon-sung, Shin Seung-soo, Lee Sang-koo, Cho Jung-goo, Hah
Tesoc and Lee Chung-kee discuss the final details of the Korean pavilion.
Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald

I sought to be very meticulous in depicting the streets, alleys and buildings of the areas near the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, including Naesu-dong, Naeja-dong and Hyoja-dong, into a six meter wide and 3.8 meter-long pen drawing. It appears like a view you’ll see when you are flying.

One of the alleys is made into a miniature model, complete with tiny houses and yards. I wanted to show that the history of our city and the traces of our lives are still alive.

Lee: Cities are supposed to be made by the people who actually live there. But ever since the start of the 20th century, we started to live in cities that somebody else designed. I was, therefore, moved to look into cities that its own residents had created. It is important that we learn from what we already have.

Cho: It is also my job to turn the Korean pavilion into a Hanok. I am taking the wood from an actual Hanok that used to be in Hyehwa-dong and modifying the sizes a little bit. It will not be a full Hanok complete with a tiled roof, but you will be able to see the architectural essence from the wooden structures.

It is not only an effort to show the value of Hanok as a living space but also to show the ironical situation of Seoul, where some places like the Bukchon village well preserves the Hanok but other places virtually destroy the Hanok in the name of redevelopment.

Section B -- “Seoul’s present” by Lee Chung-kee and Shin Seung-soo

Lee: Section B aims to show how many parts of the city, which is several hundred years old, is getting erased and replaced in a flash. Seoul is a city of apartments. We will be exhibiting every possible research result and historical document about apartments in the nation’s capital.

One of them is a digital map depicting the number of apartment buildings. Because the dark circles represent the congested areas, the finished map turned out to look like Swiss cheese.

We will also display photos of apartment buildings along the Han River, which plainly reveal how they are blocking the mountains and the river. I am not trying to say that it is bad or good. It is just to show the facts.

Some interesting research results will be exhibited as well, like how long or high it will be when all apartments of the city are lined up or sideways.

Shin: Based on our research, when all of Korea’s apartments are lined sideways, it can go around the earth three times.

Lee: Or it can cover the whole city of Seoul.

Shin: I subtitled my part of the exhibition ‘space bar.’ Like how the space bar on the keyboard makes spaces between words so that the following word can be written down, public places provide spaces between apartments to enable the next apartment to be placed nearby.

Public places contain memories and conversations between people filling up the space. Considering the main theme of the biennale, “People meet in architecture,” I expressed how people meet at and use public spaces, using cartoons.

Our living spaces are pretty much blocked from others by retaining and soundproofing walls. This cartoon will be like a mini scenario about how we can get the fragmented individuals to communicate with each other and about the relationship between apartments, public places and external spaces.

Section C -- “Seoul’s future” by Hah Tesoc

Hah: The problem with today’s apartment buildings is that consumers have only one way, a very passive way, of getting an apartment -- moving into one that is ready-made by some architect. And there are only two or three models.

Because everyone lives in such a standardized space, the whole city seemed to be somehow shut up in anonymity.

So I am proposing a way that enables everyone to create their own apartments that perfectly fit into each of their lifestyles. This way, the city can exude a unique identity.

One can simply download the smartphone application I made for the phone and input it as one’s source for lifestyle information. Just the right type of neighbors and apartment units that perfectly match the user’s lifestyle will be suggested. As more information is collected, cities with different identities can be created.

A beam projector will shoot this whole city-building process onto all of the six walls in section C, turning the space into a virtual apartment. Visitors can participate with the smartphones equipped at the venue or at home with their smartphones.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

백남준 미망인 자서전 발간

2010-08-06T16:29:00.000+09:00

Paik’s widow reveals artist’s inner side

For an artist, his or her lover is one of the biggest inspirations.

Late Korean video artist Paik Nam-june and his Japanese wife Shigeko Kubota, who is also a video artist, were inspirations for each other.

“We often had the same ideas. I had to put my work ‘Duchamp’s Grave’ inside the house for quite a time and one day saw that Nam-june had made a work called ‘V-yramid.’ I asked him what it was about, and he said ‘I couldn’t help but see ‘Duchamp’s Grave’ everyday, whether I wanted to or not.’ He was inspired by my work,” said Kubota at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We were both artists but he was a philosopher and musician who is more symbolic and idealistic, while I majored in physical art like paintings and sculptures. I encouraged Nam-june to show his works to more audiences so that more people could enjoy his work.”

Kubota published the book, “My Love, Paik Nam-june,” which reveals previously unknown sides of Paik’s struggles, efforts and of course, their love story. Two authors, including Nam Jeong-ho, an international news editor at a local newspaper, helped Kubota organize her memories into writings.

The book starts with Kubota’s reminiscence of Paik’s very first performance that she saw in Tokyo, on May 29, 1964, which made her fall in love with the man.

Seeing Paik’s “grotesque” performance of throwing eggs against the walls, torturing two pianos with his bare hands, hooks and axes until they broke down, painting a picture with Chinese black ink using his head as a brush and finally drinking water from his leather shoes, Kubota “felt as if I had found an oasis in the desert of my mind, where there used to be only wind and sand,” she wrote in the book.

Shigeko Kubota speaks at a press conference held at The Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on Tuesday. Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald

“I loved him because he was so talented and was a genius. Even before I knew him, he was a legendary person in Tokyo. When you talked to him, you knew he was very special. He had knowledge about everything, from high art to low art,” said Kubota.

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Paik grew up listening to the piano his sisters played everyday, said Kubota. But whenever Paik hung around the piano, his father scolded him, saying that pianos are not for boys because they cannot make a living out of it. Not surprisingly, his father was furious when Paik announced that he would study music composition instead of law or business like his father told him to.

“That was only the beginning of his struggles as an artist. After his father died, Nam-june had no money. His mother used to say ‘spend money like water’ but Nam-june did not have money to do so. You know, it is easy to sell food in the supermarket but it is hard to sell art,” said Kubota.

Paik moved to New York, the mecca for artists, met Kubota, and the two fell in love.

“Being so poor, Nam-june didn’t want to get married and be responsible for his family but just wanted to concentrate on his art. That was his style of life, which I understood,” said Kubota.

Paik’s stubborn resistance against marriage broke down, however, finding out about Kubota’s uterine cancer. As Kubota had no insurance coverage in the U.S. and had to return to Japan for treatment, Paik proposed to her right away.

Another thing Paik was generous with, despite his lack of money, was buying materials for his works, Kubota remembered.

“One day, Nam-june brought home an ugly looking Buddha that he had bought at an antique store. Using it, he showcased his first ‘TV Buddha’ at an exhibition in Bonino Gallery, and it received great response. I thought ‘Oh, this guy is a genius.’ I couldn’t complain about how he uses money!” she said.

“This is a book for young artists to tell them to never give up. Everyone is poor in the beginning. Nam-june didn’t become a big artist in one day. Someday, it will happen to you. Art has more chance than Wall Street, you know,” added Kubota.

“There were a lot more sensational stories that Kubota told me, said Nam “But I couldn’t write it in the book because the people involved are still alive. The book still contains very dramatic stories.”

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

올리브앤코; 미술작품이 그려진 티셔츠

2010-08-06T16:28:00.000+09:00

Wear your art on your short sleeve

Some of Korea’s hottest contemporary artists have been offered a new way to promote their works -- through fashion.

Olive & Company, an apparel trading firm based in Korea, joined hands with Gana Art Gallery and Gallery LVS and launched a fashion brand named “Olivenco” last week.

The brand features T-shirts and bags featuring artworks by 13 artists such as Bae Bien-u, Seo Sukwon, Mari Kim, Wee Young-il and Kang Young-min.

“This will be an opportunity to familiarize the public with high-end culture and promote Korean artists in the world market,” said Olive Kim, president of Olive & Company, at a press conference last week.

While there have been collaborations between artists and companies that produce various goods like stationery, clothes, furniture and cars, the launching of Olivenco is notable because it is not another one-time project but a brand with long-term goals, aiming for the overseas market.

Artist Kang Young-min’s painting and T-shirts featuring his works Olivenco

The brand’s lines will be distributed worldwide through specialty chain stores which include GAP, Limited too, Express and Chico’s. Olivenco already inked a contract with GAP to export 2.5 million T-shirts to the U.S. market starting August or September.

Olivenco expects to make more than 12 billion won ($10 million) worth of sales per year through the exportations, explained Kim.

“We plan on increasing the number of participating artists to 100 with the help from Gana Art Gallery and Gallery LVS. Japanese artist Takashi Murakami leaped to fame after collaborating with Louis Vuitton. We want to set examples like that,” said Kim. 　

Once the artists successfully gain recognition in other countries through the T-shirt sales, the organizers will hold steady exhibitions for the artists there, said Kim. Olivenco will also work with non-profit groups such as UNICEF, Jeju Olle, Another Way of Seeing and World Art Therapy Association.

Olivenco products are sold through G market and at www.olivenco.com. T-shirt prices range from 49,000 won to 59,000 won. Offline shops will soon open at Gana Art Gallery in Pyeongchang-dong and at Garosugil in Sinsa-dong.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

아이들을 위한 여름방학 전시

2010-08-06T16:26:00.001+09:00

Cool off with the kids at exhibitions

One of the safest ways of entertaining kids who are already tired of the heat and bored with their long summer vacation could be taking them to a cool exhibition. Here are some exhibitions that are attracting the little ones.

Trick Art Exhibition

Water spills from cups and animals appear to be pushing through the walls -- all within the frames at “Trick Art Exhibition” currently underway at KINTEX in Goyang city, Gyeonggi Province.

The exhibition offers 160 paintings, media art and installations that create fun optical illusions. The key of making such trompe-l‘œil art is to make the painting as detailed as possible and to add a cover of special paint on top.

Divided into seven sections, the show covers pictures that feature animals, fish, dinosaurs, everyday objects and even parodied masterpieces.

Visitors make comical gestures in front of a painting at the “Trick Art Exhibition.”
Trick Art Exhibition

SBS Play Science Experience Exhibition

KINTEX is also holding an exhibition that teaches kids all about cars, science and nature. “SBS Play Science Experience Exhibition” is divided into two sections -- Kids Motor Show and Play Pump.

At the Kids Motor Show section, Kids can see the insides of real cars and learn the basic science of cars by watching and performing various experiments.

Children can also learn road safety rules, draw their dream cars of the future and drive racing karts at a specially prepared track.

The Play Pump section features a special device from South Africa that pumps up water when kids play with it, turning on the knobs. Kids can naturally learn about the importance of water and saving the environment as they play, surrounded by endangered animal characters.

Neverland

Supported by Crown-Haitai Confectionery Co., Korea’s second-largest snack maker, Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, offers a unique exhibition titled “Neverland,” which is packed with 100 paintings, sculptures, installations and video works by 20 Korean artists that feature crackers and snack boxes.

A gigantic helicopter hangs from the ceiling and various animal models such as sheep, goats and donkeys are placed in every nook and corner with comical expressions on their faces. They are made of materials familiar to children -- sweets and cracker boxes.

A related exhibition is underway at the gallery in Crown-Haitai’s headquarters office in Namyoung-dong, Seoul, as well. It aims to educate kids on various art and scientific techniques while looking at exhibits and listening to fairytales about snacks and crackers.

“Trick Art Exhibition” runs through Aug. 20 at the third hall in KINTEX in Goyang city, Gyeonggi Province. The nearest subway station is Daehwa station, line number three, exits one and two. Tickets range from 6,000 won to 12,000 won. For more information, call (02) 789-1009 or visit www.mbctrickart.com.

“SBS Play Science Experience Exhibition” runs through Aug. 22 at the second hall in KINTEX in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Tickets are 13,000 won each for Play Pump and Kids Motor Show. For details, call (02) 747-5811 or visit www.sbslovei.com.

“Neverland” runs through Aug. 29 at Hangaram Art Museum in Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul. Tickets range from 5,000 won to 8,000 won. For more information, call (02) 580-1300 or visit www.sac.or.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Germany opposed Japan’s plot to take Gojong to Japan

2010-08-06T16:26:00.000+09:00

Germany took regarded Japan’s attempt to take Emperor Gojong to Nagasaki during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war negatively, a note written by Kaiser Wilhem II deciphered yesterday shows.

Kaiser Wilhelm II’s handwritten message on the left side of the secret telegram sent by Saldern, German envoy in Seoul, to the foreign ministry in Germany on Feb. 14, 1905, expresses doubt about the plan, Jung Sang-su, research professor and lecturer at Myongji University, told The Korea Herald.

“It says ‘There will be no results.’ Considering Wilhelm II’s usual cynical way of saying things, it is likely that he meant that the transfer of Gojong would not easily be accomplished. We can see that he had a negative stance toward Japan’s plan,” said Jung.

A copy of the telegram that was sent by Saldern, the German envoy in Korea, to the German Foreign Ministry on Feb. 14, 1905. A handwritten note by Kaiser Wilhelm II is seen on the lower left side. Lee Sang-sub/ The Korea Herald

Saldern wrote in the telegram, “The Japanese are trying to transfer Gojong to Japan. Gojong refused, worried that he would not be able to come back.”

Several diplomatic documents, including the telegram dated Feb. 14, 1905, obtained by The Korea Herald show that Japan attempted to take Emperor Gojong to Nagasaki during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War.

According to the documents, Gojong resisted the plan and Russian Czar Nicholas II opposed it, but the British are said to have agreed to the removal the emperor as well as the annexation plan. Then-U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt postponed his decision on the establishment of protectorate over Korea but criticized the plan to remove Emperor Gojong. The documents also show how the Japanese viewed Emperor Gojong as a major obstacle to annexing Korea.

“I do not know the details about Japan’s attempt to take Emperor Gojong to Nagasaki. But it is not a surprise that Japan planned such a thing,” said Yi Seok, nephew of King Sun-jong, the last monarch, after hearing the news.

“I have heard many stories about Emperor Gojong’s sufferings. He was slapped in the face by the five Eulsa traitors for refusing to sign the Eulsa Treaty (1905 Protectorate Treaty),” Yi said, adding that Gojong also appealed to Nicholas II saying that he wanted to die in Russia.

“I haven’t seen documents regarding this issue in Japanese diplomatic documents, but it can be recognized as a fact as the plot was discussed in German diplomatic dispatches. There is possibility that the Japanese military authorities came up with the plan as the follow-up step to their victory in the Russo-Japanese war, to completely deprive Korea of its diplomatic powers,” said Lee Tae-jin, honorary history professor at Seoul National University.

“Civilian politicians like Ito Hirobumi asserted on establishing a protectorate over Korea by simply taking away Korea’s diplomatic powers, but some hard-liners, like the military authorities, insisted on immediate annexation of Korea in 1905, as soon as the Russo-Japanese war ended. It is likely that the hard-liners came up with the plot to take Gojong to Nagasaki but it was blocked when Ito Hirobumi opposed the immediate annexation of Korea,” said Lee.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Gojong’s Korea caught in international power struggles

2010-08-06T16:25:00.000+09:00

Emperor Gojong, the second-to-last ruler of Joseon, suffered from invasion attempts from world powers throughout his reign from 1863 to 1907, culminating in the annexation of the country by Japan in three years later.

Afraid for his life after the murder of his wife, Empress Myeongseong, by Japan on Oct. 8, 1895, Gojong and his crown prince fled his palace, Gyeongbokgung, the following Feb. 11 and sought refuge at the Russian legation in Jeong-dong, Seoul. The flight to the Russian legation building took place in secrecy and was arranged by pro-Russian officials, including Yi Beom-jin and Lee Wan-yong.

Emperor Gojong, center, with his court aides (Yonhap News)

A renovated tower, the only remaining part of the Russian legation building in Seoul. (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)

During Gojong’s one-year stay at the Russian legation, Russia exercised great influence on Korea’s internal governance. Russian officers were invited to Korean ministries and the army was reformed following the Russian manner using Russian arms.

Members of the old cabinet, including Kim Hong-jip, Eo Yun-jung, and Yu Gil-jun, were killed or forced to flee while pro-Russian figures were named to the new cabinet. Trade and resource concessions were granted to Russia and other Western powers, including the United States.

Facing pressure from both in and outside the country to break away from the Russian influence, Gojong returned to his palace -- not to Gyeongbokgung but to Gyeongungung (later renamed Deoksugung) -- on Feb. 25, 1897. He stayed there until Jan. 21, 1919, when he is alleged to have been poisoned by the Japanese.

Japan, which had long desired to invade Korea, was alarmed by Russia’s movements. The conflict between the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea led to the Russo-Japanese war which broke out on Feb. 8, 1904.

Being situated between the two major powers, Korea was a strategic point for both Japan and Russia. As the outbreak of the war became imminent, Gojong formally proclaimed Korea’s neutrality in January 1904.

Japan, however, sent troops to Seoul, occupied a number of buildings and forced the signing of a Korea-Japan protocol agreement on Feb. 23, 1904. The protocol provided legal justification for whatever political or military actions Japan might wish to take in Korea.

Japan also insisted that Japanese “government advisers” should be installed in Korean ministries and forced Korea to sign a new agreement on Aug. 22, 1904, which “invited” Japanese advisers to the peninsula. Starting with financial adviser Megata Tanetaro, a high official of the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan created a “government by advisers” in Korea, which took over the actual administrative authority. Korean ministers who had been accredited to Germany, France, Japan, China and other countries were recalled.

Following Japan’s victory in Russo-Japanese war on Sept. 5, 1905, the two countries signed the Treaty of Portsmouth in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Aug. 10, 1905, in which Russia acknowledged that Japan possessed paramount political, military, and economic interests in Korea. Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. president at the time, had stepped in to mediate the terms.

In fact, before the Portsmouth Treaty was signed, Japan and the U.S. secretly signed the Taft-Katsura Agreement on July 29, 1905, in which the U.S. agreed to acquiesce to Japan’s domination of Korea in exchange for Japan’s recognition of U.S. hegemony over the Philippines.

England also acknowledged Japan’s right to take appropriate measures for the “guidance, control and protection” of Korea in renegotiating the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance on Aug. 12, 1905.

Having won recognition from Russia, England and the U.S., Japan moved to establish a protectorate over Korea and sent Ito Hirobumi, a former prime minister, to Korea in November 1905. Ito forced Emperor Gojong to sign the 1905 Protectorate Treaty, also known as the Eulsa Treaty, on Nov. 17, 1905 despite Gojong’s refusal.

The treaty gave Japan full authority over all aspects of Korea’s relations with foreign countries and provided the post of Japanese Resident-General, who would be directly under the Korean emperor, to take charge of Korea’s foreign relations. Ito served as the first Resident-General.

Despite having signed the protectorate treaty, Emperor Gojong worked furtively to invalidate the document, seeking international help.

A telegram sent to Germany’s foreign minister by Gojong on Nov. 24, 1905 has been found, in which Gojong writes that the Japanese used military force to make him sign the treaty, which cannot be approved of according to international law.

In June 1907 Gojong secretly sent envoys to Hague Peace Conference in June 1907 to let the world know of the injustice done in Korea. The mission failed, however, as the president of the conference ruled that Korea was not entitled to participate, having lost authority over its own diplomatic affairs. However, the worldwide publicity the incident received did create considerable international furor.

Japan used the incident as a pretext to further strengthen its power over Korea, demanding that Gojong accept responsibility for the incident by abdicating.

Gojong’s second son, Sunjong became emperor in July 1907 and was later forced to issue a proclamation yielding both his throne and his country on Aug. 29, 1910.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

[단독] 일본, 고종 납치하려했다

2010-08-06T16:24:00.000+09:00

[Exclusive] Japan attempted to take Gojong to Nagasaki

Documents show Gojong resisted the plan, Russian Czar Nicholas II opposed the plan, Roosevelt criticized it while acknowledging the protectorate treaty.

Japan attempted to take Emperor Gojong to Nagasaki during the 1904-1905 Russo–Japanese War, diplomatic documents obtained by The Korea Herald show.

The documents show how the Japanese viewed Emperor Gojong as a major obstacle to annexing Korea and planned to take him to Nagasaki.

The plan is discussed in the various diplomatic dispatches. The documents also indicate active interest by various powers on the issue. The Russians opposed the plan, the British are said to have agreed with the removal the emperor as well as the annexation plan and President Roosevelt of the U.S. postponed his decision on the establishment of protectorate over Korea but criticized the plan to remove Emperor Gojong.

Gojong goes on an outing upon hearing the news of his son King Yeongchin's return from Japan. (Yonhap News)

A copy of the letter sent by Lev Urusov, Russian envoy in Vienna, to Agenor Goluchowski, foreign minister of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy on April 30, 1905. The underlined paragraph reads: “The foreign ministry has recently recognized, from a reliable source, that the Mikado government had the intention to transfer the Emperor of Korea to Japan and install him at a palace built for this purpose in Nagasaki.”

Karoly Fendler, lecturer of Korean history at Budapest University ELTE, Hungary

Jung Sang-su, history department research professor and lecturer at Myongji University (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)

Hand-copied pages of the 26-page report “Japanese intention to take the Korean Emperor to Mokko.” Karoly Fendler copied the content by hand because the Foreign Policy Archives of Russian Empire prohibits making photocopies. (Karoly Fendler)

A copy of the telegram sent by Saldern, the German envoy in Korea, to the German Foreign Ministry on Feb. 14, 1905. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)

Karoly Fendler, lecturer of Korean history at Budapest University ELTE, Hungary, and foreign researcher for overseas historical materials at National Institute of Korean History, discovered a 26-page report titled “Japanese intention to take the Korean Emperor to Mokko” at the Russian Empire’s Foreign Political Archives in Moscow. Earlier, in the 1990s, Fendler found a letter at the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv (HHSA) in Vienna, Austria, pointing to the existence of a Japanese plan to have Emperor Gojong moved to Nagasaki.

The Russian government first received information about the alleged Japanese plan from its legation in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 22, 1905, according to the correspondence between the Russian Foreign Ministry and its diplomatic missions contained in the report found in the Russian archive.

The Russian ambassador in Belgrade reported to Count V.N. Lamsdorf, Russia’s foreign minister, that G. Fontaine, the first secretary of the French embassy in Belgrade, had received the news from Tokyo concerning the plan to transfer Emperor Gojong.

“’The wheels of diplomacy’ started to move faster,” said Fendler in an e-mail interview with The Korea Herald.

The first piece of information from Belgrade was sent to Czarskoe Selo, the residence of Russian czars near St. Petersburg, without delay, on April 26, 1905 and Czar Nicholas II wrote “This Japanese activity must be prevented somehow” in Russian on the letter.

“The fact that Nicholas II was upset is understandable, not only because the Russo-Japanese War was still going on, but also because of the cruelties the Japanese committed in Korea; the killing of Queen Min in 1895, trudging on international agreements and not considering Korea as a neutral independent state at that time,” said Fendler.

The next day, on April 27, 1905, Czar Nicholas II ordered that a secret telegram about the Japanese intention to transfer the Korean Emperor to Japan be sent to all Russian embassies -- including those in Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Washington, the Hague, Copenhagen and Beijing.

The letter Fendler discovered at HHSA is dated April 30, 1905. In it, Lev Urusov, the Russian ambassador in Vienna, relays the same information about the Japanese plan to move Gojong to Nagasaki to Agenor Goluchowski, foreign minister of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

“During the war, the Russian czarist government warned European governments to pay attention to Japan’s illegal, aggressive activity against Korea, in Korea and against the independence and neutrality of the Korean state,” said Fendler. Following the instruction of his government on Japan’s Korea policy, Urusov wrote the letter based on information from Russian foreign ministry’s sources, Fendler said.

While most of the replies from Russian missions said they had passed on “the Russian objection” to the respective governments, the replies from the English and the Chinese are the most interesting, said Fendler.

“We have to the best of my belief, never heard that it was the intention of the Japanese government to deport the Emperor of Corea (Korea), but I am asking enquiries, and hope to be able to make you aware before long of the manner in which the question is regarded by H.M. (His Majesty)’s Government,” British Foreign Minister Lord Lansdown replied.

At Lansdown’s request, the Japanese ambassador in London obtained a message from Japanese Foreign Secretary Komura that “the Japanese government is not planning to transfer the Korean emperor to Japan,” according to a telegram sent by Russian ambassador in London.

“It seems that the Japanese foreign minister was only denying the ‘transfer’ and not the existence of the plan,” said Fendler.

Kazakov, the Russian diplomat in Beijing, sent a telegram to Moscow from Beijing on May 1, 1905, saying that “I asked about the Chinese government’s reaction to this. They avoided giving a straight reply, saying that they cannot take sides yet, as they do not have any information about the question.”

The Russian envoy in Belgrade, the writer of the first report on the issue, sent another report on May 10 confirming his previous information. This time he enclosed Fontaine’s original report on the matter. The report, written in French on a thin, small, transparent piece of paper, read that the Japanese government was preparing to transport the Korean emperor to Japan, where a castle had already been built for him in Nagasaki.

Indeed, diplomatic dispatches between the German mission in Korea and the German foreign ministry discovered in August 2008 by Jung Sang-su, research professor and lecturer at Myongji University, at the German foreign minister’s political document archive show that Germany, Britain and the U.S. were paying close attention to Japan’s attempt to take Gojong.

A secret telegram sent by Saldern, German envoy in Seoul, to the foreign ministry in Germany on Feb. 14, 1905, reads: “The Japanese are trying to transfer Gojong to Japan. Gojong refused, worried that he would not be able to come back.”

A handwritten message is seen on the left side of the telegram, which is likely to have been written by Kaiser Wilhelm II, Jung told The Korea Herald. “The Emperor only made notes on very important telegrams. He probably read this one because it was marked secret. The letters, however, are blurry because they were written with a pencil, so it is hard to identify the specific content of the message,” said Jung.

Another telegram sent by Saldern on June 2, 1905, mentions British and U.S. reactions to Japan’s attempts. Bulow, the German prime minister, and Richthofen, the foreign minister, signed on the telegram that they had read it.

“Since a few weeks ago, Japan has been sounding Britain out about establishing a protectorate over Korea and dethroning Gojong to take him to Japan. Britain agreed on it. Japan inquired the U.S. about the same matter. Roosevelt postponed his decision about establishing a protectorate over Korea but criticized the plan to depose Gojong and take him to Japan,” reads the telegram.

“This could be the reason why Japan did not take Gojong. According to the latter part of the telegram, Morgan, U.S. minister in Seoul, said that the U.S. would aggressively intervene in the parts that are related to U.S. interests. This would mean economic interests, such as the establishment of the Hanseong electricity company. The United States probably thought that they would have to redo all the negotiations if Gojong was gone,” said Jung.

Jung said that Japan tried to take Gojong because they knew the Korean Emperor was the biggest obstacle for the annexation of Korea.

“Ever since the Russian legislation withdrew from Seoul immediately after the Russo-Japanese war began, Gojong tried to break away from Japan’s intensified control. He was looking for ways to take refuge in the German or the U.S. legation even before the actual outbreak of the war, so Japan must have searched for ways to get rid of Gojong. Gojong offered stout resistance, so it is likely that Japan later took Crown Prince Yeongchin instead,” said Jung. Yeongchin was taken to Japan in 1907 on the pretext of having the prince study there.

“The findings show that the first steps of Japan’s forced annexation of Korea were already being taken in early 1905. At the same time, we can see how Gojong stubbornly resisted Japan’s attempts, and tried to maintain Korea’s independence,” said Jung.

Not many, however, are aware of Japan’s attempt to remove Emperor Gojong.

“The fact is not yet known in Korea because no information about the matter has been found here and Japan would never leave such documents open. It was a very secret plan in Japan. None of the documents specifically mention who was the main force responsible for the plan, whether it was Ito Hirobumi or someone else, but just refers to ‘the Japanese,’” said Jung. Ito Hirobumi was Japan’s first resident-general in Korea.

However, Japan’s attempt to take Gojong was considered an important matter internationally, judging from the frequency of the telegrams sent by the German envoy.

“The German envoy in Seoul only sent telegrams to his country on very important issues, less than 10 a year,” said Jung.

“Japan probably had various ideas at the moment, and transferring Gojong seemed to have been one of them. Though it was not achieved, it is possible that many foreign ambassadors around the world had the information about the attempt. This shows what a dead-end situation Koreans faced at the time, not knowing Japan’s next action,” said Lee Min-won, head of East Asia History and Culture Research Institute.

“The diplomatic objection of czarist Russia was successful. The reactions coming from different European capitals made Japan give up such unlawful steps. They also had to take into consideration the huge international scandal caused by the killing of Korean Queen Min in 1895 by the Japanese,” said Fendler.

“Today, it is difficult to find out how real the French information received from Tokyo through Belgrade was. The final answer might possibly be found in the Japanese archives, which are difficult to get to,” Fendler said.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

남자분들, 란스미어 가보셨나요?

2010-08-06T16:22:00.001+09:00

Classic suit multi shop attracts fashion savvy men

Shops offering selected items from many high-quality brands at one stop are steadily gaining ground. Those that feature casual clothes for men and women like 10 Corso Como, Daily Projects and Boon The Shop are already well-known among the fashion savvy.

What might be a bit less familiar is a multi-brand shop exclusively for men, featuring classic suits. Lansmere, Korea’s first multi-brand street shop for suits in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, offers hand-made suits and accessories by some 50 British and Italian premium brands.

A man looks at jackets at Lansmere multi-brand shop in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. Kim Myung-sub/ The Korea Herald

Meaning “the lake where the best wool grows” in Italian, Lansmere is actually the name of a high quality fabric -- Lansmere 220, the world’s first 170-yarn-count fabric, and Lansmere 230, a 230-yarn-count fabric -- produced by Cheil Industries.

Cheil Industries later launched Lansmere, a high-priced ready-made men’s suit brand in 2005 but two years later shifted to custom-made suits and renovated the shop into a multi-brand shop. Now, visitors can either choose their pick from the wide array of brands or order a Lansmere tailor-made suit at the shop.

“Lansmere is a very high-end brand, so it had its limits when it produced ready-made suits. You see, women have bags and jewelry to complete their fashion, but men’s only jewelry is watches. So fashion-savvy men focus on bespoke suits which are uniquely made for them. That is why we turned to custom-made suits,” said Alan Nam, brand manager at Lansmere.

Cufflinks of various designs showcased. Kim Myung-sub/ The Korea Herald

“Korean men tend to wear suits that are too big for them and think it is comfortable because it is big. That is not right. Suits that really fit you perfectly are those that are comfortable even if they are slim and tight around your body. Men who really know how to dress wear tailor-made suits. In Britain, about 10 to 15 percent of the men wear tailor-made suits but in Korea, only 3 to 4 percent do.”

Nam explained that classic, however, does not mean conservative.

“A classic suit means that it has tradition and value because it is of very high quality, made by master tailors. It stays the same for decades and it is something that a father and son can share. It makes the wearer look more attractive, younger and even sexier all the while being very comfortable,” said Nam.

Brands featured at the shop include suit brands Cesare Attolini, Isaia, Sartoria Partenopea and Boglioli; shirt brands Orian and Fray; outerwear brands such as Herno, knitwear brands Paolo Pecola and Luciano Barberra, necktie brands Drake’s and Eredi Chiarini, sock brands like Sozzi Calze, shoe brands Tanino Crisci, Cordwainer, Enzo Bonafe, Sutor Mantellassi and Magnanni and accessory brands Bill Amberg and Pineider.

Whether the brands’ names are well-known among the Korean customers or not is not at all an issue when selecting the brands. Lansmere’s staff focus on finding handmade items of the best quality.

Colorful bowties grab attention. Kim Myung-sub/ The Korea Herald

“That is probably why our major customers are classic suit enthusiasts or self-employed men that know fashion and are financially well off. Executives or CEOs of large companies prefer to wear famous brands that are popular within their circles but our customers do not like logos that stand out too much and rather go for the real classic looks,” said Nam.

“I try on all the suits before contracting them, to see if they are really what we are looking for. Unlike machine-made suits which uncomfortably bind your body, handmade suits better adjust to your body with time.”

Nam emphasized that the shop does not sell “brands” but sells a “way of dressing.”

“I give tips to our customers on how to dress and how to organize their wardrobe. This jacket, for example, looks like it is a two-button jacket but is actually a three-button jacket. You are supposed to fasten only the middle button and let the top button naturally disappear from sight below the collars. You should never leave it at some random dry cleaners because they will iron it all wrong,” said Nam.

Nam added that a nice jacket, maybe brown or navy, is a must-have item in every men’s wardrobe.

A view of Lansmere multi-brand shop. Kim Myung-sub/ The Korea Herald

“It can be matched with any shirts or pants. If you want a formal look, match it with gray pants and if you want a brighter look, match it with light colors like sky blue, pink, orange or ivory. It is an economical and practical but a stylish way of dressing. But the jacket should be of really good quality.”

For more information on Lansmere, call (02) 542-4177.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Park Soo-keun painting to be auctioned in U.S.

2010-08-06T16:22:00.000+09:00

A painting by prominent Korean artist Park Soo-keun will be put up for auction at the Important Two Day Auction by John McInnis Auctioneers in Ogunquit, Maine, on July 16 and 17.

The painting “A Seated Woman,” with Park’s name signed in Hangeul and dated 1956 on the back, retains the original frame and paper label.

The original owner was Alva Gimbel, a supporter of Dr. Howard Rusk who often traveled to Korea during the Korean War for medical missions between 1953 and 1967.

“A Seated Woman” by Park Soo-keun John McInnis Auctioneers

Known as the father of rehabilitation medicine, Rusk was elected president of the American Korean Foundation in 1954 and founded the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at New York University Medical Center, which was renamed the Howard H. Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in 1984. He was supported by several prominent individuals including Gimbel in his humanitarian efforts.

Gimbel assisted Rusk on one of his trips to Seoul where she acquired “A Seated Woman.” The painting has been kept with a family member and has never been out of the family since it was acquired in the 1950s.

The painting is in its original, untouched condition and it is estimated it will sell for between $200,000 and $300,000.

The auction house had sold another of Park’s paintings, of a seated woman contemplating a bowl, in October 2008. The 1956 painting was sold for $460,000.

Next week’s auction will also feature other items of fine art, a large collection of Asian and Japanese antiquities, jewelry and furniture.

For more information, visit www.mcinnisauctions.com

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

한달 넘게 밀린 기사를 포스팅 하다가_

2010-08-06T16:21:00.000+09:00

_힘들어서 잠깐 쉬고있음. ㅋ

3월에 홍콩갔다와서 여행기를 안올린 이후로 점점 더 게을러진 것 같아요.

오늘 갑자기 번쩍 하고 블로그생각이 나서 들어와보니 6월 16일 이후로 기사를 업데이트 안했더라고요 -_-

네이버에 물론 기사가 올라오지만

나름 온라인으로도 제 기사를 모아두는 곳인데 말이죠ㅠ-ㅠ

역시 한번 게을러지면 한 없이 게을러지는 듯.

여기 없어진대서_ 블로그를 네이버로 옮겨야지 생각하면서부터 _ 더_ 생각 '만' 하고 있어요ㅋ

블로그에 이런것도 쓰고싶고 저런것도 쓰고싶고

이런 디자인으로 꾸며보고싶다고 생각'만';;

스페인가기 전엔 블로그를 옮기던지 정리를 하던지 글을 더쓰든지 어떻게든 해야게써용 +_+

칼럼스갤러리 장동조대표 인터뷰

2010-08-06T16:15:00.000+09:00

[Gallery Talk] Art dealer matches clients, artworks

This is the tenth in a 10-part series on prominent art galleries in Korea. –Ed

Considering that art is a form of therapy, a therapist could not be a more perfect candidate for a switch to art dealing. Jang Dong-jo, founder and director of The Columns Gallery in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, is one.

He started his career as a therapist and counselor for psychiatric patients at Rockwell Continuing Treatment Center in Brooklyn in 1984 after studying special education and rehabilitation counseling at New York University graduate school.

“My father founded Chungryangni Mental Hospital and my brother is currently the director there. Our house used to be right next to the hospital, so my heart always went out to the patients in my youth. My original dream was to become a professional in social welfare and patient treatment who can help patients better adjust to the society,” said Jang.

But the concern for psychiatric patients was not the only influence from Jang‘s father. His father, also an art collector, often took him to museums and galleries and Jang developed a love for art. Jang naturally headed to galleries in New York too, whenever he had time.

The Columns Gallery founder and director Jang Dong-jo Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald

“Seeing the cutting-edge contemporary arts there, I had the urge to study them more professionally. So I started taking fine art appraisal courses at NYU every evening after work and began my own collection with the money I earned through part time therapy works,” he said.

“I bought some prints by Andy Warhol and David Hockney and witnessed their prices double in less than six months! I sold them and bought more expensive works that I’d always wanted. Realizing that art also brings back money, my interest expanded to art dealing, auctions and art fairs. My hobby started to get professionalized.”

In 1994, the time was tough for the New York art scene but luck was on Jang‘s side. He found an empty gallery in SOHO which the former owner had left behind, right across the street from the gallery owned by the legendary American dealer Leo Castelli, and opened his own.

Yes, it was almost an impossible task for an Asian therapist, who had never stepped foot in New York before 1983 or specialized in arts, to begin an art business at that time. But the amazing network of artists, gallerists and collectors he built during his NYU and gallery hopping days was all he had and all he needed, it turned out.

“It is true that galleries are all about networks. I learned a lot about running art businesses from people I met at fine art appraisal courses and also at parties. They were interested in me because I was the only Asian in most gatherings and they seemed to be comfortable talking to me once they knew that I was not someone from their world but an innocent therapist simply interested in art. My counseling experiences as a therapist helped a lot in making discussions, too. I’m sure that only if this were not an interview, I could have you tell me everything about yourself in less than 30 minutes,” said Jang with a chuckle.

His first exhibition was on George Segal. He could not exhibit Segal’s new works because the artist was already contracted with a prominent gallery but a close collector lent him his collection of Segal’s old works.

The artist himself visited Jang’s gallery on the opening day, curious to see that a young Korean man is holding an exhibition with his old works. Words spread that Segal paid a personal visit there and Jang’s “InKhan Gallery” jumped to fame.

One successful exhibition led to many others, such as shows on Arman, with whom he became friends over a couple games of Baduk, Jesus Rafael Soto and Bill Thompson.

Despite the success, however, Jang decided to return to Korea in 1999, when Korea was suffering from a severe economic crisis.

“Something told me that it was time to go back and that it was then or never. It was a hard time but I thought that if I made it in New York, I could do it again in Korea,” said Jang.

Before opening The Columns Gallery in 2005, he tried out many things like Space Kitchen, a cultural complex he ran in Hannam-dong for a year in 1999, and the “Art Metro” project which he conducted for four years.

For the “Art Metro” project, Jang transformed two carriages of Subway Line No. 6 and No. 7 into a moving art museum with help from many young artists. The passenger occupancy rate shot up more than 25 percent during the project period.

Jang finally opened The Columns gallery in Cheongdam-dong in 2005. He had spent all his savings on the “Art Metro” project so he had to take out a loan. The Korean art market luckily boomed in 2006 and 2007, getting him ready for 2008 when the market practically collapsed.

“If there is a good time, there is a bad time. I don’t understand big galleries that are reluctant to hold exhibitions during bad times, afraid of small losses, although they probably earned a fortune during the boom days. Galleries are also meant to give back to society. I hired staff and held exhibitions every month despite losses in 2008,” said Jang.

The steady exhibitions attracted regular visitors and Jang’s gallery soon took root. Jang’s talent in expanding connections proved itself once again as some of Korea’s established artists like Chun Kwang-young contracted with The Columns, based on their acquaintance. The gallery moved to its current location in Sinsa-dong in April.

“I am not interested in buying big buildings, growing the gallery into a big enterprise or launching branches abroad. I am thankful that I have this great space to hold high-quality exhibitions and hope it can keep on going,” said Jang.

“I don’t sell works to anybody. I only sell them when I find a perfect owner for the works after I conduct long talks with the clients s to find out his or her character, aesthetic values and future plans. Without deep considerations like this, the artwork could lose its vitality like trees that cannot adjust to a new environment,” he added.

The gallery is currently holding an exhibition on Michael Wesely, a German photographer. For more information on the exhibition or on the gallery, call (02) 3442-6301 or visit www.columns.co.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Summer styling tips from Tory Burch

2010-08-06T16:13:00.000+09:00

Tory Burch, one of the world’s hottest designers, held a styling class for VIP clients and some power bloggers last Thursday at the Tory Burch flagship store in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, which opened on the previous day.

The Cheongdam store is the biggest of all Tory Burch’s shops and shows off a totally new concept. The first floor appears to be like any other boutique, but the second floor is decorated like a miniature of Burch’s home in New York, with a library and a living room.

“It was inspired by my apartment so it is different. Like the colors -- the walls are of green velvet in my house. But the place is very similar to my place, so when I first walked in here, I thought ‘Wow,’” said Burch.

Burch introduced nine different summer looks with the help of three models. The nine styles included a neutral dress accessorized with metallic jewelry, a black dress -- which became the brand’s number one seller after actress Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted in it -- with flesh-tone shoes that elongate the legs, and a boy-meets-girl look for which she matched a loose top that could have belonged to one’s husband or boyfriend with a very feminine sequin skirt.

Tory Burch (second from left) poses with models after her styling class at the Tory Burch flagship store in Cheongdam-dong on June 24. Tory Burch

Among the showcased garments, the famous Tory Tunic, which made the brand famous, received many admiring looks from the audience.

“I actually got the idea for the design from a tunic I found at a flea market in Paris. I bought it for $30,” said Burch.

She also showed a dark knit-dress that can be perfect for both day and evening. The idea for the design came from a dress her mother used to wear in the 1960s. Burch confessed how she had coveted it so much and tried to steal it from her mother‘s closet.

More inspirations were found during her short stay in Korea, said Burch.

“I was inspired from how women dress here, how they put together different items in a way that looks nice and can also show their personalities,” she said.

“We’re working on smaller heels, which I guess it will work in your market, too, because I see many of you wearing small heels. I’m excited that I’ve already started.”

If you want to add some accent to your looks, try custom jewelry or belts, suggested Burch. No need to worry about matching them perfectly.

“I love when things don’t necessarily match. We just throw them in together and make them look chic,” said Burch.

Burch launched a fashion label named “TRB by Tory Burch,” which she later changed to “Tory Burch” -- in New York in February 2004. It was an immediate success, as the store was almost completely sold out on the opening day. The brand now has over 600 shops worldwide and records some 300 billion won in sales every year.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Animation festival aims to please all

2010-08-06T16:12:00.001+09:00

The 14th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival begins its five-day run on July 21, offering an array of exhibitions and screening events. COEX in Samseong-dong, and CGV in Apgujeong, both in southern Seoul, are the two main venues.

SICAF, the country’s biggest event of its kind, is supported by the Culture Ministry and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

A scene from “PleaseCall Back Later” by Yulia Ruditskaya

Composed of four main events -- “Animated Film Festival,” “Exhibition-Convention,” “International Digital Cartoon Competition,” “SICAF Promotion Plan” -- this year’s fete aims to attract comic fans, buyers and family visitors.

“We’ve been putting in energy since last year to make this festival something visitors of all ages can enjoy. This year, we increased the number of visitor-interactive programs and organized the festival like a theme park where everyone can have fun with comics and animations,” said Kang Han-young, head of the SICAF organization committee, at a press conference on Wednesday.

The “Animated Film Festival” running at Apgujeong CGV for five full days will showcase 300 projects from some 50 countries. Among the works, 147 films from 33 countries entered the competition category. The finalists were selected among 1,332 films from 57 countries.

Starting with director Kim Woon-ki’s “Fuss Farm,” the Animated Film Festival will introduce works such as “Jungle Emperor Leo: The Brave Change the Future” by Goro Taniguchi, “In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today?” by Jiri Barta and “Je T’aime” by Mamoru Oshii.

A scene from “Jungle Emperor Leo: The Brave Change the Future” by Goro Taniguchi SICAF 2010

Two animated films that feature Seoul -- “City” by Kim Young-geun and Kim Ye-young and “Please Call Back Later” by Yulia Ruditskaya -- will also be screened. SICAF supported the production of the two films.

The “Exhibition-Convention” is back on a bigger scale this year. Created with a theme park concept, it is divided into many small sections that will feature domestic and international comic award winners and fun animations along with experience programs that visitors can participate in.

Here, special section is dedicated to Hur Young-man, Korea’s leading comic artist, who recently concluded his “Sikgaek” series. Children can walk through a twisted maze filled with cartoons at the “Fantasy Playground Plumpily, Vroom Vroom” section and indie bands will perform live at the “Band Music Comics” section.

“International Digital Cartoon Competition” is the only competition in the world that focuses on digital cartoons. About 3,000 works from 32 countries were submitted to the competition this year. Among them, 14 will receive awards.

An exhibition related to the competition will be held at COEX. It will display “masterpiece” digital cartoons and feature sections where visitors can experience 3-D videos and 4-D rides.

“SICAF Promotion Plan,” or SPP, takes aim at the Asian cartoon and animation market. It is set to introduce a one-on-one business matching service for participants. Taking place from July 21-23 also at COEX, SPP will feature a range of events including project competition, business matching meetings, conferences, forums and receptions.

Tickets for the exhibitions range from 5,000 won to 7,000 won and those for the Animated Film Festival range from 4,000 won to 5,000 won. For more information, call (02) 3455-8407 or visit www.sicaf.org.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

이중섭 황소, 기록경신 실패

2010-08-06T16:12:00.000+09:00

‘A Bull’ fails to set new auction record

The air was tense at Seoul Auction in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul, on Tuesday evening. The space was unusually packed with some 300 bidders and press, whose eyes were all fixed at the display board waiting for lot 24, “A Bull” by Lee Joong-seob.

The day’s 117th Seoul Auction had been talked up for several weeks as the auction house had boasted the possibility that Lee’s oil painting may set a new record in Korean auction history, exceeding the price of Park Soo Keun’s “A Wash Place,” which had set the highest price record in the nation at 4.52 billion won in May 2007.

“Lee Joong-seob’s ‘A Bull’ will set a record at the auction as it is a monumental piece in Korean modern art history,” Lee Hak-jun, president of Seoul Auction, said last month.

Cameras started to flash half way into the auction as the much-talked-about piece appeared on the screen. The bid started at 3.4 billion won. The estimated price for the painting was between 3.5 billion won and 4.5 billion won.

Despite expectations, however, the fast-paced auction seemed to slow a little at the painting’s turn. Few bidders raised their hands and the competition died out sooner than expected, only raising the price six times, each by 20 million won.

The auctioneer banged the gavel and the painting was sold for 3.56 billion won, a price not even close to that fetched by “A Wash Place,” but rather closer to the lower end of its estimated price. It was sold to a private museum through a telephone bid.

“The price didn’t reach expectations due to the overall market sentiment. Park’s ‘A Wash Place’ was sold in May 2007, when the Korean art market was at the peak. The domestic market used to recover when the foreign market recovered, but they seem to have decoupled lately. We were hoping that the domestic market will recover its own momentum, but it is difficult work,” said Choi Youn-seok, head of fine art department at Seoul Auction.

“The external factors surrounding the art market, like the controversy over imposing a tax on artworks, seems to be another cause. About five to six people had showed interest in buying the piece before the auction but not all participated in the actual bidding.”

The government plans to impose a 20 percent transfer tax on artworks that cost more than 60 million won starting January 2011. Artworks by Korean artists who are still alive are exempted. Many art insiders are arguing for the withdrawal or postponement of the tax, asserting that it is not efficient and that it will further pull down the already depressed art market.

Lee’s painting still made it to second place in auction history, pushing Kim Whan-ki’s “Flower and Jar,” which was sold for 3.05 billion won in May 2007, to the third spot. About 70 percent of the works were successfully bid at this auction, marking total sales of some 9.24 billion won.

Lee Joong-seop’s “A Bull” was sold for 3.56 billion won at Seoul Auction on Tuesday. Chung Hee-cho/The Korea Herald

“This auction sold a piece for more than 3 billion won for the first time since the art market began declining following the peak in 2007. Though the work did not set a new record for the highest price in Korea, I am sure that high quality art like this will continue to be introduced into the market,” said Lee Hak-jun.

“A Bull,” 35.3 cm long and 51.3 cm wide, was last seen in public at an exhibition held by Gallery Hyundai in 1972. It was sent to the auction by an individual collector who exchanged the painting with three of Lee’s other paintings that he had bought in Midopa Gallery in 1955, at the artist’s request.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Simple, elegant: Bauhaus lifestyle at PKM

2010-08-06T16:11:00.000+09:00

It takes more than just money to decorate your living room like this -- you also need outstanding aesthetic sense and historical knowledge.

Divided into many parts, PKM Trinity Gallery in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, is showcasing miniature living rooms fully furnished with original fine furniture by designers from Bauhaus and also those from the subsequent modern classicism era for the exhibition “Bauhaus & Modern Classic -- SABO Collection.”

Bauhaus was a school founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany, that aimed to combine crafts and fine arts. The post-World War I era saw an upsurge of radical experimentation in all the arts which was previously suppressed by the old regime. The school was closed under pressure from the Nazis in 1933 but the Bauhaus style still has a profound influence upon practically all aspects of life, including developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography.

Bauhaus-style living rooms on display at PKM Gallery. PKM Gallery

Natural and elegant furniture by designers either from Bauhaus or by those inspired by it, including Egon Eiermann’s ergonomically designed chairs, Marcel Breuer’s famous “B32 Chairs,” Vico Magistretti’s colorful plastic chairs and lights and Poul Cadovius’ sectional wall shelves, are placed in perfect spots in the gallery.

Lim Sang-bong, a Korean illustrator and collector who goes by the name SABO, started collecting them piece by piece in 1990 when he went to Germany for his studies, and arranged them for this exhibition.

“It is not like other exhibitions that simply showcase original furniture. It is a collection by SABO, who picked out the best of the Bauhaus and modern classic furniture for the last 20 years based on his taste. The show intends to show the lifestyle and aesthetic sense of the time when the Bauhaus style first appeared,” said gallery director Park Kyung-mee.

The scale of the exhibition is big enough to doubt that a single person could have collected all of the exhibits. More than 50 pieces of furniture, ranging from tables, closets, sofas to lamps, mirrors and small household items from the 1920s to the 1970s are on display.

“I spent lots of time in flea markets because I fell in love with the vintage furniture and ornaments that can be found there. I also enjoyed rummaging through furniture thrown out on the streets, looking for precious treasures. Sometimes I traded my illustrations for the furniture I wanted but I had to work as a part-time forklift driver for a long time to earn money to collect furniture,” said SABO.

“I kept my collections in the empty basement, thanks to the landlord’s special consideration, and brought up different furniture to my room from time to time, to change the ambience. I’ve used every single piece of furniture exhibited here at least once. Chairs need to be used to be kept strong, you know.”

Bauhaus-style living rooms on display at PKM Gallery. PKM Gallery

SABO said that the core of Bauhaus style is “practical aesthetics.”

“Furniture should be comfortable. If it is comfortable, it is usually beautiful as well. Bauhaus style created practical and beautiful furniture that were not overpriced classic furniture or cheap and poorly-made furniture. In the process, it raised the quality of lifestyle for everyone. This design philosophy of Bauhaus was established in the 1920s but the concept influenced many designers that followed. The exhibits all go very well together because they come from the same mother (Bauhaus),” said SABO.

When he returned from Germany in 2005, his collection filled 10 shipping containers. The items in his collection that are not exhibited are tucked away in SABO’s storage back in Heidelberg, Germany, and also in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Surprisingly, all are good as new.

“I only collected ones that are in good shape. These are all of very high value as they are no longer produced,” said SABO.

The exhibition runs through July 20 at PKM Trinity Gallery in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. For more information, call (02) 515-9496 or visit www.pkmgallery.com.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

갤러리토크_박여숙대표 인터뷰

2010-08-06T16:06:00.000+09:00

[Gallery Talk] Art dealer dedicated to fostering young talent

This is the ninth in a 10-part series on prominent art galleries in Korea. –Ed

Starting with Park Ryu-sook Gallery in 1983, art galleries opened in the Cheongdam-dong area one by one.

Now, with more than 40 galleries situated along the main boulevard between the Galleria Department Store and the Cheongdam crossroads, art insiders say that the area is pretty much outdoing the Insa-dong area, Seoul’s first art gallery mecca, which has turned into a tourist spot.

Park Ryu-sook, founder and director of Park Ryu-sook Gallery Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald

Park Ryu-sook gallery came out from the back streets of Cheongdam-dong and moved into the Nature Poem building on the main street and holds some 10 galleries.

“I expect this shift to Cheongdam-dong will continue. As many galleries are located in a single building, we see a big synergy effect. More visitors are coming and there is possibility that this could lead on to more sales,” said Park Ryu-sook, founder and director of the gallery.

Park is one of the few gallery owners who actually studied art. Ever since she fell in love with an old, traditional tile in Anabji, in Gyeongju, South Gyeongsang Province near her aunt’s house at the age of 14, it became a hobby to wander around Insa-dong and Ahyeon-dong in Seoul, browsing through Korean antiques. She studied crafts in Hongik University and started her career as a journalist -- and later editor-in-chief -- for art magazines. She met many art insiders and artists and finally decided to open her own gallery.

“I started to wonder why galleries hold exhibitions only for established artists. The art market was really small at the time and there were few chances that a young and unknown artist could make a debut. I wanted to become a famous art dealer who made many young artists debut in the market,” said Park.

She succeeded in introducing many young artists through her gallery -- Jeon Gwang-young, Kim Jong-hak, Kim Jeom-seon and Kwon Ki-soo are now all well-known artists.

“I watch artists who make tireless efforts based on their unique ideas. It can be a problem if they have a side job because I think it keeps them from concentrating fully on their creations,” said Park.

Park has also been making efforts to introduce many talented Korean artists overseas through international art fairs. The gallery is one of the Korean galleries that most actively attended art fairs since its first participation at Art Basel in 1995.

Park confessed that being a gallery owner is very different from simply being an artist or an art fan.

“It is difficult because I have a weak business-oriented mind. I am continuously studying, trying to supplement the weakness,” she said.

Park opened two branches of her gallery in 2007 and 2008 in Jeju-do and in Shanghai, respectively. Built in a form of a home gallery in a condominium near Pinx Golf Club, the Jeju branch claims to promote the concept of “rest.” Many golfers and art collectors visit the gallery on weekends as the gallery is closed during weekdays.

The Shanghai branch was closed down last June due to financial difficulties.

“It ran into red figures especially because the art market was in such a slump last year. And the foreign exchange rate had rocketed up as well. The market is slowly recovering, but not yet revitalized,” said Park.

Choi Soo-yeon, Park’s daughter who ran the Shanghai branch, returned to Seoul to help operate the Cheongdam branch.

“We have to work hard this year, to recover from the losses. We will be focusing more on the domestic market,” said Park.

For more information on the gallery, visit www.parkryusookgallery.co.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

벼룩시장탐험

2010-08-06T16:04:00.000+09:00

[Weekender] Flea market hopping

If you are tired of the monotonous window displays and the same old designs of clothes and accessories in shops or department stores, it is time to hit the flea markets.

Unique items, a freewheeling ambience and very reasonable prices are the three huge merits of flea markets. Many flea markets appeared throughout Seoul during the last few years, attracting shopaholics and visitors every weekend.

Here are some of the major flea markets that are worth visiting, or participating in as a seller.

Hongdae Hope Market

If you’re imagining something like a thrift shop, you’re on the wrong track.

Artsy handicrafts including accessories, clothes, bags, paintings and seals are found at Hongdae Hope Market, matching the reputation of the area around Hongik University -- or “Hongdae” -- as Seoul’s most artistic spot. Even the sellers have an artistic air about them, decked in vintage style.

Visitors are especially crowded at booths that sell interesting items like wallets made of goat leather or rings made of seeds that the artist claims to have brought back personally from the Amazon.

Some artists are at work at the scene, drawing portraits for visitors, making T-shirts and carving names in seals.

Asirang, an artist who has participated in the market for nearly four years, even has some regular customers who come to the market exclusively for her works. Her booth is usually packed with people admiring her handiwork while she delicately carves beautiful patterns and visitors’ names on wooden accessories.

Because all the items are handmade and original, artists do not like having their work photographed because of imitation issues.

Most items at the market cost less than 10,000 won. The identical carts lined up outside the playground are not sellers registered at the market but street vendors.

If you want to participate as a seller, attach several photos of your work and e-mail the organizers. The participating fee is 10,000 won. Tables and chairs are not provided so sellers usually create unique display spaces by themselves.

The market runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Sunday at the playground across the main entrance of Hongik University in Seogyo-dong, central Seoul. It closes during January and February when it is too cold.

For more information, visit cafe.daum.net/hopemarket.

Hongdae 500 Market is crowded with visitors and sellers on the last Sunday of every month. Hongdae 500 Market/ Nira

Hongdae 500 Market

Building Do, an ordinary gray building near Hongik University has a secret cave-like place downstairs. When you walk down the slightly spooky staircase, a dreamlike space opens in front of you.

Normally the place is called 500 Club, and is filled with music, drinks and food, but it turns into 500 Market once in a month.

On the market day, the venue is filled with sellers that display almost anything one can imagine to find at flea markets like second-hand clothes and handmade accessories to unexpected things like organic vegetables and weird creations.

“You can do and sell anything at 500 Market. You can sell products, or even things that are not products, like your talents. The more peculiar they are the better. The idea is to share it with everyone,” said Choi Jeong Da-un, one of the organizers.

The prices of the items are very reasonable, or sometimes too cheap or costs nothing. It seems like the market focuses more on the sharing part.

Visitors usually bring along some used items that they no longer need but could be useful for others, and exchange them. Romantic exchanges like a piece of poetry for a bottle of soju are familiar happenings at the market.

Matching the venue’s original purpose, many performances like belly dancing or band concerts are held during the market’s running hours. Anyone can throw a performance if they register in advance.

“We accept any performance as long as it does not interrupt the market,” said Choi.

The sole thing that is prohibited at the market is bringing your own food. Food and beverages are sold at the market so you can satisfy your thirst or hunger there. If not, there is always a bar at the club.

Anyone can participate as a seller, if you register on the market’s website at least five days before the day of the market. The participating fee is 10,000 won. Each seller gets an area of about 3.3 square meters. Decorating the space is up to the sellers but the basic concept is to sit on the floor.

The market is held on the last Sunday of every month, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at 500 Club which is situated near Far East Broadcasting Company in Sangsu-dong, central Seoul.

For more information, visit cafe.naver.com/obeg

Bling & Platoon Night Flea Market

For those who want something more groovy and hip, Bling & Platoon Night Flea Market would be the choice. Platoon Kunsthale, a bar/restaurant/culture complex in Nonhyun-dong, southern Seoul, holds a chic market once a month in cooperation with the magazine The Bling.

Visitors pack Bling & Platoon Night Flea Market on the first Saturday night of every month. Platoon Kunsthalle

It can be simply put as a flea market held in a club. People decked in stylish outifts lightly dance to the music holding drinks in their hands but have their eyes fixed to the heaps of garments and accessories. The unique structure of the place, made of 28 iso cargo containers, and interesting artworks displayed in every nook and corner add to the fun.

You can find some really cool items there, but only if you get their early enough. A long line is usually formed outside the entrance door around 8 p.m. and the place soon gets so crammed with people that it seems like there are more people than items on sale. Clothes are usually displayed on the first floor and accessories are on the second and third floors.

The prices are reasonable considering the original prices of the items but not as cheap as other flea markets.

Food and drinks can be found at the bar or the restaurant on the first floor or out on the terrace on the third floor.

The market is held on the first Saturday night of every month, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. If you want to be a seller, register at www.thebling.co.kr at least 20 days in advance. Admission is free.

For more information, visit www.kunsthalle.com

Seocho Saturday Flea Market

Run by the Seocho-gu office, Seocho Saturday Flea Market is less artistic and stylish compared those held in Hongdae or at Platoon but more practical.

It is all about secondhand goods that range from school supplies, toys, accessories, clothes, books and general household supplies that can be used in the everyday life right away. Brand new products, products from last year that are overstocked and foods are not allowed to be sold.

The market used to be held at the plaza in front of Seocho-gu office but moved to the boulevard along the Sadang stream in April. Now the 10 m wide and 1 km long boulevard turns into a boisterous market every Saturday.

Because there are so many items in one place, it is like a treasure hunt. By rummaging through thousands of items, one can find some useful items for extremely cheap prices.

Adults could get nostalgic at the market as there are plenty of items that bring back old memories like type writers and walkman cassette players.

You can register as a seller at the Seocho-gu office homepage from 10 a.m. on Monday. But you should hurry, because the prepared 582 stalls are usually booked up within a few minutes. On the first day it opened at the new venue, the place was packed with around 5,000 sellers and visitors.

The market is held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday. The easiest way to approach the market by subway is via Sadang station, Exit 11 or at Isu station, Exit 5 or 6.

For more information, contact the Seocho-gu office at (02) 2155-6693 or visit www.seocho.go.kr

Asirang carves patterns on her wooden accessories at Hongdae Hope Market, which opens every Sunday. Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald

Beautiful Flea Market

Organized by Beautiful Store, a non-governmental charity organization that sells second-hand goods donated by citizens, Beautiful Flea Market has been held at Ttukseom, a riverside park near Han River, since 2004.

Like Seocho Saturday Flea Market, the market only treats used items. Even handicrafts are not allowed to be sold, considered as new products.

Sellers are asked to donate at least 10 percent of the sales earnings made at the market for the sake of underprivileged neighbors through the Beautiful Store. Visitors are also asked to give a helping hand by donating one used item instead of paying an admission fee.

Like the rest of the flea markets, you need to register on the internet in advance if you want to participate as a seller. But you should have less than 40 used items to sell.

You need your ID card when you register for your spot, a mat to lay out your goods, and a trash bag. No hangers are allowed.

The market opens from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday from late March to October. For more information, visit www.flea1004.com

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Exhibitions remember the Korean War_한국전쟁관련 전시들

2010-08-06T16:03:00.000+09:00

One photo captures the highly charged tension at Panmunjeom where soldiers from South Korea and North Korea stand face to face. Another depicts high-level soldiers from the two countries carefully walking down a street covered with snow, holding hands.

“We are living in a divided nation, but once the physical walls are torn down, we will hardly feel the sense of difference from each other. We think of each other like enemies but we are still the same people. We can hold hands, as you can see in the photos,” said Kim Nyung-man, a photographer.

“The strain between the South and the North has become more extreme ever since the sinking of the Cheonan. The division is the biggest problem in our nation right now and peace seems difficult to reach at this stage. I wanted to provide an opportunity to take another look at our situation.”

Kim will showcase the photos he took while covering Panmunjeom during his journalist days from the 1980s to 1990s at his solo exhibition “Finding Hope at the Divided Scene” at Topohaus in Gwanhun-dong, central Seoul, starting Wednesday.

As today marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, many exhibitions including Kim’s are being held to commemorate the war, which now only a small number of people remember firsthand.

“JSA” by Nanda Daelim Contemporary Art Museum

Another photo exhibition of a much bigger scale kicks off today at Daelim Contemporary Art Museum in Tongui-dong, central Seoul.

Organized by the museum and the Ministry of National Defense, the exhibition “On the Line” features over 170 photos by 10 Korean photographers, including Joo Myung-duck, Kang Woon-gu, Koo Bohn-chang and Nanda.

“No matter how hard we try to explain it to them, the Japanese Invasion of Korea or the Korean War are not much different to today’s youths. So instead of trying to explain the tragedy through language, we are giving it a new try through art,” said Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae.

“Division” by Kim Nyung-man Kim Nyung-man

The exhibits are not the records of the past, but a mirror of the present. The photographers spent four months earlier this year capturing the influence of the Korean War on our lives today.

Because the photographers’ ages range from 30 to 70, visitors can see how the recognition of the war and its influence today greatly varies according to different age groups.

“The older generation is conservative, asserting that nothing can be traded for national security, while the younger generation tends to think that wars have nothing to do with them. We tried to include photographers of different ages to show the diversity of recognition. The exhibition will also be an opportunity to see the different techniques the young and old artists use. Old photographers still use film cameras and print the photos by hand themselves while younger photographers use digital cameras and Photoshop,” said Shin Sue-jin, director of the exhibition.

The exhibition will travel to the U.S. and Britain after the Seoul show. The book containing the exhibited photos is published in Korean and English and will be distributed to public libraries in all 16 countries that participated in the Korean War.

“Division” by Kim Nyung-man Kim Nyung-man

National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, gathered paintings, sculptures and drawings that depicted the Korean War and the tragic division of the peninsula for “The Forgotten War, The Reality of Division” which opens today.

About 60 pieces by eight artists including cartoonist Kim Seong-hwan, Lee Cheol-ee, Park Seong-hwan, Lim Ok-sang and Kim Jae-hong are on display.

The National Folk Museum of Korea in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, is taking an extraordinary approach to commemorate the Korean War, by throwing a consolation party for 12 old women named “Geumsoon” who had to leave their homes in the North and take refuge in the South during the war. The party was held on Tuesday during the opening of the exhibition “Geumsoon: Overcome Adversity.”

The exhibition is divided in to four parts. The first section looks back on the Korean War through the eyes of non-Koreans using films and photos shot by foreigners, the second part reminds the viewers how the refugees had to suffer, while the third section showcases the influence of Western culture after the war. The final section sheds light on the tragedy that many dispersed families and displaced people still have to live with. Most of the exhibits are personal items donated or on loan from people who survived the war.

An experience zone is set up at the exhibition where visitors can check out propaganda leaflets made by the two Koreas, China and the United Nations during wartime, and write letters to soldiers.

“Finding Hope at the Divided Scene” runs from June 30 to July 13 at Topohaus. For more information, call (02) 734-7555 or visit www.topohaus.com.

“On the Line” runs through Aug. 20 at Daelim Contemporary Art Museum. Tickets are 1,000 won. For more information, call (02) 333-0664 or visit www.ontheline.co.kr.

“The Forgotten War, The Reality of Division” runs through Dec. 26 at National Museum of Contemporary Art. For more information, call (02) 2188-6000 or visit www.moca.go.kr.

“Geumsoon: Overcome Adversity” runs through Aug.23 at The National Folk Museum of Korea. For more information, visit www.nfm.go.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

한때_했던_사진전 총정리

2010-08-06T16:02:00.000+09:00

Wealth of photo exhibitions in Seoul

Photography has established itself as a proper genre of art, and a very important one, too.

With the summer vacation season coming up soon, several interesting photo exhibitions are gearing up to attract Seoulites. Here are some of the major exhibitions currently underway or soon to open.

“Marlene Dietrich” by Cecil Beaton (Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s)

“Man Ray’s Photography & His Heritage”

The Seoul Museum of Art in Seosomun-dong sheds light on legendary photographer Man Ray and today’s young photographers who were influenced by him. Ray is considered the photographer to have changed the perception of photography from merely a means of recording history to an art.

Titled “Man Ray’s Photography and His Heritage,” the exhibition features more than 160 photos by 47 local and international photographers including Ray. It is divided into three parts, each showcasing photos as a record of reality, photos emphasizing the subjective, the creative and the inimitable and photos of fiction and imagination.

“Man Ray’s Photography and His Heritage” runs through Aug. 15 at Seoul Museum of Art in Seosomun-dong, central Seoul. Tickets range from 550 won to 700 won. For more information, call (02) 2124-8800 or visit www.seoulmoa.org.

“Walker Evans”

If Man Ray turned photography into art, Walker Evans took documentary photos to a more profound level.

Museum of Photography, Seoul in Bangi-dong is holding an exhibition on the American documentary photographer for the first time in Korea. John T. Hill, Evans’ colleague and the first dean of the Photography Studies at the Graduate School of Yale University, co-organized the exhibition with the museum.

More than 140 of Evans’ works are on display, including the pictures he took while he worked for the Farm Security Administration. The U.S. government had hired photographers for the Administration in the 1930s to record the poor lives of farmers and workers during the Great Depression.

“Walker Evans” runs through Sept. 4 at The Museum of Photography, Seoul in Bangi-dong, eastern Seoul. Tickets range from 5,000 won to 7,000 won. For more information, call (02) 418-1315 or visit www.photomuseum.or.kr.

“Korean War” by Max Desfor The Associated Press

Capture the Moment

About 150 Pulitzer Prize winning photographs will be on display at Hangaram Design Museum in Seoul Arts Center starting Tuesday.

As the exhibition spans nearly 60 years, from 1942 to 2010, visitors can take a look back on the most historical moments of the last half decade such as the Korean War, the Iraq War and the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Some photos will reveal unseen sides of many world leaders such as the one that captured the hole on sole of Adlai Stevenson’s shoe when he was running against Dwight D. Eisenhower for U.S. presidency or the one of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin dancing at a concert.

There will be a short summary of interviews with the photographers next to each photo so that the visitors can get a hint of what it was like at the actual scene.

“Capture the Moment” starts Tuesday and runs through Aug. 29 at Hangaram Design Museum in Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul. Tickets range from 6,000 won to 10,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2000-6293 or visit www.pulitzerkorea.com.

“Beauty of the Century”

Also at Seoul Arts Center but in V Gallery, an exhibition features works by photographer Cecil Beaton, a representative portrait photographer of the 20th century. Beaton took fashion photos for Vogue and Vanity Fair in his 20s and gained fame as a fashion designer, writer and stage designer in the U.S. and Britain. He also served as the photographer for the royal British family.

The exhibition showcases some 90 portraits of six renowned actresses -- Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.

“Beauty of the Century” runs through July 24 at V Gallery in Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul. Tickets range from 6,000 won to 9,000 won. For more information, call 1666-4252 or visit www.cecilbeaton.co.kr.

“A Diver” by Jang Nam-won Lotte Gallery

Mare

Jang Nam-won, one of the world’s best underwater photographers, will hold his solo exhibition next month at Lotte Gallery in Avenuel, Sogong-dong.

The reporter-turned-photographer started taking underwater photos in 1979 after learning scuba diving and greatly influenced Korean photography field with his photos. He opened Korea Underwater Photography School, the first of its kind in Korea, in 1999.

Marvelous photos of peculiar underwater creatures, scuba divers at work, and the beautiful scenery deep down under the sea will be on display.

“Mare” runs from July 2 to July 18 at Lotte Gallery in Avenuel in Sogong-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (02) 726-4428.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

갤러리토크_한미사진박물관 송영숙관장

2010-08-06T16:01:00.000+09:00

[Gallery Talk] Analog photography making a comeback

This is the eighth in a 10-part series on prominent art galleries in Korea. – Ed

The Museum of Photography, Seoul, situated on the 19th and 20th floors of Hanmi Tower in Bangi-dong, eastern Seoul, is Korea’s first government-authorized private museum for photography.

Song Young-sook, the founder and chief director of the museum, established it in 2002 after many twists and turns.

“Government officials did not approve it at first, saying that they do not recognize the value of photos as art. They even mocked it saying, ‘Why don’t you just collect cameras?’” said Song.

“So I opened a non-profit gallery instead and held exhibitions and supported photographers without selling or buying any works. When I went back to register as a museum after few years, many intellects and artists supported me. I finally got an approval.”

But because Song is the wife of Lim Sung-ki, president of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., some could harbor a prejudice that the museum is just a hobby for yet another rich and famous lady. But knowing Song’s past, that is certainly not the case.

After falling in love with photography as a teenager, Song spent nearly 40 years of her life as a photographer. She was a member of the photography club in Sookmyung Women’s University which turned out many of Korea’s famous female photographers. Although Song is now fully focusing on her role as a director rather than going on photo shoots, she said that someday she will return to being a photographer.

Song Young-sook, founder and chief director of the Museum of Photography, Seoul Park Hae-mook/ The Korea Herald

“Photographers need to take care of everything within one 115th of a second. In many cases, a single photo tells more about history than writing on tens of pages of paper. And also in many cases, photography is art while it is also a record of history. That is why I think artists should come down and be with the people, especially with the poor,” said Song.

But for now, she has so many agendas for the museum such as collecting works, categorizing them and publishing a book on the history of Korean photography.

“We have thousands of valuable photos from Korea’s modern times to the present. The original photos of Joseon’s last royal household from 1897 to 1910 at the exhibition ‘Portraits of the Great Korean Imperial Family’ last year were straight from our collections, too. Our researchers are continuously conducting studies to write history on Korean photography,” said Song.

Led by the museum, more photography museums have emerged in the past few years. Photography has taken root as a proper genre of art and the public‘s interest in photography is greatly growing as digital cameras become widespread.

“It is a good thing, in a way, but also a scary phenomenon. It has become hard to sort out authentic photos from fake ones and many professional photographers are losing their status. If they want to survive, they should really work hard and not turn to digital cameras just because they are simple and easy. Analog photos like gelatin silver prints are coming back,” said Song.

“Analog photos are of a totally different level from digital photos. They never fade away. I am always on the lookout for good analog photos. I don’t care if the artist is not yet famous. It’s like a treasure hunt. I recently found some beautiful analog works by a Japanese photographer at the Tokyo Art Fair. So I asked around and finally got in touch with her. Discussions are underway to open an exhibition on her works next year.”

Another recent trend is that artists of other genres are crossing the border to photography, Song noted.

“Many sculptors, especially, have become photographers, including Jeong Yeon-doo, Go Myung-keun and Jang Seung-hyo. Their works are unique, different from people who start out as photographers. They seem to be able to see objects from more varied angles,” she said.

Song established the Hanmi Photography Award in 2006 to discover and award talented photographers but the award stopped last year, because there was no one that was worth being awarded, said Song.

“The prize will be resumed when a talented photographer appears. For now, however, we are using the fund for research. I hope to open a separate museum for modern photographs in the near future.”

For more information on The Museum of Photography, Seoul, call (02) 418-1315 or visit www.photomuseum.or.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

[Gallery Talk] PKM initiates new way of running gallery

2010-08-06T15:59:00.000+09:00

This is the seventh in a 10-part series on prominent art galleries in Korea. – Ed

Park Kyung-mee, president of PKM Gallery in Hwa-dong, central Seoul, and PKM Trinity Gallery in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, is a role model for many curators in Korea.

She worked as a curator for 11 years at Kukje Gallery and individually, and gradually grew to become one of the most influential figures in the Korean art field. She successfully curated a number of major art events, including the 2001 Venice Biennale for which Park was the commissioner of the Korean pavilion. Park finally opened her own gallery in Hwa-dong after the Biennale.

“My basic thought on Korean contemporary art has always been the same; that we need a paradigm shift from the older artists to the younger ones. It has slowly changed that way, so I think I have chosen the right direction,” said Park.

PKM Trinity Gallery which Park opened in 2008 usually holds large exhibitions on established foreign artists but PKM Gallery in Hwa-dong still features experimental works by young artists based on Park’s original standard of values.

Park Kyung-mee, president of PKM Gallery Ahn Hoon / The Korea Herald

Park had also opened a branch in Beijing in 2006, the sixth Korean gallery to launch in China, but it was closed down last December. “It did not show a loss but did not operate in the black either. It was worse because the market was so bad last winter. China is yet not a mature place for full-fledged contemporary art to be showcased. So it was still meaningful that PKM Gallery Beijing got to introduce some fresh, leading contemporary arts in China,” said Park.

Park has no immediate plans to open another gallery outside of Korea. Instead, she will be focusing more on the domestic market, said Park. That is why PKM, one of the Korean galleries most spotted at international art fairs, did not participate at the recent Hong Kong fair.

“We have been slowing down our participation in international art fairs since last year, because we know that holding exhibitions on our home ground is important, too. But we are considering participating in the next year’s Hong Kong fair,” said Park.

Park has been famous for her discerning eye for talented artists ever since her days as a curator. She still organizes exhibitions and selects artists herself. But as she now has a tighter schedule as a director, she came up with an innovative outsourcing system for the gallery in cooperation with Bartleby Bickle & Meursault, an art consulting and publishing firm, last year.

“James Lee, the director of BB&M and I have known each other for more than 15 years and our eyes for contemporary art and artists are very similar. As the gallery gets bigger, it becomes impossible for me to be in charge of everything. So I wanted to try something new; something that is not too off the mark from what I would have done but is still more active,” she said.

BB&M works exclusively with PKM. It takes care of the exhibitions and artists at the Hwa-dong gallery. The two have held several shows this year, including the solo exhibition by installation artist Park Chan-kyong -- film director Park Chan-wook’s brother -- which ended last weekend. This kind of partnership is more common among galleries outside of Korea, but it is a new approach here, said Park.

Starting this year, Park is also trying out a new system to develop young and talented artists in the form of a contest. PKM will announce a medium every year and young artists between 25 to 30 years of age can submit their works that correspond to the medium. This year’s medium is drawing, and submissions are open through Friday.

So what kind of artist, exactly, is PKM looking for?

“Contemporary artists should express a contemporaneousness which can be read through a universal context. And also, most importantly, they should work hard,” said Park.

“When a certain gallery’s artists’ become established, the gallery’s value is increased as well. I hope PKM can develop and get a hold of many artists who will become big and the gallery can also become the top and stay there for a long time as well.”

For more information on PKM Gallery or PKM Trinity Gallery, visit www.pkmgallery.com.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Exhibition to boost Korean craft’s future

2010-08-06T15:58:00.000+09:00

The first Korean Traditional Craft Future Exhibition kicked off at Lotte Gallery in Avenuel on Wednesday.

Hosted by Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, organized by Korea Craft & Design Foundation and supported by Lotte Department Store, the exhibition features hundreds of craftworks by 98 artisans who either hold the title of Intangible Cultural Property or are learning from them.

Visitors can see 34 genres of Korean traditional crafts, including mother-of-pearl works, bow and arrow works, gold foil works and quilted works. All exhibits are for sale. Prices range from 55,000 won ($47) to 20 million won.

A visitor looks around the exhibition. Korean Craft & Design Foundation

“Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea has so far concentrated on preserving and transmitting Korean traditions. But lately we‘ve started to discuss how we can boost the market for Korean traditional crafts in a more innovative way. This exhibition will be a chance to see how our crafts can still be used today,” said Eom Seung-yong, policy director at Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea.

"Soaring," a gold foil work by Kim Gi-ho
Korean Craft & Design Foundation

The exhibition is notable because it shows how the gradually-vanishing traditional craft techniques can still be a means to produce incredible goods for everyday life. Sohn Hye-won, director of Cross Point and a well-known brand identity designer, participated as the general director of the exhibition and searched for ways to commercialize traditional craft works.

“It is not a problem that they are expensive because there are always people who buy expensive works. The problem is that people do not want them no matter how cheap or expensive they are. There are lots of traditional craftworks that cannot be used immediately in our daily life anymore. So I tried to give them a contemporary touch and turn them into useful goods or beautiful ornaments,” said Sohn.

Poles signifying prayer for a good harvest by Kim Jong-heung
Korean Craft & Design Foundation

Korean traditional gold foil technique, for example, was originally used to make luxurious details on hanbok. But it is not so attractive today because the gold foils fall out when the garments are put through the washing machine. So instead, Sohn persuaded the gold foil work artisan to try creating amazing artworks using the technique. Bows and arrows, which are useless today as well, were also framed and turned into artworks.

Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea signed an agreement with Lotte Department Store on the opening day of the exhibition to promote the sales of traditional crafts made by artisans holding the title of Intangible Cultural Property.

“We plan to support the preservation and transmission of our intangible cultural assets by expanding the market through Lotte Department Store’s wide distribution network and strong clientele,” said Jeong Seung-in, its marketing managing director.

The exhibition runs through June 30 at the Lotte Gallery in Avenuel in Sogong-dong, central Seoul. For more information, contact Korea Craft & Design Foundation at (02) 398-7929 or visit www.kcdf.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

키스해링 전시 리뷰

2010-08-06T15:57:00.000+09:00

A peek at Haring’s pop art

Even if you have not have heard of the name Keith Haring, you will probably recognize the artist’s style -- works composed of simple and active figures, black bold lines and vivid colors.

The late American artist is remembered as one of the greatest pop artists of the 20th century and also an activist who cared much about many social issues. Haring established the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989, a year after he was diagnosed with AIDS. The foundation’s mandate is to provide support to AIDS organizations and children’s programs. He died the following year.

“Untitled”

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Haring’s death, Asia’s biggest retrospective exhibition on the artist kicks off today at Soma Museum of Art under the title “Pop: Art Super Star Keith Haring 2010.”

Prints dominate the show with 130 pieces out of the 150 exhibits in total being silk screen prints, etching prints and lithographs lent by the Keith Haring Foundation in New York. Three sculptures are on loan from Korea’s Arario Gallery.

“A big exhibition on Haring’s drawings is simultaneously underway in Vienna, Austria, so it was difficult to bring the drawing works to Seoul. But you have to know that the works here are not minor works. These are in fact very important part of his oeuvres as one of the most significant points about his work was reproducibility. The prints here are all limited editions signed and numbered by the artist,” said Julia Gruen, executive director of the Keith Haring Foundation.

Except for the absence of Haring's painting works, however, the exhibition is still good to go. Haring’s works are fun and cheerful and there are more than a hundred of them to lift the spirits. Videos and photos of Haring when he was alive and active will be a delightful gift for many of his fans as well.

Among them, a video that features Haring exploring New York’s underground, drawing his “icons” -- pregnant women, dogs and babies -- on the matte black paper of blank advertising panels lined up on the subway platform wall is very amusing.

“One day, riding the subway, I saw this empty black panel where an advertisement was supposed to go. I immediately realized that this was the perfect place to draw. I went back above ground to a card shop and bought a box of white chalk, went back down and did a drawing on it. It was perfect -- soft black paper; chalk drew on it really easily,” Haring had said.

Between 1980 and 1985, Haring produced hundreds of these public drawings, sometimes creating as many as 40 in one day. This seamless flow of images became familiar to New York commuters. The subway became, as Haring once said, a “laboratory” for working out his ideas and experimenting with his simple lines.

“I was always totally amazed that the people I would meet while I was doing them were really, really concerned with what they meant. The first thing anyone asked me, no matter how old, no matter who they were, was what does it mean?” Haring had said.

“Andy Mouse” Keith Haring Foundation

Though Haring’s works usually do contain serious messages on issues such as racism, religion or AIDS, it is really up to the viewers to decide their meanings, explained Gruen.

“Haring didn’t like explaining his works because he thought viewers should interpret the works with their own imagination. He thought it was important that viewers are not passive,” said Gruen.

A tip for enjoying the exhibition: Pay attention to the music played in the museum. It is, in a way, selected by Haring himself because it is the very music he used to listen to while working. The music was lent by the Keith Haring Foundation as well.

The exhibition runs through Sep. 5 at Soma Museum of Art. The museum is located in Seoul Olympic Park. Tickets are 12,000 won for adults, 10,000 won for adolescents and 8,000 won for kids. For more information, call (02) 3210-4222 or visit www.haring.co.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

Deck yourself out in World Cup cheer gear

2010-08-06T15:56:00.000+09:00

The country is heating up for the much-anticipated game against Greece on Saturday night, Korea’s first 2010 World Cup match. Wherever you may be watching the game, be sure to prepare your World Cup cheer gear. This year, as usual, the key for the Korean team fans is to wear red.

The choice is yours, as numerous kinds of red t-shirts become available at stores as more and more companies are jumping in on the World Cup marketing craze.

Even the so-called “official” 2010 World Cup t-shirt is created by two different groups.

The first, authorized by the Korean Football Association is a basic red round-neck t-shirt with this year’s slogan “The Shout of Reds, United Korea,” splashed across the front in white.

The phrase was co-created by the Korea Football Association, Hyundai Motor and Red Devils supporter groups. The shirt is being sold exclusively at Homeplus discount outlets.

A feminine World Cup cheer look by Si (left) and official 2010 World Cup T-shirt authorized by the Korean Football Association.

K-League Supporters Union also designed their own official 2010 World Cup t-shirt, red and round-necked as well, with the year’s slogan “ALL THE REDS.” Fashion Group Hyungji, which has been supporting the KSU since last year, produced the shirts.

“The T-shirt has a “#” shaped pattern in the front, which symbolizes the undefeated record of King Gwanggaeto the Great of the Goguryeo Kingdom,” said Kim Seung-ho, a marketing team official at Hyungji.

Both of the “official” T-shirt makers claim that they are succeeding the famous official slogans “Be the Reds” in 2002 and “Reds Go Together” in 2006.

Women’s fashion brands such as Besti Belli and Si of Shinwon Group broke away from dull and square t-shirts and offer various styles of red shirts this year. More feminine and sexy, the shirts are designed to be worn even after the World Cup season.

Sportswear brands such as Kappa and Fila also present casual red t-shirts without any Red Devils or World Cup slogans so that they can be worn without feeling self-conscious afterward.

“This year, the World Cup cheer look is expected to be bolder and more varied compared to 2002 and 2006, from simple red t-shirts to reformed t-shirts and unique accessories,” said Gang Chu-gyung, a PR official at Shinwon Group.

The easiest way of reforming a boring red shirt into sexy gear would be either cutting the neck line deeper to turn it into an off-shoulder top or shortening the total length to turn it into a crop top.

“If the red color is too much for you, match a red striped shirt with beige or white shorts. But remember to match red sneakers or bags to complete the red look,” added Gang.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

프랑스 사로잡은 한국 문학

2010-06-16T16:41:00.000+09:00

Korean literature captivates France

It is not just films from Korea that are gathering fans in France.

The French are paying more attention to Korean literature as well.

A big-scale project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Korean poet Yi Sang’s birth will take place in Paris this month, co-hosted by La Generale, a cultural complex supported by the city of Paris and Lab201, an art project organizer based in Korea.

“The idea of the exhibition came from Emmanuel Ferrand, a sound artist and mathematician who is deeply interested in Yi Sang’s poems. In this international exchange project, we will not simply consider the important literary aspects of Yi Sang’s works , but try to go further, to reinterpret them in the fields of sciences, architecture, and visual and performing arts,” said Kim Jo-eun, curator of the project.

Korean writer Hwang Sok-yong speaks at the Korean-French Literature Forum in Paris earlier this month. Korea Literature Translation Institute

Titled “Yi Sang in Paris,” the project includes exhibitions, performances, concerts, lectures, workshops and publications on Yi Sang and his works.

An exhibition titled “2010 Paris/Seoul, Did the Line Assassinate the Circle?” will feature various genres of art including videos, performances and sound art. About 20 French and Korean artists who are interested in Yi Sang’s works will participate in the show.

Gu Min-ja, a Korean video installation artist, filmed Paris streets pretending it is Yi Sang who is traveling in the city. Luna Yoon Kyung, a Korean-French artist, will throw a performance inspired from Yi Sang’s poetry.

After the Paris show which runs through July 4, the exhibition will arrive at Space Hamilton in Seoul in Aug. 5 and run through Aug. 21.

This “Korean wave” in France, especially in the literature arena, was actually detected several years ago.

“Boosted by Korean movies and the 2002 World Cup, Korean literature is becoming more and more recognized in France and its sales are increasing every year as well,” said Serge Safran, chief editor at Zulma Publishing Company which publishes French translations of Korean literature in France, at the Korean-French Literature Forum held in Paris earlier this month.

Poster of the exhibition “2010 Paris/Seoul, Did the Line Assasinate the Circle?” which is part of the “Yi Sang in Paris” project. Yi Sang in Paris

The two-day forum was hosted by the Korea Literature Translation Institute. Korean authors who are well-known in France, including Hwang Sok-yong, Lee Seung-woo, Shin Kyung-suk and Kim Young-ha participated at the forum along with French writers Camille Laurens, Cecile Wajsbrot, Benoit Duteurtre and many French editors and journalists, and discussed the status of Korean literature in France and the universality and particularity of literature in general.

Hwang, whose latest work “Shim Cheong” was released in France, is already an established author there. Over 7,000 copies of “Shim Cheong” were sold in its first six months. Le Monde, a daily newspaper in France, highlighted the unique way Hwang had written the book, by posting the parts he wrote on his blog first to better interact with his readers, last April.

“Because Hwang Sok-yong had first published the separate pages of his book on his blog between February and July in 2008, it was read by and commented upon by about 2 million readers. When his work was published in the form of a book at the end of the summer, more than 500,000 copies were sold. This success has stimulated other famous writers to do the same,” reported Le Monde.

Hwang’s other novels, such as “The Old Garden,” “The Guest,” “The Road to Sampo,” “Chronology of Mr. Han,” “The Strange Land” and “The Shadow of Arms,” are published in France in French versions as well.

Lee, Shin and Kim are also under the limelight in France. Lee’s “The Other Side of Life” was nominated for the foreign literature section of the Prix du Femina, one of the biggest literature awards in France, a few years ago.

Shin was awarded the Prix de l’Inapercu with “An Isolated Room” last year. The prize is established by literary critics and literature journalists in France to honor extraordinary works that are unjustly overlooked by major literature awards such as the Prix du Femina.

In the case of Kim, the top three French daily newspapers, including Le Figaro, all praised his novels for their originality.

“The forum was packed with people, which proved the recent interest in Korean literature in France. After the forum, the Culture department of the French Foreign Ministry even suggested that we should hold cultural exchange events regularly,” said Jeong Jin-gwon, a Korea Literature Translation Institute official.

“Korea Literature Translation Institute has been hosting forums in five cities -- Berlin, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Beijing -- since last year to increase the cities‘ interest in Korean literature and to help establish a solid base for publishing and distributing Korean authors. This is the first time we held a forum in Paris, but it will be held every year from now on,” Jeong added. 　

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

내 손으로 가구만들기 도전! DIY 공방

2010-06-16T16:40:00.000+09:00

[Weekender] Hammering around at DIY workshop

One day Lim Chun-gi, a 58-year-old high school teacher, realized how old and fake his MDF bookshelves looked. After an endless search for a decent solid wood bookshelf in different stores, he came up with a better idea – to make one himself.

Lim visited the Bukgajwa-dong branch of Banzzogi, a do-it-yourself workshop, last April with his wife and made the perfect bookshelf. Content with the result, they went on with their next mission, to make a bed for their two boys.

“We made it with cypress, which is known for its insecticidal effects. ... It is also known to help cure atopic diseases. My boys do not have such diseases but the nice smell of the wood really freshened up their rooms which were usually filled with a bit of odor,” said Lim with a laugh.

Banzzogi manager Lim Dong-baek (left) helps Kim So-ra make a bookshelf at Banzzogi DIY workshop. Ahn Hoon/ The Korea Herald

Naturally, the couple really got into DIY furniture making, spending two thirds of their last summer and winter vacations at the workshop. Now during the semesters, they still visit the workshop at least once a week.

“It is a fun hobby, something I can brag to my friends about, especially because my wife and I can do it together. We even made some furniture for our relatives,” Lim said proudly.

Five members of the workshop, including Lim, were busy concentrating on their works at Banzzogi’s in Bukgajwa-dong on a recent Thursday afternoon. The workshop was not at all like a dusty carpenter’s shop. It was more like a home interior shop with its cozy interior and soft lighting.

Banzzogi is one of the nation’s largest DIY workshop chains with some 20 branches throughout the country. For a membership fee of around 300,000 won, one can become a lifetime member and use everything in the workshop.

“Our members range from middle school students to the elderly. Making furniture is not as hard as it looks. Even beginners can easily make a table like this after about three or four visits. Besides, I am here all the time to give help,” said Lim Dong-baek, manager of Banzzogi’s Bukgajwa-dong branch, pointing to a cute red table for two.

After receiving lessons on the basics of DIY, such as how to use the tools and paints on their first few visits, members can immediately start making their own furniture. No extra payment is needed except for the cost of materials.

“I usually suggest some sketches for beginners, but members come up with their own designs as they get more experienced,” said Lim.

Based on the sketch, Lim does most of the preparatory heavy labor for the members such as getting the right size of wood ready. Then members can enjoy the fun of sanding down the pieces with sandpaper, nailing them together and painting them.

“Some say that DIY furniture costs more than they thought, simply comparing with the prices of similar ready-made furniture made of MDF or plywood. But you should compare it with the furniture made of the same kind of solid wood. In that case, the total cost for DIY furniture comes to about half the cost of buying a ready-made one,” said Lim.

“And it is not just about money. DIY furniture is attractive because you can actually design your own furniture that fits into your house perfectly and have lots of fun while making them,” Lim added.

Kim So-ra, whom is said to be as good as a professional carpenter now, has been visiting the workshop everyday since two years ago. About 50 percent of the furniture in her home is her own handiwork, from tables and closets to a large bookshelf that covers one whole wall in her living room.

“They say furniture emits more toxic agents than new houses. That is why our eyes hurt when we visit furniture shops. I prefer making my own furniture for my children because here, we can choose high quality wood and paint made of natural, eco-friendly materials,” said Kim.

She was making a table for a client on Thursday.

“I get orders from my relatives and friends, mostly, but sometimes even from strangers who visit my blog and see photos of my creations. I don’t charge that much but it does earn me some pocket money,” said Kim.

Banzzogi managers also take orders for custom built furniture and the price is usually double the cost of making it by oneself.

“Making DIY furniture could be a fun hobby for a family, too. Our members often bring their family along to the workshop on the weekends, and they have a lot of fun working together,” said Lim.

There are many DIY workshop chains like Banzzogi throughout the country. For details on Banzzogi, go to www.banzzogi.net, for Self Design Easy Making, visit www.my-diy.co.kr, for Hafele DIY, visit www.diyhafele.co.kr and for Zaengyi, go to www.zaengyi.co.kr

Offline-based workshops are clustered near Hongik University in Sangsu-dong, central Seoul. They offer classes but only for short periods of time because they focus more on producing custom built furniture.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

DIY파워블로거 하얀미소 호경자씨

2010-06-16T16:39:00.000+09:00

[Weekender] Power blogger Ho and her sweet home

From the unique furniture and sweet ornaments to the carefully painted wall and even the lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling, every inch of Ho Gyeong-ja’s house was created by her.

Powerblogger and DIY specialist Ho Gyung-ja

“The concept of my house is naturalism. I made all the furniture and walls to fit into the concept and added plants and trees to add flavor,” said Ho.

Better known for her online nickname “Hayanmiso” or White Smile, Ho is a housewife-turned-powerblogger, or perhaps more accurately, a housewife-turned-DIY specialist who is a celebrity in the DIY furniture and home interior industry. She writes books, gives lectures and holds classes on DIY all over the country.

Ho, however, had never imagined that she would become such a specialist. Just six years ago she was like most other women, ignorant about electricity, tools and paint.

“This house was a disaster 20 years ago. There was old furniture, cheap furniture and all kinds of junk everywhere,” Ho confessed with a giggle.

By chance, she encountered some blog postings that introduced DIY furniture and immediately thought it was for her. She had always loved sewing and drawing, so she knew she had the aptitude for it.

So out of need and keen interest, Ho taught herself about tools by browsing toolmakers’ websites, garnered interior tips from different online communities, ordered materials through the Internet and set to work.

She first started by repainting a door and then expanded her work step by step, to reforming furniture and on to actually making it from scratch. She posted photos and details on how she did it on her blog, treating it like a journal.

Ho’s handmade desk and chair in her bedroom Ahn Hoon/ The Korea Herald

“My husband was worried that I was revealing too much of my know-how on my blog, but I think that was why people loved it. My blog became famous as a blog where people can get tips on easy and healthy home interior design,” said Ho.

Her newfound hobby quickly led to money.

Numerous companies have contacted her, asking for a review of their products on her blog. She receives so many lecture requests that she has to turn most of them down. She also teaches some basic DIY skills at her house once a month. Less than 10 people can fit into her house for the class, but about 80 to 100 people sign up every time.

“I could say I earn more than most regular office workers. But I try my best to put my family and decorating my own house before profit-making,” she said.

Learning to make DIY furniture and basic home interior skills is something that could benefit you for a lifetime, said Ho.

Ho’s kitchen is filled with her handmade furniture and ornaments. Ahn Hoon/ The Korea Herald

“Commercial interior shops tend to say ‘it is impossible’ or ask for additional fees. But based on my experience, nothing is impossible or requires much additional costs. For example, when I asked the interior people if I could whitewash the bathroom tiles, they said it was impossible. But it worked perfectly, giving a beautiful country-like look to my bathroom, when I did it by first brushing Gesso on the tiles, then whitewashing it and then painting varnish to finish up. If you don’t know these steps, you’ll end up spending more money just as the interior shops want you to do.”

But of course, buying a bunch of tools and filling the house with clumsy handmade furniture could be a problem, too. Ho said it is important to be patient and take plenty of time.

“You can’t learn everything overnight. First, you should check if it fits you by making small changes to the house like painting an old piece of furniture that can be thrown out any time or changing door handles. If you still find it fun, try reforming some furniture. If it is still fun, then it is time to buy some tools that are not too expensive. Also, don’t forget to visit furniture shops often to develop your eye for furniture,” she advised.

To visit Ho’s blog, go to www.blog.naver.com/smileho05.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

불가리 125주년 회고전

2010-06-16T16:37:00.000+09:00

Bulgari looks back on 125 years of jewelry history

The Bulgari Korea staff received a desperate phone call from the headquarters office a few days before the Cannes International Film Festival: French actress Julliette Binoche was looking for a special platinum diamond necklace made by Bulgari in 1930.

Keira Knightly wears a dazzling Bulgari necklace decorated with
sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds at the 2006 Academy
Awards. Bvlgari

The staff immediately sent the necklace, which had just arrived in Korea for the exhibition “Between History and Eternity: 1884-2009.”

The Cannes-winning French actress elegantly walked on the Cannes’ red carpet showing off the glamorous necklace with 131 diamonds, 137 karats in total, and returned it to Bulgari after the event.

That necklace and 66 more precious jewelries made by Bvlgari between 1884 and 2009 are on display at Hotel Shilla in Jangchung-dong, central Seoul. A bigger version of the exhibition, featuring some 500 pieces, was held in Rome and Australia last year to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the jewelry house. This is the first time the exhibition has come to Asia.

“It would be meaningless to try to value the price of the collection because they are not for sale. Bulgari kept some from the start and repurchased some at a much higher price to keep them in the archive. All pieces are literally one-of-a-kind,” said Bae Jee-in, Bulgari’s PR official.

Along with the stories behind the original owners of the pieces on display, the exhibition offers a brief look back on how jewelry has changed over more than a century.

The exhibition starts with silver ornaments made by Georgis Bulgari, father of Bulgari founder Sortirio Bvlgari, in the 1880s. Silver is still known to be too soft for delicate details but Bulgari’s silver buckles with shell-like details are very exquisite.

From the 1910s to the 1930s, the trend was all about “French style,” with extremely delicate diamond settings in platinum. From then pieces of jewelry became more colorful and bold, getting closer to the familiar Italian Bulgari style and reach the peak in 1950s to 1960s.

Bulgari’s emerald platinum necklace made in 1961, estimated to be worth at least 20 billion won. Bvlgari

One dazzling necklace decorated with 25 sapphires totaling 48 karats, 88 rubeis totaling 75 karats, 71 emeralds totaling 48 karats and 348 brilliant cut diamonds is simply breathtaking. The necklace, made in 1967, put actress Keira Knightly in the limelight at the 2006 Academy Awards.

Another must-see piece is the emerald platinum necklace made in 1961 which is estimated to be worth at least 20 billion won ($16.5 million), the most expensive in the exhibited collection. It is composed of 224 diamonds and seven cushion-shape emeralds which are of 118.46 karats in total.

The exhibition runs through June 15 at Hotel Shilla in Jangchung-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (02) 2056-0100.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

갤러리시리즈_7_PKM갤러리 박경미대표

2010-06-16T16:36:00.000+09:00

[Gallery Talk] PKM initiates new way of running gallery

Park Kyung-mee, president of PKM Gallery Ahn Hoon / The Korea Herald

테오얀센의 바다괴물들

2010-06-16T16:35:00.000+09:00

Jansen’s ‘Strandbeests’ stomp into Korea

Video clips of weird looking creatures wandering, or sometimes racing, around the delft beach in the Netherlands were a hit on YouTube a few years ago.

The animal-like-creatures, called “Strandbeests,” were created by Dutch artist Theo Jansen who soon rose to stardom and was dubbed the Leonardo Da Vinci of the 21st century.

Jansen studied physics in college but became a painter after graduation. His knowledge of physics, however, did not disappear. He started to make some whimsical gadgets in the 1980s, such as a machine that automatically paints paintings.

In 1990, Jansen made his first Strandbeest called “Animaris Vulgaris.” Made of plastic tubes, nylon strings and rubber bands, Jansen’s works move solely by wind power.

“I sent a flying object up in the air on one cloudy day and it was the talk of town in the Netherlands for three months, mistaken as a UFO,” said the 61-year-old artist at a recent press conference.

Jansen’s works will be on show for the first time in Korea at the exhibition “Theo Jansen -- Animals modular” which starts this weekend at Gwacheon National Science Museum in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Theo Jansen and his work “Animaris Umerus” KR Holdings Company

Of 25 Strandbeests Jansen has created, 17 of them, including “Animaris Vulgaris,” and “Animaris Ordis,” which was specially made for a BMW TV commercial, will be on display. The exhibition will also reveal Jansen’s latest piece, “Animaris Umerus,” for the first time.

Visitors will get a chance to see how Jansen’s creatures evolved through time. Though his latest creations still move by wind power, he added some sensors using plastic bottles so that the beasts could automatically change direction when they touch water.

”Like how our body is restricted by protein, which our body is made of, my creatures are restricted by plastic tubes. So I put in efforts to improve its functions and many people, including myself, found the results beautiful,” said Jansen.

“I had promised myself that I would only do the work for a year, but I am still doing it as if it were some kind of a disease. But I am so happy that I caught the disease.”

The United Nations Environment Program is planning to establish a Theo Jansen award in July, as his works usually feature environmental elements such as new energy. Jansen will be the first winner of the prize.

“I’m honored. They also offered me the chance to be the publicity ambassador but I am not sure if I would take it or not because I’m worried I will not be able to concentrate on my work,” said Jansen.

The exhibition runs from Saturday through Oct. 17 at Gwacheon National Science Museum in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. The museum is located near Seoul Grand Park Station on Subway Line No. 4, Exit 5. Tickets range from 4,000 won to 13,000 won. For more information, visit www.theojansen.co.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

갤러리시리즈_6_대안공간 루프 서진석대표

2010-06-16T16:34:00.000+09:00

[Gallery Talk] Gallery Loop to spread Asian art

This is the sixth in a 10-part series on prominent art galleries in Korea. – Ed

Korea’s contemporary art market, culture and environment have greatly changed over the last 10 years, according to Suh Jin-suk, director of Gallery Loop.

Along with Project Space Sarubia and Art Space Pool, Gallery Loop has been one of the nation’s leading non-profit alternative art spaces since its establishment in 1999.

“Alternative spaces have changed their goal and role in accordance with such changes. They should, because if they don‘t, they will become mainstream,” said Suh.

The biggest goal of alternative spaces ten years ago was to discover and support young artists but this is no longer the case, asserted Suh.

Gallery Loop director Suh Jin-suk Park Hae-mook/ The Korea Herald

“There was no such thing as a proper art market or the concept of professional artists in Korea back then. Over 97 percent of the galleries lent their spaces to artists, which meant young and talented artists who could not afford the rent could not survive. But after the Korean art market really got bigger in the mid-2000s, most galleries and museums started to support young artists as if they were trying to prebuy good products. So, supporting new artists is not as important as it was before. We used to assign more than 90 percent of our exhibitions to young artists but now that figure is about 30 percent,” he said.

“Now we have another goal, to lessen the gap between Asian art and world art, which seems to have grown wider in the last ten years. It has become important for everything to reach a certain global standard after the worldwide economic crisis. We are building international networks and actively participating in exchanges to reach the goal.”

The Asia Art Award, a newly created combination of an art prize ceremony, exhibition and forum jointly organized by CJ Culture Foundation, Korea Sports Promotion Foundation and Gallery Loop, is one good example. The first AAA winner, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, also took home the Palme D’Or at Cannes International Film Festival last month.

“AAA is designed to discover and cultivate the talents of young Asian artists and provide them with a system that will support the international promotion and circulation of their art. We receive more positive responses from overseas than from Korea. I even saw a Japanese webzine criticizing their country for not having initiated such a project,” said Suh.

Though many commercial galleries and museums are also aiming for the world market by collaborating with foreign galleries and artists, Suh said the approach taken by alternative spaces is different.

“It is different because we don’t just deal with artworks and exhibitions. We focus on creating a discourse. About 20 to 30 curators participated in the AAA, for example. It is not a one-time event but the basis of building a new infrastructure,” said Suh.

It is not an easy task to run an alternative art space, however, due to financial reasons. Ssamzie, which used to be one of the leading alternative art spaces, recently closed down as the group Ssamzie went bankrupt.

“Yes, it is hard to raise funds because alternative spaces usually lack popularity and most enterprises only support projects that are popular. Loop is run 40 percent by government support, 30 percent by funds raised through art projects and enterprises, and 30 percent by the fund from a design firm under Gallery Loop.”

But this does not mean that alternative art spaces have to force themselves to get closer with the public, he said.

“We don’t have to, because we are supposed to suggest new trends. But I do think that the gap between Loop and the public has narrowed much compared to when we started. Many non-professionals visit the Loop while only students who major in art or professionals in art used to come. I think more people are starting to love experimental works and I am sure that the line between professionals and non-professionals is blurring,” he said.

“I hope Gallery Loop can suggest a new platform in the world market and show what kind of meaning Asian art can have in the world contemporary art. Personally, I hope I can become one of the most important curators in the world.”

For more information on Gallery Loop, visit www.galleryloop.com.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

갤러리 시리즈_5_국제갤러리 이현숙대표

2010-06-16T16:32:00.000+09:00

[Gallery Talk (10)] Kukje to open new art center in 2013

This is the fifth in a 10-part series on prominent art galleries in Korea. – Ed

Kukje Gallery in Sogyeok-dong, central Seoul, really lives up to its name “Kukje,” which means international.

It is one of the galleries in Korea that is most often seen at international art fairs. This year alone it participated in The Armory Show in March, Hong Kong International Art Fair in May and is scheduled to participate in Art Basel later this month.

The gallery is also famous for its numerous exhibitions on high-profile international artists such as Alexander Calder, Anish Kapoor, Julian Opie and Damien Hirst.

“Ever since the Helen Frankenthaler exhibition, which was one of the first exhibitions by the Kukje Gallery featuring a prominent foreign artist, it has been on everyone’s tongue that Kukje holds some exhibitions. We naturally gained credibility,” said Lee Hyun-sook, founder and director of Kukje Gallery.

Kukje Gallery founder and director Lee Hyun-sook Kim Myung-sub/ The Korea Herald

For her outstanding business acumen, Lee is often dubbed a heroine of Korean art business. For shows on late U.S. artist Jean Mitchel Basquiat or Joan Mitchell, for which the insurance prices alone cost more than several tens of millions of dollars, Lee did not have to pay a single penny on guarantee fees but just had to sign the papers.

Kukje Gallery was introduced as one of Asia’s most well-known galleries by the New York Times in 2005, and Lee was elected as the president of the Korean Art Galleries Association in 2006.

Lee did not study art or business, however. She was more of an ordinary housewife who had a hobby of collecting antique art, ceramics and oriental paintings -- until she opened the gallery in 1982.

It was only when she started to visit the United States frequently, to visit her children who were studying there, that she awakened to Western contemporary art.

“I realized how behind Korean contemporary art was. Minimalist artists such as Calder were in the spotlight in the world but Impressionists’ works were still the most popular in Korea,” said Lee.

“I started the gallery because I wanted to sell my collections in order to buy new ones. I decided to focus on Western art because it is hard to pass on the authenticity of Oriental artworks.”

Her daughter, Tina Kim, is following in Lee’s footsteps.

Kim opened Tina Kim Gallery in New York in 2002, which Lee proudly said is gaining quite an acclaim as an Asian gallery there.

“Many gallery owners in foreign countries do not have anyone to pass down their galleries to while there are many second-generation gallerists in Korea. I’m thinking, if these children take over most galleries in Korea, Korean art could conquer the international art market,” said Lee.

To conquer the world, or first, to revive the Korean art market, it is important to commercialize Korean contemporary artists, said Lee.

“The best would be establishing a systematic genealogy of Korean Monochrome artists such as Lee U-fan, because it is the kind that is rare in other countries. The art market can only be revived when there are things to sell. The government should provide more support for such Korean artists to make sales overseas,” said Lee.

Lee plans on establishing a non-profit art center behind the Kukje Gallery building by 2013. The site is prepared and will soon go under construction.

“It will be a total cultural complex where visitors can enjoy films about art, contemporary music and participate in seminars. The center will be designed by Florian Idenburg, the MoMA award winning architect and will have high ceilings so that tall sculptures can be placed there,” said Lee.

Kukje Gallery is currently holding a two-man exhibition featuring French artists Jean-Michel Othoniel and Xavier Veilhan which runs through June 26.

For more information on the exhibition or on Kukje Gallery, call (02) 735-8449 or visit www.kukjegallery.com.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

미술로 도시를 바꾸다

2010-06-16T16:31:00.000+09:00

Art projects transform provincial cities

A peculiar café opened this month in an old town hall building in Banjuk-dong, Gongju city in South Chungcheong Province.

Dusty windows and dull gray plastered walls of the original building were nowhere to be seen. Instead, freshly painted windowsills, colorful banners, tables, chairs and fun decorations brightened up the space. The once abandoned site had turned into a bright, lively cove filled with joyful conversations and the aroma of rich coffee.

The café, named “Happiness for Daily Life,” is a creative approach by Gongju city, one of the many local governments of Korea where “design” is recently the talk of the town. Many cities, including Seoul, which ambitiously started the “World Design Capital Seoul 2010” project, are busy transforming their old buildings and sites into an artsy and a warm home-like venue.

Gongju city’s project is notable in the way it combines Korean traditional craft techniques with British contemporary designs, thanks to the help from The Korean National University of Cultural Heritage and the British Council.

British artists discuss at "Happiness for Daily Life" cafe in Banjuk-dong, Gongju city in South Chungcheong Province. British Council

“The village café is central to everyday life in rural towns in Britain. In an age of over-consumption and dwindling natural resources, designers in Britain are questioning their role and their relationship to society, thinking again and the process of design production. This project was aimed at showing a village café of the U.K. to Korea based on local culture,” said Clare Cumberlidge, curator of the project.

Four leading British designers -- Michael Marriott, Anthony Burrill, Linda Brothwell and Fabien Cappello -- were in charge of the building’s interior designs, furniture production and decorations.

“It was a handsome building but had a very bad ceiling, walls and the windows were boxed in. So we tried to show the character of the original building and reveal its handsomeness,” said Marriott.

“The first thing we did was get rid of the suspended ceiling of two and a half meters that cut half of the windows. It was most important to let in light. Then we reinstalled the orange door for direct access to the garden and stripped away old bits of old walls and plaster so that people can see the original walls.”

Under the directions from the British designers, students from the Korean National University of Cultural Heritage added some flair to the designs with Korean traditional craft techniques such as “dancheong,” or Korean traditional multicolored paintwork on wooden buildings.

Kim Baek-seon, a Korean designer who has been in the spotlight for his oriental culture-inspired-works, also participated in the project by filling the second floor of the building with his wooden furniture.

The café project is planned to last six months. It has yet to be decided on how the newborn building will be used afterwards, but Gongju city officials projected it would most likely be used as a cultural complex with a café and a museum.

Anyang city in Gyeonggi Province, on the other hand, is conducting a more full-fledged transformation of the city through the “Anyang Public Art Project 2010,” which is currently underway.

The project, which is celebrating its third year, aims to develop the city in a creative way with the help of many local and international artists, as well as the full participation of citizens from beginning to end.

“Everything, from civil complaints to everyday life can be art. We will showcase a brand new concept of public art which is ‘of the citizens, by the citizens and for the citizens,’” said Park Kyong, director of APAP 2010.

APAP 2010 is divided into three big parts -- “New Community,” “Open City” and “Nomadic Projects.” And as usual, all artworks created during the project will stay in the city permanently to enhance the cultural life of Anyang citizens.

“New Community” includes the establishment of new buildings such as an Open Pavilion, Open House, Open Court and Open University, built by international architect groups, which Anyang citizens can actually use.

Once the constructions are finished by the end of May, various classes and events are to be held in the venues.

Through “Open City,” construction of public venues such as Anyang Adventure Playground & Redevelopment Learning Center are currently underway, as are collective projects like the Seoksu Art Project 2010 or Museum of Complaints.

The creations are led by local and international artists. However, citizens can voice their suggestions and complaints about the projects anytime during the APAP 2010 period, which can be reflected in the results.

“Bang Bang,” a balloon house dangling behind a truck, is a representative work of the “Nomadic Projects.” Designed by architecture group Raumlabor-Berlin, “Bang Bang” is a mobile venue where exhibitions, seminars or parties could be held in.

To participate in the APAP 2010 project, visit www.apap2010.org. An exhibition will be held after the completion of all projects, from Sept. 5-Oct. 31 throughout Anyang city.

“Happiness for Daily Life” café in Gongju city is open through Nov. 11. For more information about the café, contact the British Council at www.britishcouncil.or.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com) 　

홍콩, 미술시장으로 뜨는 이유?

2010-06-16T16:30:00.001+09:00

Art world heads for Hong Kong

The global art market has been gradually shifting from the financial-crisis-hit Europe and America to emerging Asia over the last few years.

Among Asian countries, many say that Hong Kong has emerged with the most clout. This week is a chance to see why, as the city accommodates three mega art events: the Hong Kong International Art Fair, Asia Auction Week and Hong Kong Christie’s auction on Asian contemporary art.

“Waterdrops SH07003” by Kim Tschang-yeul featured at Art HK through Gallery Hyundai Gallery Hyundai
Hong Kong International Art Fair

The third Hong Kong International Art Fair began its four-day run on Thursday at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Also known as Art HK, the fair is gaining acclaim as the new Art Basel.

Art HK stumbled a bit after its first year in 2008 as Lehman Brothers, its supporter at the time, went bankrupt, but regained strength after last year’s success. The size of the fair has grown with each edition. This year, 150 galleries from 28 countries are participating, compared to the 101 galleries from 21 countries that were present in 2008. Deutsche Bank is supporting this year‘s fair.

“Not many expected Asian art scene would become this important. World’s No. 1 art fairs like Art Basel in Swiss, Miami Basel in U.S. have been slowing down in recent years while Hong Kong International Art Fair is prospering. Important galleries in New York and London are preparing long-term plans for Asia,” said Magnus Renfrew, director of Art HK.

More than 2,000 art works by over 500 artists are featured at the fair, from the world’s prominent galleries like Gagosian Gallery in the U.S. and White Cube in London. It is notable that those top-notch galleries are turning to the Asian market.

From Korea, 12 galleries -- including Gallery Hyundai, Gana Art Gallery, Kukje Gallery, Hakgojae Gallery, Gallery In, The Columns, Park Ryu Sook Gallery, Cais Gallery, Keumsan Gallery, One and J Gallery, Pyo Gallery and Arario Gallery -- are participating.

“Fancy and glamorous artworks are popular at Art HK, where much of the population is Chinese. We prepared works by many artists including Lee U-fan, Lee Ki-bong, Jeong Yeon-doo, Damien Hirst and Anish Kapoor,” said Lee Seung-min, a curator at Kukje Gallery.

Gallery Hyundai is taking 30 works by 19 Korean and international artists.

“We are showcasing works by some talented up-and-rising artists, along with those by veteran artists, to show off the power of young Korean artists,” said Sung Eun-jin, a curator at Gallery Hyundai.

Asian Auction Week

Asian Auction Week which takes place on Saturday at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong is a chance to check out the latest trends in Asian art. It will feature 160 works of art from four countries: Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore.

AAW is a pan-Asian auction event first organized by Korea’s K-Auction in November 2008 in alliance with Kingsley’s Art Auction of Taiwan, Shinwa Art Auction of Japan and Larasati Auctioneers of Singapore.

“Hong Kong was relatively less touched by the global financial crisis. We can cut additional costs and provide more various works in Hong Kong,” said Son I-ju, K-Auction’s PR official.

According to K-Auction, 75 percent of the auctioned items at the last auction were sold to non-Korean customers and they preferred works by young Korean artists.

This year, K-Auction will be offering works by Korean and international artists, including Robert Indiana, Lee U-fan, Paik Nam-june, Kim Tsang-yeul, Kim Dong-yoo and Kang Ik-joong.

Hong Kong Christie’s Auction

Hong Kong Christie’s will hold its Avant-Garde Asian Contemporary Art Spring Sale from Saturday through Sunday at Hong Kong Convention Center.

The auction will bring together over 480 contemporary art works from Korea, China, Japan and India. All the works together are estimated to be worth more than $30 million.

More than 60 works by 36 Korean artists, including Paik Nam-june, Kang Hyung-koo, Kim Dong-yoo, Choi Woo-ram, Jeon Gwang-young and Min Byung-heon will be on show as well.

“Korean artists are celebrated for their exceptional technical abilities, experimentation with materials and hyper-realistic paintings,” said the auction house.

Why Hong Kong?

The biggest reason pointed out by art insiders is that big collectors from China, Singapore, Taiwan and Macau are poised to expand their collections in Hong Kong.

Renfrew also pointed out that Hong Kong’s gateway position also provides the perfect platform for an international fair by enabling Asian collectors’ access to blue-chip and emerging artists from the West, as well as showcasing new art from Asia and around the world to a global audience.

In addition to its prime location, Hong Kong also offers the benefit of imposing no duties or taxes on the import or export of art.

“Hong Kong provides a much more convenient environment for galleries to participate in its art fair because we do not have to worry about visas or paying much tax,” said Park Won-jae, director of One and J. Gallery.

For details on Art HK, visit www.hongkongartfair.com, on AAW, visit www.asianauctionweek.com and on the Christie’s auction, visit www.christies.com.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

코리안 아이, 런던에서.

2010-06-16T16:30:00.000+09:00

London eyes Korean art, again

Standard Chartered Bank, London’s Saatchi Gallery and Korean Eye once again rolled up their sleeves to promote Korean art in Britain.

The exhibition “Korean Eye: Fantastic Ordinary” will feature works by 12 Korean contemporary artists at Saatchi Gallery, one of Britain’s most prominent galleries.

The gallery had only lent the venue for last year’s exhibition titled “Korean Eye: Moon Generation,” but decided to take a bigger role this year as one of the organizers.

“A year ago, we started the inaugural Korean Eye exhibition and did not know it would have such an immediate success. More than 40,000 people visited the exhibition within two weeks so it was extended four times and was there for over three months,” said David Ciclitira, founder of Korean Eye, at the press conference on Tuesday.

Phillips de Pury enabled sales of the exhibits at last year’s show but since the auction house is not participating this year, the focus will be less on sales and more on the quality of the exhibition.

“The Costume of Painter — Phantom of Museum D. W. House harp ds” by Bae Joon-sung Korean Eye

A bigger and more international board of curators including Johnson Chang, director of Hanart Gallery in China, Amelie von Wedel, director of Wedel Fine Art, Serenella Ciclitira, Korean Eye Co-Founder and Honorary Fellow of Royal College of Arts, Rodman Primack, Philips de Pury Chairman, Jiyoon Lee, director of Suum Art Project in Korea, and Lee Dae-hyung, director of H-Zone in Korea, promised a high-quality exhibition.

“We are showcasing more works by a smaller number of artists this time, so this exhibition will be an opportunity to take an in-depth look at Korean contemporary art,” said Lee Dae-hyung.

The participating artists, including Bae Joon-sung, Kim Hyun-soo, Shin Mee-kyoung and Bae Chan-hyo, are younger, and their work is more experimental compared to the art in last year’s exhibition.

Another notable point about the exhibition is that it is heading for more world markets.

“This year we have expanded the boundaries of the exhibition to start in London at the Saatchi Gallery, then move on to Singapore in September and finally on to Seoul to coincide with the G20 Summit in November,” said Ciclitira.

Standard Chartered Bank increased its support fund from $60,000 to $600,000 this year for the traveling exhibition. It also announced its plans to support the big scale Korean contemporary art exhibition which is planned during the London Olympics in 2012, using the entire Saatchi Gallery exhibition space.

Korean Eye exhibition plans to continue for two more years and expand its venues to more international cities in the United Arab Emirates, China and Japan.

The organizers are publishing “Korean Eye Contemporary Korean Art,” a book on Korean contemporary art, in English as well. The book will be launched on July 5.

“The Korean Eye book, published by SKIRA, will become the first English-language book on Korean contemporary art and artists,” said Ciclitira.

The exhibition will first run from July 3-18 at Saatchi Gallery in London and then move to Singapore on September and back in Seoul on November. For more information, go to www.KoreanEye.org.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

잃어버렸다던 명성황후 카펫, 알고보니 박물관에 내내 있었다

2010-06-16T16:29:00.000+09:00

Empress’ carpet found in museum

National Museum of Korea announced on Wednesday that it had found a relic similar to the lost leopard carpet assumed to have been in Empress Myeongseong’s office, in its collection.

The empress’ carpet, made of 48 leopards’ pelts, was lost on its way back to Korea after it was taken to the U.S. during the Korean War.

The leopard carpet found by the National Museum of Korea National Museum of Korea

The case of the carpet recently regained the public’s attention as an NGO headed by a Buddhist nun Hyemun that aims to retrieve Korean relics taken out of the country and Lay Buddhist Association for Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism raised the issue last Tuesday, calling on the government to track down the lost carpet.

“The Cultural Heritage Administration sent an official document requesting to check if the museum has the carpet in question. We found the carpet within our collection, immediately, and decided to show it to the public right away,” said a museum official.

Hugh V. Giltner, a U.S. soldier, had bought the carpet from a street vendor for $25 in April 1951, and sent it to his parents in the U.S. as a present. His father was an antique collector.

But as the carpet was too large -- 2.5 meters by 5.6 meters -- to keep inside the house, Giltner took it to Joseph R. Simmons, a fur dealer. Recognizing the value of the precious carpet from Korea, Simmons showed the carpet to the media. A U.S. magazine ran a story on the carpet, “The Sergeant‘s Souvenir” in its Aug. 28, 1951 issue.

Korean Consulate General in New York reacted immediately, announcing a statement asking for the return of the carpet. The carpet was stolen from empress Myeongseong’s office and is a priceless treasure, it said.

U.S. Customs Office is known to have confiscated the carpet from Giltner and sent it back to Korea.

“According to our research on relics taken out of the country to the U.S., the leopard carpet was categorized as a looted good during the Korean War and it is known to have been returned to the Korean Embassy in the U.S. between August 1951 and February 1952. But it went missing after that. We suspect that a powerful man at the time could have hid it,” said Ven. Hyemun.

A plum flower pattern on the back of the leopard carpet revealed by the National Museum of Korea

Museum officials said that there is high possibility that the carpet revealed by the museum -- 2.43 meters wide and 5.74 meters long with six vertical patterns and red cloth on the edges -- is the long lost carpet.

“It is certain that the carpet was produced to be used inside the palace, based on the plum flower pattern on the back, and that it is very similar to the carpet we are looking for, as the margin of error regarding the size is within 3 cm and it is similar to the carpet seen in the photo published in Life, a U.S. magazine, in 1951. The carpet has very high value as there are no other relics that can be compared to this,” said Lim Jae-wan, a museum official.

But there is no specific proof that empress Myeongseong had actually owned or used the carpet.

“Scholars have different opinions on when the plum flower pattern began to be used within the palace. But many presume that it was after 1897. So since empress Myeongseong was murdered two years before that, there is also a possibility that the empress did not actually use the carpet. There is also a possibility that there was more than one carpet of this kind in the palace,” said Lim.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

갤러리 시리즈 _4_ 선화랑 김창실 대표

2010-06-16T16:27:00.000+09:00

‘Artworks should be judged by quality, not by price’

This is the fourth in a 10-part series on prominent art galleries in Korea. – Ed

Sun Gallery president Kim Chang-sil was running about in high heels in her gallery in Insa-dong, central Seoul, answering her endlessly ringing cellphone and checking every little detail, on a Thursday afternoon.

The 75 year old is still the busiest person in the gallery, 33 years after she stepped into the world of art dealing. She had many titles over the years, including two terms as the president of the Galleries Association of Korea.

“It is hard, but I have to do it because I feel a sense of responsibility,” she said, turning the key to her office, tucked away in the back room on the gallery’s fourth floor.

There, through Kim’s collection of her favorite artworks, photos of her family and those she took with VIPs like President Lee Myung-bak, awards she won and books she wrote, one can see her efforts and achievements over the years.

“Once I decide to do something, I have to do it right. I decided to start a culture business, so I am running a culture business, as it should be run,” she said, taking a seat on an antique couch she bought nearly 40 years ago, before she opened the gallery in 1977.

Kim Chang-sil, president of Sun Gallery, sits on the sculpture “Rest” by Kim Myung-sook. Kim Myung-sub/ The Korea Herald

Sun Gallery contributed much to Korea‘s art scene, introducing numerous talented local and international artists to the Korean public. Sun Art, a quarterly magazine which was published by the gallery for 13 years, contributed to raising awareness of art among the public and the annual Sun Art Award, established in 1984, is still well-recognized in the field. In 2008, Kim opened an atelier in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, which provides free accommodation and studio space for artists.

It is no surprise that Kim was honored with an Order of Cultural Merit last year. It was the first time that a gallery owner was given the prize.

Kim has been interested in art ever since she was a child, as she grew up in a relatively privileged family which encouraged cultural experiences.

“I thought all family should naturally have music and art in their homes,” she confessed.

But since her father insisted that women, too, should have a certain skill to make a living, Kim studied medicine at Ewha Womans University and opened a pharmacy. She later quit that job and concentrated on educating her children after her marriage, but her interest in art did not fade away.

One day, she came across Do Sang-bong’s painting “Lilac” and bought it. It was her first collection. One thing led to another and Kim decided to open her own gallery.

“I just wanted to see more artworks of good quality and collect them,” said Kim.

Her love for art greatly influenced her daughter, Lee Myung-jin, as Lee one day gave up her dream to be a pianist and announced that she wanted to follow in Kim’s footsteps. Lee opened a gallery of her own, Gallery Sun Contemporary in Sogyuk-dong, Seoul.

Does she give advices to her daughter every now and then?

“Young people these days do not like to be lectured,” said Kim, laughing. But she did point out some important values in running a gallery.

“The key is to walk a straight path. The art business suffers from many problems these days because so many galleries just focus on making money. They frantically try to raise the value of their affiliated artists only, making other galleries and artists suffer. I’ve been asked to participate in auctions, several times, but I never do it because I do not want to hurt other galleries,” said Kim.

“Take Park Soo Keun for example. He too, is another bestselling artist created by galleries, although I do think he is one of the greatest artists in Korea. Some thoughtless investors simply buy the works because galleries say it is good. But artworks should be assessed and selected for their good quality, not for their English or French translation. We don’t buy French artists’ works because we speak good French, do we?”

In fact, the word “sun” in the gallery’s name is from the Chinese letter that means “to select,” not the one that means “nice,” she explained.

For the gallery’s last exhibition which commemorated its 33rd anniversary, Kim carefully selected pieces by 363 Korean artists. The unprecedented exhibition, which showed off Kim’s influence in the art business was given a favorable reception.

The gallery’s upcoming exhibition is on Lisa Vershbow, a metal craft artist perhaps better known here as the wife of Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Korea. Her exhibition starts on Wednesday.

It was Kim who had offered Vershbow to showcase her works in Korea for the first time at Sun Gallery, four years ago.

“I saw her works first and liked them very much. Her works are peculiar, as she does not use gemstones to make jewelry. She is a hardworking artist who is very well recognized in the U.S.,” said Kim, fingering a long broach on her collar that was made by Vershbow.

For more information on Sun Gallery or on Lisa Vershbow’s exhibition, call (02) 734-0458 or visit www.sungallery.co.kr.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

비엔나에서 열린 북한미술특집전

2010-06-16T16:26:00.000+09:00

N.K. leader portraits on display in Vienna

Amid heightened tensions here following the sinking of a South Korean Naval ship, apparently by the North in March, a little known side of North Korea is being shown at a venue far from the Korean Peninsula.

Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts, or MAK, offers an exhibition titled “Flowers for Kim Il Sung,” a first-ever comprehensive look at North Korean contemporary art outside of the country.

Through cooperation with Korean Art Gallery and the Paektusan Academy of Architecture, both in Pyongyang, the show features more than 100 oil, ink and watercolor paintings, 30 posters and some architecture models and photographs from the world’s most isolated communist country.

MAK had to go through “extensive negotiations” with the relevant ministry in Pyongyang, said Peter Noever, director of MAK.

“It took a long time for the museum to persuade the skeptical North Koreans to let them include the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il portraits in the show,” Noever told the press. As a result, 16 portraits of the former and current North Korean leaders are seen at the show, for the first time outside of North Korea, according to the museum officials.

Persuading North Koreans, however, was not the only problem. The Austrian government also raised doubts about the exhibition, criticizing MAK for working with the Pyongyang regime. But Noever rejected suggestions that the museum is supporting the regime.

“The exhibition should in no way be viewed as a political statement, but rather purely as a unique opportunity to examine the idealizing art of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which is hardly known at all. With this showing at the MAK, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has broken through its isolation -- at least in terms of artistic production,” said Noever.

Currently in the spotlight in North Korea is a culture determined by the all-encompassing worship of “Eternal President” Kim Il-sung and his currently reigning son Kim Jong-il, and characterized by Juche ideology, a North Korea-specific interpretation of socialism.

The works are created by artists who occupy a special status in North Korea, according to MAK. All are members of the state artist association, paid a monthly salary and have to produce a certain number of paintings.

The exhibition runs through Sept. 5 at MAK. For more information, visit www.MAK.at.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

부산 프레타포르테 2010/11 F/W

2010-05-23T15:10:00.000+09:00

Colorful garments lead Pret-a-Porter Busan

Vivid and witty designs are dominating the runway at Pret-a-Porter Busan, Korea’s second-largest fashion event, which ends its three-day run today at BEXCO.

Gerlan Jeans presents its 2010 F/W collection at Pret-a-Porter Busan on Thursday at BEXCO in Busan. Yonhap News

Gerlan Jeans, an up-and-coming brand among young New Yorkers that was first to showcase its new 2010 F/W collection at the event, offered an interesting combination of washed out denim, various prints and brilliant-colored clothes.

More international brands such as Dress Camp and Ganglion showcased their collections during the last two days, along with collections by local designers including Jo Myung-rae, Lee Young-hee, Gang Dong-jun and Go Tae-yong.

Today, more collections by international brands -- Yangdu, Horace -- and Korean designers Lie Sang-bong, Lee Jong-cheol and Ra Se-young will hit the catwalk.

Under the title “O.P.E.N.,” short for “Opportunity, Public Communication, Expert and Networking,” this year’s event aims to achieve better communication between local and international designers and buyers.

For more information, go to www.papbusan.com.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

일본 디자이너 도쿠진 요시오카 한국 전시

2010-05-23T15:09:00.000+09:00

Yoshioka’s designs lighten up their surroundings

Some of the brightest furniture you are ever likely to have seen is packed in Museum.Beyond Museum, an exhibition place in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. Surrounding the furniture is a bunch of plastic straws that make the venue even brighter.

These are works by Tokujin Yoshioka, one of Japan’s hottest designers who is currently holding his first solo exhibition “Spectrum” in Korea. He not only exhibits around the world but also has numerous collaborations with companies such as Hermes and Swarovski.

His furniture at the exhibition, however, may seem a bit too overwhelming to plop into. “Waterfall,” a bench made of special glass, reflects light in a broad spectrum. “Honey-pop” is a chair made of glassine paper that can be spread like an accordion so the person sitting on it can adjust it to the most comfortable form. “Venus” is another interesting chair made of crystals produced by chemically processing polyester fiber and special minerals.

Looking through the exhibition, you may find yourself asking if these pieces are furniture or art.

“It is up to the viewers to figure out what it is. I don’t define whether it is a design, a product or art when I make something. I focus on trying to move the viewers’ heart. Although, I do think that the works might not be something you would be using in everyday life,” he told The Korea Herald via e-mail.

“Rainbow Church,” a 50-meter high installation made of 450 prism blocks which he is showcasing in Asia for the first time, on the other hand, can more easily be categorized as art.

“The idea of this architecture project dates back to when I was in my early 20s. I visited the Chapel du Rosaire in France, which Henri Matisse created in his last years. I was engrossed in the beauty of the light that the chapel created. Since then, I have been dreaming of designing architecture where people can feel the light with all senses,” said Yoshioka.

“I like transparent things in general, including light. I am attracted to invisible things like light, smell and wind, and I try to express those elements. Maybe it is because I want to move people’s hearts instead of creating something that has a physical form,” he said.

The exhibition runs through June 30 at Museum.Beyond Museum in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. For more information, call (02) 577-6688 or visit www.beyondmuseum.com

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

이중섭 "황소" 경매 최고기록 깰까?

2010-05-23T15:08:00.000+09:00

Lee Joong-seop’s ‘Bull’ could beat auction records

Seoul Auction announced Monday that Korean artist Lee Joong-seop’s oil painting “Bull” will be sold at its 117th major auction in June.

The bid for the piece will start from between 3.5 billion won ($3.05 million) to 4.5 billion won, and could end up setting a new record in Korean auction history.

“Bull” by Lee Joong-seop Seoul Auction

The highest price record so far is held by Park Soo Keun’s “A Wash Place,” which was sold for 4.52 billion won by Seoul Auction in May 2007. That work was mired in controversy over its authenticity. A court ruled in November 2009 that the auctioned piece was not a counterfeit.

“Lee Joong-seob’s ‘Bull’ will set a record at the auction as it is a monumental piece in Korean modern art history,” said Lee Hak-jun, president of Seoul Auction.

Lee’s paintings that feature bulls are rarely seen in auctions because most are held in museums, including Hongik Museum of Art and Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. This particular piece, 35.3 cm long and 51.3 cm wide, was last seen in public at an exhibition held by Gallery Hyundai in 1972.

“An individual collector, who was an old acquaintance of Lee, exchanged three of Lee’s paintings that he had bought in Midopa Gallery in 1955 with this ‘Bull.’ Lee wanted to give the three paintings to his family as a present, so the collector took home ‘Bull,’ which was Lee’s favorite, instead,” said an official at Seoul Auction.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

갤러리 시리즈_ 학고재 우찬규 대표

2010-05-23T15:07:00.000+09:00

Hakgojae pursues art with Korean roots

This is the third in a 10-part series on prominent art galleries in Korea. – Ed

Seeing the graceful Korean style roof and the contrasting modern interior of Hakgojae Gallery in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, one gets a feeling that there is something special about the gallery.

This hunch is confirmed upon learning the meaning of the word Hakgojae -- studying the old, creating the new.

The gallery started out in 1988 as a gallery exclusively for Korean antique art.

The concept of the gallery came to Woo Chan-kyu, the founder and president of the gallery, naturally, as he had an interest in old Korean art ever since he attended “seodang,” or traditional village schools, instead of going to high school and college.

It was not 17-year-old Woo’s intent to attend seodang but rather the decision was based on financial reasons. Woo, however, soon found the education he received there very attractive and now believes that his seodang days gave him the power and luck that will last for his lifetime.

“Studying Chinese letters was so much fun. I memorized almost every book I learned. And as I came and went out of my teachers’ houses, I got to see many old artworks in their houses and grew interested in them. I learned how to analyze them and identify their authenticity,” said Woo.

Hakgojae Gallery president Woo Chan-kyu poses at the Lim Choong-sub exhibition currently underway. Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald

His knowledge of Chinese letters and old Korean paintings is well-known in the art field. But his passion for repatriating Korea’s artworks that were taken out of the country is more widely known.

He visits Japan about 10 to 15 times a year, whenever he hears the news that an important Korean antique painting has turned up in the market. He picks them up without hesitation but is very particular when selling them. In fact, he recently surprised the public by refusing to sell some Joseon-period paintings to individual collectors at a recent exhibition.

“The number of our old art is already too small, compared to those of Japan or China. If individual collectors take them, they will only become more and more rare. I wanted public museums to buy them so that more people and scholars could view them,” said Woo.

Hakgojae is not just all about Korean antique artworks. It also holds shows on famous contemporary artists on one condition: Their works should be based on traditional roots.

Woo said that Lim Choong-sub, the Korean artist whose exhibition is underway at the gallery through May 30, is one such artist.

“Lim’s works are very conceptual and contemporary but based on the understanding of Korean traditional culture, like Neo-Confucianism. This kind of artist and this kind of exhibition fits in at Hakgojae,” said Woo.

“The content of the exhibition determines the worth of a gallery. It should exhibit creations that can represent the era. Hakgojae will showcase works by world-famous masters who focus on the mentality and fundamental problems of art. Exhibiting art that simply focuses on amusement is a waste of time.”

With that concept, Hakgojae is expanding.

Woo opened a publishing business under the same name in 1991, as an effort to lift the overall standard of Korean art sector.

“Running a gallery, I recognized the need to raise the standard of gallery owners and collectors, so that we could treat art of high standards. Publishing books seemed to be the first step,” said Woo.

In 2013, the gallery will be moving into a bigger place in Buam-dong, also in Seoul, so it can exhibit larger contemporary artworks. Woo has already secured a site there.

“Professor Choi Wuk, a veteran architect who designed the current Hakgojae Gallery, will be in charge of the design again for the Buam-dong gallery. The basic concept of the new gallery will be same as this one; coexistence of traditions and modern,” said Woo.

For details about Lim Choong-sup’s exhibition or Hakgojae Gallery, call (02) 739-4937 or visit www.hakgojae.com.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

달은 가장 오래된 시계다

2010-05-23T15:05:00.000+09:00

Time captured at Deoksugung museum

We make a habit of saying that we have no time, although we feel and experience the presence of time through various changes like the seasons and our physical state.

A soap sculpture by Shin Mi-kyung (National Museum of Art)

Inspired by this irony, Kim Nam-in, one of the youngest curators at the National Museum of Art, decided to offer the public an opportunity to take a closer look at the passage of time and so organized the exhibition “Passing Hours: Moon is the Oldest Clock.”

The exhibition is currently underway at the National Museum of Art, Deoksugung, which Kim thought would be the perfect venue to feel time flying by.

“I often find it peculiar that there is this old palace and garden in the middle of Gwanghwamun, one of the busiest places in Seoul. If you looked down from the sky, it would look like a tiny breathing hole,” said Kim.

“I had a chance to look at the original plan for the palace while organizing the exhibition. I was surprised to see the place looked exactly the same, from the walls we can tear down and the walls we can’t. Deoksugung is one of the rarest places in Seoul where we can really see the different layers of time piled up.”

Time-themed paintings, sculptures, video and installation works by 11 Korean contemporary artists, including some of Korea’s best known -- Kang Ik-joong, John Bae and late video artists Park Hyun-ki and Paik Nam-june -- are on display.

This is the first time such contemporary works have been on show inside the Deoksugung museum, which used to exhibit more calm and traditional works.

Categorized into four sections -- “River,” “Water,” “Moon,” “String” -- each of which is a metaphor of flowing time, the modern exhibits fit in beautifully with the Korean traditional palace.

“Storyteller’s Dilemma” by John Bae
(National Museum of Art)

Among the exhibits, Shin Mee-kyoung’s soap sculptures are probably the most time-sensitive. She installed six outdoors and six indoors, which will be left in the hands of nature during the exhibition period.

“Even I don’t know how they will end up. I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing the results, too,” said Shin.

The rest of the exhibits may not dramatically change during the exhibition but are still interestingl.

Kim Ho-deuk hung white sheets of traditional paper above a shallow dish 4 meters wide and 18 meters long filled with black Chinese ink for the “River” section. Under the dim lights, the ink makes shadows on the paper, which waver like the river.

Han Eun-sun displays how water and paint smudge on the canvas as time goes by through her paintings at the next division. She also showcased practise paintings she did before creating the final piece in a small room to show another trace of time.

A room features many paintings Han Eun-sun went through before creating her final version of the “Water Going Up.”

The “Moon” and the “String” section showcases quite old and familiar works like Paik Nam-june and Park Hyun-ki’s video arts or John Bae’s wire sculptures. But seeing them in Deoksugung, under a significant theme, they appear somewhat different.

The exhibition runs through July 4 at National Museum of Art, Deoksugung in central Seoul. Tickets are 5,000 won for adults and 2,500 won for adolescents.

After the Seoul show, the exhibition will also be held in The National Gallery for Foreign Art in Bulgaria and The National Gallery in Prague, Czech, from August through October to commemorate 20th anniversaries of the relationships between those countries and Korea.

For more information, call (02) 2188-6062 or visit www.moca.go.kr

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

간송미술관 봄 전시 리뷰

2010-05-23T15:04:00.000+09:00

To resist or to obey: Paintings of colonial period

Gansong Art Museum will start its first exhibition of the year on Sunday, to the delight of art fans.

The museum opens its doors to the public only two times a year, once in spring and once in autumn.

The exhibition this spring, “The 100th Anniversary of Joseon’s Ruination,” aims to show how artists reflected the time of despair onto canvas.

Painting of butterflies by Lee Gyung-seung Gansong Art Museum

“Considering how paintings are a mirror of a period’s overall cultural capacity, we can see how the frustration of society during the Japanese invasion period is reflected in Joseon paintings from that era. This will also be an opportunity to think about the current situation of Korean contemporary art where artists who continue the traditional methods of painting and those who studied overseas coexist,” said Choi Wan-su, research director at the museum.

Over 100 paintings by 28 artists of the Joseon Period will be on display, from Seo Byung-geon, who was 60-years-old in 1910 when Japan annexed Joseon, and Go Hee-dong, who was 25 at the time.

Some of the artists expressed resistance towards Japan in their work while some turned pro-Japanese and created submissive paintings. Some simply renounced the troublesome world and went on with their lives, painting butterflies.

The exhibition runs from Sunday through May 30. Admission is free. To get to the museum, take the subway to Hanseong University Subway Station, Line 4. For more information, call (02) 762-0442.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

컬쳐리더인스티튜트

2010-05-23T15:03:00.000+09:00

Arts envoys to gain more than culture lessons

The Culture Leader Institute, which opened last year to incubate cultural leaders in Korea, is launching an Arts Ambassador Academy this month. The institute is an affiliate of Culture Bank, a consulting firm specialized in the culture area.

“The participants will experience what an important role arts and culture play in Korea’s development, and will transmit the knowledge to others. They can make a big change, starting from their surroundings,” said Cheon Ho-seon, director of the institute and also Dean of Korea Venture Craft College.

The course includes online and offline lectures from high-profile cultural figures, brunch classes, and several visits to concerts and performances.

“We can only educate them, but the participants can profit more, like through networking. The networking process between participants and lecturers is how brilliant ideas for arts can be born in the future,” said Cheon.

Culture Leader Institute director Cheon Ho-seon (Culture Leader Institute)

Cheon, who was nominated as the institute’s director earlier this year, had been with the culture ministry during most of his 35 years as a public servant. He was one of the founding members of the Korean Cultural Service in New York, which held many successful events to promote Korean culture in the U.S.

With his deep interest in the art and culture domain, he was involved in many cultural businesses even after he retired as a government official.

One of them was Ssamzie-Gil, a cultural complex in Insa-dong, central Seoul, which his brother Chun Ho-gyun, the former CEO of Ssamzie, founded in June, 2006.

“When I organized the ‘5000 years of Korean art’ exhibition in New York, the New York Times reported that the identity of Korean culture was in crafts, including Baekja and Cheongja. I ran Ssamzie-Gil, hoping to lift Korean craft to the next level,” he said.

But now he is out of Ssamzie-Gil, as Ssamzie went bankrupt last year. The place is now run by the landlord.

“Yes, I am sorry how it ended. We used to do lots of things for Korean art, like the Ssamzie residency program we had near Hongik University. It was an overwhelming job for a small company like Ssamzie to do in the first place. At least now there are many residency programs that are run by the government,” he said.

In 2007, after he finished his job as the general director of the fourth World Ceramic Biennale, Cheon went and knocked on the doors of the art auction industry through Auction Byul.

Auction Byul aimed to sell high quality artworks but did not go so well and had to be closed within a year. The firm then changed its name to Byul Collection and decided to focus more on collecting artworks by young artists. Cheon stepped down from his position as president but is still participating as one of the stock holders.

After his many years as a sort of “arts ambassador” in and out of Korea, Cheon felt the need to focus on people.

“Culture was always the second priority in government policies, after economics. But there will be a limit unless culture and economics both guide the country. In order to do that, I felt the need to change people’s mindset,” said Cheon.

“They say Asia will become the world’s center of politics, economics and culture by 2030. This can’t happen overnight. Step by step, we need to raise our cultural level to be at the world’s top. We are going to make it possible.”

The academy will take place at Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul from May 29 to July 10. Registration for the course is open through May 21 at www.cultureleaderinstitute.org

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

홍대미술관 첫 기획전 리뷰

2010-05-23T15:02:00.000+09:00

Hongdae show blurs line between art, design

“Hongdae,” short for “Hongik Daehagyo” or “Hongik University,” should not only remind one of an area full of clubs and cafés in Seoul. The university is actually home to Korea’s most renowned art school.

“Girl” by Kwak Nam-sin HOMA

But one should not be embarrassed for not knowing this since the university did not even have a proper art museum until last year. Hongik Museum of Art finally opened in October on the second floor of the university’s Hongmungwan building.

Now the university aims to prove to the public, more systematically, how Hongik graduates are at the top of Korean contemporary art through its first special exhibition “Free Style: A Dialogue Between Art and Design.”

“The border between design and fine art is breaking down worldwide. In Korea, however, people are separating them even more, for example, by holding the Seoul ‘Design’ Capital event. We want to show that the two should be combined through exhibitions,” said Cheong Yeon-sim, assistant professor at the department of Art Studies in Hongik University who organized the exhibition.

Divided into two sections, the exhibition features 28 artists -- all quite well-known in Korea and creating works fit for the show’s theme.

“The artists are all Hongik graduates this time as it is the museum’s first special exhibition. But we will be introducing a wider range of artists in the future, said Cheong.

The first section of the show, called “Sans,” which means “without” in French, showcases works that seem to be somewhat empty.

The simple and chic works like Kwak Nam-sin’s painting “Girl” which appears like a photo of a girl’s shadows or Lee Hun-chung’s blunt ceramic stools reflect how the minimalism of the 1960s and 1970s are reinterpreted in contemporary art.

More colorful and decorative works are found at the next section titled “Accretion.”

They often show repetition of units, colors and other methods of creation. Using prints, Jin Bo-ra shows an assortment of colors of women’s cosmetic products like manicures and powders. Kim Joon painted flashy colors onto the photo of human bodies like tattoos while Kil Hyun used a chemical reaction to grow colorful paint crystals that look like moss.

“Exposed Facade” by Jin Bo-ra HOMA

The show gets more interesting when you take a closer look at the artists’ majors, which are written next to the titles, unlike other exhibitions. Visitors can see that most of the artists took a step further from the traditional domains of their majors.

For example, Cha So-lim, who majored in textile art, sewed white thread on to the canvas, making it appear like a text and Kim Byung-joo, who majored in sculpture, made house models out of steel.

“The quest for individual genres is still valid. We have here many artists of different majors. We wrote down their majors because we want to show how the artists can tackle many genres after studying a single major,” said Cheong.

“This is in fact one of the biggest missions of the university. We hope our students can come and see what kind of works their senior colleagues of what majors are doing.”

The exhibition runs through June 18 at Hongik Museum of Art in Hongik University in Sangsu-dong, central Seoul. Admission is free. For more information, call (02) 320-3272.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

갤러리 시리즈 2_ 갤러리 현대 도형태 대표

2010-05-10T17:33:00.000+09:00

‘A good dealer doesn’t collect artworks for himself’

Do Hyung-teh, president of Gallery Hyundai, most likely feels a lot of weight on his shoulders.

As the second son of Park Myung-ja, Gallery Hyundai’s founder, Do took the place as president of one of the nation’s most influential art galleries five years ago.

Opened in 1970, Gallery Hyundai is the pioneer of commercial galleries in Korea and has introduced numerous artists to the public. It not only turned the artists into big stars but led Korea’s art gallery boom in the late 1970s, proving that art exhibitions could be major events that gather large crowds. The gallery currently has three exhibition spaces in Seoul, two in Sagan-dong, and one in Sinsa-dong.

Art insiders say it was Park Myung-ja, the gallery’s founder and former president, who made all this possible. Do agreed, pointing out her gifted esthetic sense and credibility.

“Her credibility, especially, is something I could never catch up with. She is like that in her every day life, not just when doing business. I remember seeing her close relationships with the vendors at the market,” said Do.

Park’s credibility and business acumen once again stood out recently when she helped in organizing the gallery’s current exhibition on Park Soo-keun to commemorate the 45th anniversary of his death. It was Park who called every single collector of the late artist’s paintings and borrowed the works.

Thanks to her, the exhibition, which runs through May 30 at one of the gallery’s Sagan-dong spaces, showcases 45 of Park’s paintings, his photos and some of his hand-written letters.

Do still treasures his mother’s advice.

“When she says no, it means no. Although I do rebel now when I have logical reasons,” said Do, chuckling.

Opposite to what many would assume, Do had little interest in art in his youth, even though he was always surrounded by artworks and artists.

Instead, he was more of a trust-fund brat who applied for a leave of absence from Korea’s Foreign Language University and declared he was going to do nothing until his 30th birthday and simply fled to New York.

Without much thought, he majored in art at New York University and happened to fall in love with it. After that, he furthered his studies in Art History at the Pratt Art Institute based on his own willingness to learn.

The first opportunity to showoff the talent needed for what he does now came to him in 1998 at the Basel Art Fair.

Gallery Hyundai had participated in the fair since 1996 but Park Myung-ja had announced they could not that year, due to the soaring exchange rate.

Do, 30 at the time, came forward and tried everything he could, from writing letters to the fair to contacting artists to scraping up his own money to pay for the booth and the transportation.

“I knew nothing about art fairs or running galleries at that time. Some of the experienced buyers at the fair even taught me how to write invoices when they came by our booth. I found everything so amusing,” Do said.

Park, as usual, did not give him many compliments after the fair, but Do had definitely proved himself to be useful, as Gallery Hyundai had marked some actual sales there for the first time.

Since then, he moved into the gallery’s management step by step.

He picked up the essentials from his mother, like the basic rule of not coveting artworks for himself.

“I don’t collect works. We are, in a way, retailers. We need to transmit good works to good collectors. If I keep the works for myself thinking this will be worth money later on, I am a collector not a dealer. There are some dealer/collectors, but I think art dealers should not collect works for themselves,” said Do.

In areas that his mother steered clear from, Do is making some efforts independently.

After receiving criticism that Gallery Hyundai focuses too much on sales and only offered chances to established artists, Do opened the gallery Do Art in 2002, which incubates and introduces emerging artists. He also opened another gallery called 16 Bungee this year under the same goal.

This year, which is the 40th anniversary of Gallery Hyundai, will be a turning point for the gallery, said Do. His biggest goal is to introduce more Korean artists to the world. That is why he suggested publishing Park Soo-keun’s catalogue in English.

“I was embarrassed that I had nothing to bring when I met dealers and buyers overseas. Park Soo-keun is the most beloved painter in Korea. I thought it was time that we made something to better introduce him to the world,” said Do.

“We will be doing a lot of works this year, from exhibitions to art fairs, using our international networks. I can’t say what exactly right now but you will be hearing some good news, soon,” he added.

For more information on the Park Soo-keun retrospective exhibition or on Gallery Hyundai, call (02) 2287-3500 or visit www.galleryhyundai.com.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

나물이네에 관한 이야기

2010-05-10T17:30:00.000+09:00

Cocooning leads “namooli” to success

In 2002, Kim Yong-hwan was single and technically jobless at the age of 32.

He did have a title, a “freelance Web designer and illustrator,” but barely earned 300,000 won ($265) per month. To make things worse, he even became a credit delinquent for card debt.

Kim Yong-hwan, better known as “namooli,” holds up his book on cooking. Courtesy of Kim Yong-hwan

“So I didn’t have much to do but to stay home and occasionally take photos of the food I cooked, using the camera I bought for my illustrating work. I started posting them on my blog and it was fun because people started to leave comments. And before I realized it, I had become more absorbed in posting recipes than earning money,” Kim told The Korea Herald.

Posting recipes, however, led him to money.

People loved his easy-to-follow recipes. Kim’s original measuring system, which he created to help the understanding of those who were not so familiar with cooking terms, was much help.

His nickname, “namooli,” which is a cute way of saying the word “vegetables” in Korean, became familiar among those who live alone. His blog soon became one of Korea’s most popular personal blogs and Kim became a star online and offline, treated like a professional cook.

Of course, his cooking talent was not achieved overnight. He has enjoyed cooking for his friends ever since he started living alone. His friends were his first fans.

“Yes, all my recipes are original. I remember that people didn’t like to reveal their recipes back then. Even if they did, they wanted something big in return. I think my blog started to gain popularity because I opened all my recipes for free, with photos and everything,” Kim said.

After he had posted about a hundred recipes, Kim published his first book titled “Setting the Table with 2,000 won” in 2003 at the request of his fans and publisher.

The book, which targeted those on a tight budget and those who live alone, is still one of the bestsellers in the cookbook sections at bookstores.

Kim has published four more books since then, and all have sold over 1 million copies. There was no doubt he could quit his illustrating jobs and live on royalties, focusing on his blog and publications.

Still single, he is heading for the world with his recipes, though he still sits at home. He recently published a Japanese version of his cookbook and also started posting recipes in English on his blog.

“There have always been requests for translated versions of my books and I am glad it is finally accomplished. I hope to publish more translated versions in the future, in English and Chinese. And I also hope many foreigners will get to know Korean dishes through the English recipes on my blog,” said Kim.

He did not forget to send a message to all those who live alone.

“In order to do anything, being healthy is of primary importance. Eat well and exercise regularly,” he said.

To see Kim’s recipes, visit www.namool.com

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

나홀로족에 관한 이야기

2010-05-10T17:28:00.000+09:00

For youth, no shame in going solo

Despite the pouring rain, The 1st Penguin, a café located in Anam-dong near Korea University, is packed with customers on a Tuesday afternoon.

Most of them, who appear to be college students, are sitting alone. In addition to the word “Achievement” painted in big black letters and underlined twice in bold red, print-outs and memos of wise sayings and columns are posted all over the walls on every side.

A man enjoys ramen alone at Ichimen, a ramen house in Sinchon. Park Hae-mook/ The Korea Herald

Instead of small tables and chairs for two or four that are usually found in cafés, most of the furniture found at The 1st Penguin is for one person; from desks for one with wooden boxes on the side to place a bag and books to desk lamps.

“Please keep discussions quiet so you will not disturb others’ concentrations,” is another phrase written on the wall. The place looks like a café, with soft music, great interior design and serving a variety of drinks, but at the same time, functions like a library.

“The point of the interior design was to create an ambience where each customer could concentrate on his work. Because most of them use electric devices like laptops, we even prepared separate outlets for each seat,” said Kim Jun-yong, CEO of the café.

Being alone, especially eating alone, amounted to putting up a sign that says you are “wangdda,” or an outcast, in Korea. Women of all ages, especially, used to do everything with at least one friend, from eating in public and shopping to going to the bathroom.

The concept, however, seems to be changing. More men and women are going solo in public areas such as universities, restaurants and theaters. They “choose” to be alone, they say.

In a recent survey of 528 university students by Incruite, an online job search website, 34.5 percent of the respondents considered themselves as outsiders at school.

Among them, 87.4 percent answered that they voluntarily became outsiders for different reasons -- for example, not wanting to participate in unnecessary school events to concentrate more on studying or because they spend more time with friends outside of school. Only 12.6 percent said that they chose to withdraw from groups because they were not sociable enough.

Naturally, people’s attitude toward outsiders is also growing more positive. Some 66.7 percent of the respondents said that it is simply a different style of living while only 33.3 percent answered that they are people who lack sociability.

Eating alone

Kim Tae-hwan, a 25-year-old university student, prefers eating solo on campus. It has been so ever since he returned to school from his two-year military service.

“Sure, I have friends at school but I don’t have much time to spare now that I have put myself out on the job market. I choose to eat quickly, alone, and get other things done rather than to spend much time over lunch,” he said.

Recognizing students’ changing attitudes, a restaurant in the second basement of the Engineering Department building in Yonsei University recently installed partitions on its tables. Such partitioned tables are a more familiar sight in Women’s universities.

Restaurants outside the campus are not missing out on the trend either. One by one, they have started to offer private seats for students and office workers who come alone for a quick lunch.

Ichimen, a ramen house which opened in Sinchon, central Seoul, two years ago, is one of them.

As you walk into the restaurant, the first thing that greets you is not a waiter but an explanation board in three languages -- Korean, English and Japanese.

Simply follow what it tells you to do and you will get to enjoy your ramen without having a single conversation with anyone or seeing anyone’s face.

First, make your choice between two meals -- a ramen or a "katsudon", a type of fried steak with rice -- at the vending machine. Pay what you owe and you will get a meal ticket in return.

Check another board for empty seats -- the one with the light on is vacant --, and sit down. The seats have partitions on the sides and a red curtain in front. There are also napkins and hangers prepared behind each seat.

As soon as you press the bell on the table, the waiter/cook will silently approach from behind the curtain and hold out a hand to take your meal ticket and menu selection paper -- those who opt for ramen need to mark how spicy you want your noodle dish to be -- and give you a cup for water. No need to ring the bell again to ask for more water because there is a small faucet installed at every seat.

All you need to do now is listen to music, daydream and wait for your meal. In less than 5 minutes, your food will be served, again, by the silent hands of a waiter. When finished, just leave your tray and leave.

The ramen house is quite famous among those who seek private places to eat although it is quite a small place tucked away behind the Hyundai Department Store.

“The promotion was done naturally among young Internet users through blogs and homepages. The sales jumped 150 percent within two years of opening. We are planning to open more stores,” said An Su-kyung, public relations officer at Ichimen.

Customers at The 1st Penguin, a cafe in Anam-dong, concentrate on their studies. Chung Hee-cho/ The Korea Herald

Playing alone

It is not hard to find people sitting alone in cafés, reading books or typing into their laptops anymore. Started in the big coffee chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean, this trend can now be seen even in smaller cafés.

Many of the cozy little cafés clustered in Samcheong-dong, Sinsa-dong or the Hongik University area are book cafés where one can order a drink and sit around reading books all day long without feeling guilty. Most even have tables for one.

Library for chatting, a café near Hongik University, has a small seat for one in the attic which is so popular that it is almost never vacant. It has a cute sign below it that says “No couples allowed.”

The 1st Penguin decided to take a different approach. Opened last March in Anam-dong, it claims to be a “self-managing café.”

“My friend -- Choi Jae-young, the other CEO -- and I were ordinary office workers at fairly big companies but decided to start our own business. While seeking a concept, we heard how more people were visiting places alone and how the marketing that target such customers are becoming important in Japan. We thought this was it. We visited many cafés like Starbucks and figured it would be even better if we could provide an environment where our customers can really concentrate on their work,” said Kim Jun-yong, CEO of the café.

Wouldn’t a café suffer financially if all of its customers just ordered a single drink and stayed cooped up all day long?

“It is true that low turnover rate means low profit. But not everything can be perfect. In our case, we have regulars instead. Our customers are so satisfied with the place that they almost always visit again,” he said.

Cozy at her usual corner, Jessica Gosling, a British exchange student at Korea University, said she visits the café up to three times a week.

“I arrived in Korea last summer and this café was one of the things that struck me about Korean culture. There is something different about this café. It has a very welcoming ambience and you can actually study, talk, read and do whatever you want here,” said Gosling.

To really help its customers’ “self-management,” the café provides various projects such as “The A+ Challenge.”

At the beginning of every semester, students can submit their name and the title of one of their major courses to the café. If they get an A+ in that course after the final exam, they get a free drink. Over 150 students applied for the project this semester.

A similar project continues during school break. One can announce one big goal to achieve during the vacation and prove how they achieved it. It could be anything -- from passing a certain exam to dating the gorgeous girl next door. The person who best achieves the goal wins.

Last summer, the winner was a guy who set out to write a journal in English every day. He visited the café on the last day with a packet full of hand-written and typed journals and took home an iPod.

“Now, cafés that have nothing but cool interior designs to show off cannot last long. It gets boring too quickly. You need work on the specific contents. Ours is self-management. We also hold lectures to hear success stories from regular people around us and also provide mentoring services,” said Kim.

Those who really enjoy flying solo go further than just visiting such cafés.

Jo So-ri, a 24-year-old office worker often goes to the movies alone.

“I don’t have to fix a time with anyone and I can choose whatever movie I want,” said Jo.

The reservation rate for a single ticket is steadily increasing at CGV. It was 20.3 percent in the second quarter of 2008 but rose to 24 percent last year.

“The number of people who come to see movies alone has greatly increased. Our employees really sense the changes at the ticket booth,” said Lee Sang-kyu, CGV’s public relations officer.

The situation is similar for musicals and plays. According to Interpark, an online ticket seller, single tickets for various performances stood at about 96,000 in 2006 but increased to 141,000 in 2007 and 214,000 in 2008.

Performance organizers are now offering events and promotion packages aimed at attracting solo customers. Some designate "solo seats" and sell the tickets for half the normal price.

Living alone

As a 28-year-old man living alone, Jang Jae-hyuk’s biggest concern is laundry and leftover food.

“I know how to wash and iron my shirts. In fact, all Korean men who have served in the military would, but I don’t have the time to do it. Nor do I want to. And I usually eat out because if I buy food in advance, half of it goes bad even before I get a chance to eat it,” said Jang.

Single men like Jang would be delighted to hear that more and more self-service Laundromats are opening in Korea. Though the system is already common in the United States, it is only recently gaining popularity here.

Coinwash 24, one of the biggest self-service laundry chains in Korea, is quickly establishing more branches throughout the country thanks to the increase of one-person households. According to Statistics Korea, one-fifth of the households in Korea are one-person households.

“One can finish everything from washing to drying the clothes within one hour, so it is very convenient. It is usually young people who live alone who use the system,” said Yu Dong-geun, sales director of Coinwash 24.

Single women frequently use personal errand services like the one provided by Life Manager. The company does practically everything for you from washing dishes and doing grocery shopping to running private errands.

And for leftover food concerns, some smart food companies and retailers came up with the idea of ‘mini marketing,’ in which everything comes in smaller packages. Shoppers can now easily find such goods in most big retailers in the country including E-mart, Lotte Shopping and Home Plus.

Vegetables are cut and packaged into smaller sizes, sausages, side dishes and sauces are packed to fit one person’s single meal and even soju comes in small bottles.

“Many retailers are offering products made to fit the lifestyles of those who live alone. The sales of the products are quickly increasing too, compared to other products. We are planning to present more sorts of such products,” said Kim Geun-man of E-mart.

Home meal replacement products such as instant lasagna or galbitang, or beef rib soup, are another good choice.

Many who eat solo at home must agree, because the sales of such products increased 60 percent this year, according to E-mart.

If none of these sound appealing, one can always rely on delivery food.

It was common practice until a few years ago that at least two dishes must be ordered in order to get something delivered. But now, more restaurants are willing to deliver single dishes.

One example is Panda Kitchen, a Chinese restaurant in Sangsu-dong.

It delivers small servings of usually large dishes like tangsuyuk, or sweet-sour pork, palbochae, or fried pork with vegetables, and yangjangpi, or assorted seafood and vegetables. The food is delivered in clean paper bowls, not in big plastic dishes that are normally used by Chinese restaurants.

McDonalds also recently started a home delivery service which is open to single set orders and Pizza Hut delivers mini-size pizzas as well.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)

잭 피어슨 전시 리뷰

2010-05-07T14:38:00.000+09:00

Pierson speaks through thrown-out letters

Jack Pierson is a versatile artist who freely explores almost all genres of art from sculpture to photography to video works.

In the U.S., he is best noted as a fashion and celebrity photographer who worked with Naomi Campbell, Snoop Dogg and Brad Pitt. He was recently in charge of the catalogue shootings for six Korean designers’ collections at “Concept Korea -- Fashion Collective 2010” which took place in New York in February.

But he is happy to expand his territories, for example, to curating. He curated a much-talked show in Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York last summer. The exhibition, “The Name of This Show Is Not: Gay Art Now,” included works mainly by artists who identify themselves as gay.

Now the U.S. artist aims to showcase another side of him in Seoul, through his first solo exhibition here titled “Jack Pierson: Night.” It displays the artist’s latest word sculpture series.

“Heartbreak Hotel” by Jack Pierson installed on a Kukje Gallery wall. Kukje Gallery

Words and phrases are spotted on every wall of Kukje Gallery. They are compositions by Pierson, who picked up letters that were thrown out from Las Vegas casinos, old movie marquees and other exhausted businesses and reassembled them.

“From 1984 to 1990 my studio in New York was on the 42nd street, which was a rundown street that represented the old New York. At that time the street was becoming renewed so a lot of letters there were being thrown out and I had access to them,” Pierson told the press on Tuesday.

He collected letters not just from the 42nd street but from all over the country driving his pick-up truck. It was like a pursuit of the faded glamour and stardom in the U.S. He went to every famous rock ‘n’ roll place, including the Flame Show Bar in Detroit, which he reminisced as his favorite place.

The letters which once represented the American dreams of fame and fortune in the form of dazzling sign boards now reflect disillusionment and the artist’s nostalgic sentiments.

“You look at them (the words and phrases) and you can understand them immediately. But within that fast read, I want you to look into the individual letters to get to know each of their story,” said Pierson.

Take “Old Hollywood Movies” for example. He collected the letters from different places, including actual movie marquees.

“When I was young, I wanted to be the person who designed movie credits. The piece is a nod to that. And also, it reflects what Americans say -- you know, people just know what it means when you say ‘It’s like old Hollywood movies,’” said Pierson.

The work “Pola Negri” is his personal favorite.

“Back when Hollywood movies were silent, Pola Negri was a big star like Elvis Presley. I like the piece because I think the shape of every letter in it perfectly matches her personality,” said Pierson.

Will he ever run out of materials?

“Oh, you should see, I have a room this big filled with letters,” Pierson said with a laugh, holding his arms out in the exhibition room.

“And now is a good time to get these things because everything is becoming digital.”

The exhibition runs through June 6 at Kukje Gallery in Sogyuk-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (02) 735-8449 or visit www.kukjegallery.com

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)