미디어파사드: 랜드마크로 거듭나는 새로운 방법

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)

 

복원된 광화문 공개임박

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)

 

 

백남준 미망인 자서전 발간

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)

Germany opposed Japan’s plot to take Gojong to Japan

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

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

 [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)

벼룩시장탐험

[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)

프랑스 사로잡은 한국 문학

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

[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

[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)

 

나물이네에 관한 이야기

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

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)

 

애견도 렌탈한다는거...아시나요?

Dogs for rent: how do they feel?

 

Jang's family which lives in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul, recently spent a dreamy two weeks with a rental dachshund "Jerry." Jang only planned to have Jerry to stay for five days, but the kids loved him so much that Jang had to extend.

"Many customers extend the rental period. Kids in particular hate to return them. Some just end up buying the dog because they become so attached to it," said Park Jeong-hwan, president of Dog Rent, a dog rental shop based online.

While some extend the rents, however, some confessed that they felt guilty while being with the dogs.

"My kids wanted a dog so badly so we decided to try renting one first, to see what it would be like. Of course, the kids loved it. I also tried my best to make it feel at home, but I couldn't help feeling guilty because I knew the whole renting thing probably wasn't good for the dog," said Rho, the father of a family in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, who also rented Jerry.

"The dog was a little timid, maybe because it had to move homes so frequently. It was personally a good experience but I don't know if I want to recommend this service to friends or hope more services like this would appear," Rho said.

Dog rental is not yet well-known in Korea, but is popular in Japan. Opened in July 2009, Dog Rent is one of Korea's first companies to offer the service. Some pet shops are planning to open rental services.

Dog Rent, however, does not exclusively handle rental dogs. It is part of a broader company that lends toys and game supplies to churches, university students and companies. Park said that he had tried to launch the dog rental service in 2005 but failed, due to delivery problems.

"All delivery services at that time were done mechanically, with boxes being thrown around on conveyor belts. Dogs couldn't be carried like that. So when subway delivery services opened last year, our dog rental service could finally start," said Park.

"The deliveryman carries the dog in a carrier, so that it is safe and it does not bother subway passengers. It gives our customers more confidence, too," said Park.

Park said that the waiting list was quite long at this time of year. Families with children on vacation, single families and couples going on short trips are the shop's main customers.

The rental fee ranges between 50,000 won to 70,000 won for three days and 70,000 won to 120,000 won for one week. It varies according to the kind of dog. Families in the Gangnam area especially look for expensive pedigree dogs, said Park.

"We lend perfectly healthy dogs which have completed their checkups and are vaccinated. Customers can return them if they are sick. In case of death, we follow the policy terms that are given out with the dogs," said Park.

"But not a single rental has gone wrong. We even give out protection gloves with ones that tend to bite. And most of our dogs don't bark much so they will be quiet enough to keep in an apartment building."

Park said customers do not have to worry that the dogs will suffer from stress.

"The types we have are ones that do not easily get stressed out. They do recognize their owners but are usually delighted to be around new people. They do get a little confused when they are in a new environment, but they adapt themselves within a few hours," Park said.

Lee Won-bok, president of Korea Association for Animal Protection, has a different opinion.

"Dogs also have feelings and memories, just like humans. If a dog is treated like a doll or an accessory, having to move from house to house, the confusion and the difference in affection the dog has to experience will create a certain amount of stress for the dog," Lee said.

"It should be made clear whether the rental shops have a license or not, what kind of license they have, and how they manage the breeding environment," he added.

Lee also raised concerns about the borrowers.

"Renting a dog could make kids think that dogs are not precious pets or members of their family but just toys," he said.

"And it is hard to expect as much responsibility, devotion and affection from borrowers as from owners. Considering that there are even some people who mistreat their own pets, I am sure that some of the borrowers might purposely mistreat the rental dogs."

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young

 

김연아 _ 올림픽 금메달 노린다

All eyes are on Kim Yu-na

 

Women's figure skating is undoubtedly the highlight of the Winter Olympics for Koreans.

In Vancouver, sports lovers and the media are abuzz about the anticipated showdown between reigning world champion Kim Yu-na of Korea and her Japanese rivals.

Kim is the favorite for gold as she has been dominant for the last two seasons. The 20-year-old skater swept most competitions including the 2008 Cup of China, the 2009 ISU Four Continents Championship, the 2009 ISU World Figure Skating Championship, 2008 and 2009 Skate America, 2009 Trophee Eric Bompard, and the 2009 ISU Grand Prix Final.

Her only loss since the 2008 World Championship was the 2008 Grand Prix Final in Korea in which she put on a difficult show before her unbelievably boisterous hometown fans.

Kim not only topped the rest of the games, but also set monstrous new records. She became the first woman to top the 200-point mark at 2009 World Figure Skating Championship in Los Angeles with 207.71 points, then broke her own mark in the following 2009 Grand Prix Competition in Paris with an unbeatable 210.03.

It is no wonder that the media is focusing on Kim for this worldly event.

Time magazine chose Kim as one of the "Olympic Athletes to Watch" as did the Associated Press, reporting that "anything less than gold will be a surprise" for Kim.

British weekly newspaper "The Observer" included Kim as one of the "Vancouver 2010: Five to watch," saying she is "an absolute sure-thing to win gold."

"Her closest rival is Japan's Mao Asada, and competition should be intriguing between them in Vancouver, but Yu-na is the sport's undoubted queen," the paper reported.

If she wins this one she will be taking home Korea's first-ever Olympic gold medal in figure skating. At home, where Kim is a national superstar, nearly 50 million people are cheering for "Queen Yu-na."

It would be a dream come true for Kim and also her coach Brian Orser, a Canadian Olympic contender who came close to gold in 1988.

"Whenever I perform well in a competition, I say to myself, 'this should have been the Olympics.' I really want to see the words 'Kim Olympic Champion' in the news," she said in an interview last year.

Kim is currently in Toronto for some final training. She will arrive in Vancouver five days before her short program, which is scheduled for Feb. 24 for field adaption.

There are many others hoping to take Kim's crown. Including Kim, 30 female figure skaters from 21 countries will be competing in Vancouver this month. Among them, 2008 world champion Mao Asada and 2007 world champion Miki Ando, both from Japan, will be the biggest opponents for Kim.

Asada, Kim's longtime rival, suffered through many obstacles last year but regained her confidence after clinching the Four Continents title in Korea last month, just in time for the Olympics.

The two skaters of the same age have been competing ever since they were juniors. Asada was the winner of the same two games Kim had lost in 2008.

It was her famous triple axel jump that led Asada to the first victory and made her world champion. Now, with her triple axels looking polished again, Asada is a challlenge to Kim for the top spot.

Asada mentioned that she is 80 percent ready to win the gold in Vancouver in a recent interview.

"I was being chased after I first won the 2008 World Championship but now I'm the one who is supposed to chase. I usually charge towards new goals so going after someone on the top is OK for me. Right now Kim Yu-na is at the top," she said.

A bit overshadowed by Kim and Asada, but still a competent skater is Miki Ando. The 23-year-old is the only female skater who has ever successfully performed a quadruple jump in competition.

She recently showed a great performance in the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Final held in Tokyo in December 2009. She finished second, following Kim with a slim margin.

Ando's coach, Nikolai Morozov, claimed in a recent interview that his student can beat Kim.

"Miki can beat Kim Yu-na. She beat her in the short at the Grand Prix Final. She lost the free by a few points. They (Ando, Kim, and Asada) all have a chance; it depends on the preparation, it depends on who is healthy (and) if it all comes together on the day," Morozov said.

Though most expect the first three places to be dominated by Asian skaters, some Canadian and American skaters are also paving their way towards medals. Joannie Rochette, who will be enjoying a home advantage this year, is an example.

The 24-year-old Canadian won her sixth consecutive Canadian national title last weekend with a total score of 208.23 points. Though the event is not recognized by the International Skating Union, her clean performance was enough to surprise fans.

"I'm not putting on myself any expectation of winning the gold. Yes, I think if I do a program like this it's possible I can win, but I don't want to think about the end result. This is a sport where, the moment you start thinking, you miss," she told the press after her impressive game.

Not many, including Americans, expect U.S. skaters Rachel Flatt, 17, or Mirai Nagasu, 16, to bring back the country's reputation as the most powerful country in women's figure skating. It seems impossible for the young and less experienced skaters to break the Asian Big Three - Kim, Asada and Ando.

However, some spectators are counting on U.S. champion Flatt in the case that one of the Asian skaters falters. As the Associated Content said, Flatt has "nothing to lose but everything to gain".

The Washington Post said "She (Flatt) also holds the distinction of being the only woman to top Kim in a program this season; on a rare off night for Kim at Skate America in November, Flatt scored better in the long program."

The women's skating single short program is to be held on Feb. 24 and the free skating program on Feb. 26, both at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young