KOREA [2014 VOL.10 No.03]

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march 2014 VOL.10

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cover story

04 cOVER STORy

Korea’s Museums and Galleries

Fascinating exhibit spaces are the repository of Korean art and culture

30 cuRRENT KOREA

Mobile Shopping: A New Way to Shop

32 SuMMIT DIPLOMAcy

The Next 60 Years of Korea–US Ties

34 POLIcy REVIEw

An Investor’s Paradise

38 cREATIVE TEcHNOLOGy

Korea Opens Second Antarctic Base

40 GLObAL KOREA Sports Diplomacy

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Publisher Won Yong-gi, Korean Culture and Information Service |Executive Producer Suh Jeong-sun |E-mail[email protected] |Magazine Production Seoul Selection |

Editor-in-Chief Robert Koehler |Staff Writer Felix Im | Producer Shin Yesol |Production Supervisor Lee Jin-hyuk |Editorial Advisors Choi Byeong-guk |Copy Editors Gregory C. Eaves, David Carruth, Hwang Chi-young |Creative Director Jung Hyun-young |Head Designer Ko Min-jeong |Photography Ryu Seunghoo, Robert Koehler, RAUM Stidio |Printing Pyung Hwa Dang Printing Co., Ltd. | All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from KOREA and the Korean Culture and Information Service. If you want to receive a free copy of

KOREA or wish to cancel a subscription, please e-mail us. A downloadable PDF file of KOREA and a map and glossary with common Korean words appearing in our text are available by clicking on

the thumbnail of KOREA on the homepage of www.korea.net. 11-1110073-000016-06

42 GREAT KOREAN

Park Ji-won

44 My KOREA

An American on a Korean Campus

46 MuLTIcuLTuRAL KOREA

Seok Ha-jung

48 TALES FROM KOREA

Mr. Lumpy and the Goblins

50 FLAVOR

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cover story

Korea’s Museums

and Galleries

cover story

Fascinating exhibit spaces are the repository of Korean art and culture

Written by Kwon Mee-yoo

T

he opening of a new branch of the National Museum of Modern and

Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul last November was the biggest event in the Korean art world in decades.

New York has the Museum of Modern Art, London has the Tate Modern, Paris has the Centre Pompidou and finally Seoul has a decent museum dedicated to contemporary art, part of a continuing effort to expand the cultural influence and build a presence on the art scene.

President Park Geun-hye expressed her high expectations for the nation’s flagship art museum as well. At the opening of MMCA Seoul last November, Park said she tries to visit museums when she tours foreign countries, as they are a repository of culture.

“Museums are not only to view art work, but they also form the source of imagination and creative ideas, as well as provide psychological enrichment and artistic sensitivity,” President Park said.

“I hope MMCA Seoul becomes the center of Korean culture and art, along with the Bukchon area and the galleries located there, and grows into a place where international artists visiting Korea can share this inspiration and artistic taste.”

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covering a variety of themes from history and art to chocolate and teddy bears.

The national museum system alone includes 13 sites, including the flagship National Museum of Korea in Seoul and the recently opened Naju National Museum, the first national museum in Korea’s southwestern province of Jeollanam-do. Tellingly, 12 of the 13 museums are located in provincial areas. In addition to relating a national story, the system also aims to promote Korea’s many rich regional histories and cultures. The Naju National Museum, for instance, focuses on the history, art and culture of the Mahan Confederacy, an ancient confederacy of small kingdoms that dominated southern portions of the Korean Peninsula between the first century BC and the third century AD. The Korean national museum system operates centrally, reducing tension between museums and ensuring that exhibits are fairly distributed.

Museums are important spaces for communication between the past and present. During the peak season, the National Museum of Korea’s flagship museum in Seoul receives over 30,000 visitors a day. In line with the Park Administration’s policy of expanding access to culture under the name of “Culture Enrichment,” museums have even begun taking their exhibits on the road in the form of bus-born “mobile museums” to give residents of isolated rural regions an opportunity to experience their cultural and artistic heritage.

To further expand access to museums, the government has designated the last Wednesday of every month as

Culture Day. Participating institutions offer discounts or free admission. Some 8,000 institutions nationwide participate in the program, including all the national museums.

Likewise, museums and galleries are increasingly being transformed into points of communication and exchange between Korea and the wider world. The flagship

National Museum of Korea, for instance, conducts two or three overseas exhibits a year. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, for instance, held the “Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom” exhibit through Feb 23. The show featured about 100 relics from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC–AD 935), including the famous gilt-bronze Pensive Maitreya Bodhisattva (National Treasure No. 83), one of Korea’s most beloved national treasures. The National Museum of Korea is also organizing the “Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty” exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through May 26.

History of Korean Museums

According to Kim Dalgin Art Research and Consulting, a total of 167 new art and history museums and galleries were established in Korea last year. Of these, 67 opened in Seoul, and of these, 27 are located in Jongno-gu, where the MMCA Seoul is located, making the area a gallery-focused neighborhood.

However, the history of museums in Korea is not so long. The first modern museum appeared in Korea in 1909 when the Imperial Household Museum, later Completed after four years of construction, costing

roughly US$227 million and covering over 50,000 square meters in the center of Korea’s capital, MMCA Seoul is located right next to Gyeongbokgung Palace, where kings resided and administered during the Joseon era (1392-1910). The ultra-modern museum, designed by Mihn Hyun-jun, is composed of a red brick building, gray concrete boxes and a traditional Korean house, exhibiting the site’s historical value.

The Hanok, or traditional Korean building, dates from the Joseon period and was used for several royal offices such as the Jongchinbu, the office of royal genealogy. The red brick building was built during Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) and first served as Gyeongseong Medical College Hospital. It was later used as the Defense Security Command headquarters. Mihn said he designed the complex more for scenery than as a building.

“There were ‘historical fragments’ on this site, and I had to construct scenery that could be shared with other structures instead of something totally independent,” the 45-year-old architect said.

Bearing all its rich history, the site has been transformed into a depository of cutting-edge art. Currently, the newly-opened museum is hosting a slew of inaugural exhibitions featuring the works of top-notch Korean and international artists.

“Connecting_Unfolding” features works from seven artists—Tacita Dean, Kim Jones, Amar Kanwar, Marc Lee, Lee Mingwei, Kishio Suga and Yang Min-ha—handpicked by seven international curators, representing the museum’s direction in an era of convergence. “The Aleph Project,” named after a short story by Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges, shows the more interactive, experimental side of the museum. “Zeitgeist Korea” is MMCA Seoul’s attempt to move modern art from the abstract art of the 1960s to something more contemporary, reflecting on the loneliness of modern people.

Space for Communication

Korea’s museums and galleries are the repository of 5,000 years of history and culture. The country is home to no fewer than 1,000 museums and galleries nationwide,

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Seo Do-ho’s Home within Home within Home within Home within Home, part of his Hanjin Shipping The Box Project

Children take in painter Suh Yongsun’s work at the Seoul Museum of art.

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known as the Yi Royal Household Museum, opened in Changgyeonggung Palace. It was originally used for storing the imperial family’s collection of artifacts, but it was later opened to the public, along with a botanical garden and a zoo.

A formal museum building was built for the Yi Wangga Museum in 1938 in Deoksugung Palace and displayed the royal collection, which included ancient ceramics, sculptures and paintings.

Later, this collection of the Joseon royal family was transferred to the National Museum of Korea (NMK), which after liberation from colonial rule first settled in a Japanese-built museum building in Gyeongbokgung Palace and then moved to its current Yongsan location in 2005.

In addition to state-run institutions, many notable museums are privately-led. The Bohwagak in Seongbuk-dong, the first modern private museum in Korea and now called the Gansong Art Museum, was founded by Jeon Hyeong-pil (1906-1962). Jeon—also known by his pen name Gansong—was a renowned collector of cultural properties and an educator who tried his best to prevent the outflow of Korean cultural legacies during Japanese rule.

Gallery Hyundai, Korea’s first commercial gallery, opened in 1970, introducing foreign talent and supporting local artists by helping them gain international exposure.

The private sector continued to lead in establishing

museums. In the 1980s, large corporations entered the field of art collecting, which led to an era of conglomerate-supported museums. Samsung was one of the first, building the Ho-Am Art Museum in 1982 and later expanding with the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art.

Big Museums Growing and Improving

MMCA Seoul is not the only large-scale addition to Korean museums last year. The Buk Seoul Museum of Art, a branch of the Seoul Museum of Art (SEMA), is emerging as a new landmark in northeastern Seoul, a neighborhood which may be lacking in cultural facilities. Located between Hagye Station and Junggye Station on Subway Line 7, the Buk Seoul Museum of Art aims to be a “community-friendly public art museum.” Situated in a park near residential areas full of high-rise apartment complexes and department stores, the museum attracts residents who are out for a walk.

The Buk Seoul Museum of Art is currently hosting through March 23 the “New Scenes” exhibit, an

inaugural exhibition selected from the SEMA collection. The six-story museum, with three floors above the ground and three floors below, specializes in public art and photography. Kim Hong-hee, director of the Seoul Museum of Art, said photography has become a popular

genre of contemporary art, a genre that is expanding the boundaries of art, and that the Buk Seoul Museum of Art reflects such a trend.

The opening of a photography gallery has influenced the SEMA’s collecting policy. Currently, the SEMA has some 3,600 artworks in its collection, and more than 80 percent of them are paintings. “[The SEMA] will soon collect more visually impactful photographs to reflect the new paradigm,” Kim says. In addition to the Buk Seoul Museum of Art, the SEMA has its main building in Jung-gu and two other annexes in GyeonghuiJung-gung Palace and Gwanak-gu.

As for other museums, the Art Center Luvina opened in Seongnam last November. It is a non-profit art museum operated by the jewelry brand Luvina. The center aims to introduce contemporary art in the wealthy suburban neighborhood and support local artists. The museum has a spacious hall with the highest ceiling amongst private museums. Its inaugural exhibit features works from 30 artists residing in the Seongnam area, showcasing the vibrant diversity of contemporary art.

Reusing The Past

Korea has joined the international trend of renovating historic buildings and turning them into intriguing cultural spaces. In this way, the history and heritage of a building can live on through the new space. These

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renovated museums are unique to their neighborhoods and have a rich history.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Gwanghwamun reused a former government building to house a museum of modern Korean history. The edifice was first built in 1961 as a government office, and the Economic Planning Board used it from 1963 to 1989, when the Ministry of Culture took it over. In 2012, the building was reborn as a museum of modern history. The museum has a permanent exhibition covering modern Korean history from the Korean Empire (1897–1910) to the present, showcasing how the country leapt into the ranks of developed nations.

The southern city of Daegu renovated a former tobacco-manufacturing factory warehouse and turned it into an art institution, the Daegu Art Factory. It has exhibition and performance halls as well as a residency program for young artists.

The city of Anyang in Gyeonggi-do recently revamped the Alvaro Siza Hall, designed by its namesake Portuguese architect. The original beauty of Alvaro Siza’s column-less building is still there and is now filled with various new arts programs. A part of the Anyang Public Art Project, the building was renewed to serve as a library for public art. Siza designed the building to embrace nature, allowing plenty of natural light to flood into the library.

Seochon, an old neighborhood of Seoul sitting west of

National Museum of Korea

The flagship of Korea’s national museum system is home to over 300,000 artifacts, 15,000 of which are on display at one time. Its collection includes many of Korea’s greatest national treasures, including the a fifth century Silla crown (National Treasure No. 191), a gilt bronze Bodhisattva seated in a pensive pose (National Treasure No. 83) and a 10-story marble pagoda from the 14th century (National Treasrue No. 86).

Gyeongju National Museum

Arguably Korea’s second finest museum, Gyeongju National Museum houses thousands of relics from the ancient Silla Kingdom (57 BC–AD 935). Highlights include several Silla gold crowns, the giant Bell of King Seongdeok (National Treasure No. 29) and a treasure trove of artifacts recovered during the excavation of Anapji Pond.

Buyeo National Museum

The Buyeo National Museum is one of two museums dedicated to the ancient kingdom of Baekje (18 BC–AD 660). The pride and joy of the museum is a fantastically decorated 6th century gilt-bronze incense burner excavated from the site of old

Baekje temple in 1993 (National Treasure No. No. 287).

Gongju National Museum

Also dedicated to the Baekje Kingdom, this museum has got over 1,000 relics on display, including relics uncovered from the the tomb of King Muryeong of Baekje (r. 501–523).

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has three branches: Gwacheon, Deoksugung and the newly opened Seoul branch next to Gyeongbokgung Palace. The system is the

leading repository of Korean modern art as well as a display space for international art of different time periods. The centerpiece of the Gwacheon branch is a 22.8m-high pagoda made of 1,003 TV sets erected in 1988 by iconic artist Nam June Paik.

artist Nam June Paik’s The More the Better at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary art, Gwacheon

Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje (6th century) at the Buyeo National Museum

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W

hat sets Korea’s national museum system apart from the rest of the

world?

To National Museum of Korea director Kim Youngna, the answer begins with a combination of efficiency and consistency. Korea’s national museum system consists of a flagship museum in Seoul and 12 regional

museums in Korea’s old royal capitals like Gyeongju and Buyeo, as well as major cities like Busan. The system acts as an organic whole, not competing separate institutions. “Because of this, cultural benefits can be spread out rather than being concentrated,” she says. “I think this is efficient and lends a sense of consistency in terms of policy.” Directors and curators rotate between Seoul and the provinces. She says, “We think of ourselves as one family.”

Korea’s regional museums are filled with items and artifacts particular to those regions, allowing the museums to preserve regional traditions and history. The Buyeo National Museum of Korea, for instance, houses a fantastic guilt bronze incense burner that is considered one of Korea’s greatest natural treasures. “Because it was excavated in Buyeo, you have to go to Buyeo to see it,” says Kim.

Only in Korea

The National Museum of Korea’s Pensive Bodhisattva—recently sent to the United States for an exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art—has proven to be quite popular among visitors, but Kim says visitors find the golden crowns of Silla to be especially spell-binding. “The museum currently displays about 20,000 artifacts, but the crowns have their own room,” she says. “Foreign visitors like the pensive bodhisattva, but they especially like the crowns because you can find such crowns only in Korea. Of the 10 gold crowns in the world, seven or eight are in Korea.”

The National Museum’s hosting of exhibits overseas has not been without controversy—some have complained that Korea’s greatest treasures are sent abroad too often, putting them at risk of damage. Kim, though, feels there’s little to worry about. “Packing and transportation is done scientifically nowadays, so there’s little concern for damage, and artifacts like the Pensive Bodhisattva are in excellent states of preservation,” she says. At any rate, overseas exhibits have proven to be a boon to the national image. Pointing to the recent exhibit of Silla treasures at the Met in New York, Kim said, “One of the New York papers even said if you see this exhibit, you’ll want to visit Gyeongju.”

The growing popularity of Korean pop culture—the so-called “Korean Wave”— has sparked increased interest in Korean tradition. The National Museum of Korea has been keen to promote this by supporting Korea-related exhibits overseas. Kim boasts, “There are currently 77 Korean galleries in 22 countries; 30 of them are in the United States.”

Kim says that Korea’s museums are very user-friendly, with good facilities and plenty of conveniences. There is still room for improvement, though. “I think we should expand our collection a bit,” she says. “The British museum has 13 million pieces. The National Museum of Korea has just 300,000 artifacts...so I think expanding the collection is something we’ll need to do in the long term.”

National Museum of Korea

director Kim Youngna

explains what makes Korea’s

museums special

Interview by Robert Koehler

Efficient and

User Friendly

Gyeongbokgung Palace, welcomed a small but lovely new museum last year. The Jongno Park No-soo Art Museum was established thanks to the late painter Park No-soo (1927-2013), who donated his house, paintings and antique collection to the Jongno-gu Office.

The house itself was built in 1938, combining Korean, Chinese and Western styles. The original owner of the house was government official Yun Deok-yeong (1873– 1940), who gifted the house to his daughter. Later, painter Park bought the house and lived there from 1972 to 2011. The house itself is a little gem, showcasing modern Korean architecture, and Park’s paintings on display for the opening exhibit “Moon and Boy” portray Park’s efforts to modernize Korean traditional painting.

Museums unto Themselves

Some museums attract visitors not only with content, but with architecture itself. Internationally acclaimed architects such as Ando Tadao, as well as Korean talent, have designed spaces for art and history.

Japanese architect Ando completed his eight years’ work on the Hansol Museum in Wonju, Gangwon-do last year. He let his imagination freely unravel onto a 70,000 square meter site atop a mountain. The Hansol Museum is composed of a Flower Garden, a Water Garden and a

Stone Garden, repleat with Ando’s distinctive use of simple geometric forms, exposed concrete and natural light.

The highlight of the museum would be the James Turrell building, which is solely for the American artist’s works exploring sky, light and space. Four of Turrell’s works—“Ganzfeld,” “Horizon Room,” “Skyspace” and “Wedgework”—can be experienced in the museum, artworks that respond to the environment.

A white building resembling a white porcelain teacup in Seogwipo on Jejudo, is the Lee Wal-chong Museum, founded by artist Lee Wal-chong. The 69-year-old artist moved to Jejudo in 1990 and fell in love with the island. He now signs his works with “Seogwipo Wal-chong.”

Lee wanted to share something with the public, and the idea of putting up a museum came to mind. Co-designed by Swiss architect Davide Macullo and Korean Han Man-won, the museum expresses the life of the artist as well as the natural beauty of Jejudo. The soft curves and elegance of the building match Lee’s works inspired by the island.

Seoul also has an architectural gem, the Vogoze Gallery in Samseong-dong. The craft gallery, designed by Jang Yoon-gyoo and Shin Chang-hoon of Unsangdong Architects, is a piece of contemporary art in itself, let alone its content. Its atypical shape immediately catches the eye, providing an impeccable balance of sharpness and lightness.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary art, Gwacheon

exhibit of Silla treasures, New York Metropolitan Museum of art

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A

rt museums are so close yet so far from daily life. Except for a few art connoisseurs, going to an art museum is an annual event for the general public, inspired only by news of blockbuster exhibitions, such as the works of Paul Gauguin or Tim Burton. Museums can be a boring place, but some museums defy such a stereotype and provide a fun experience for their visitors.

Fashion-conscious visitors will love the museums dedicated to handbags and hats. The Simone Handbag Museum is located in a bag-shaped building on Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. Founded by local handbag company president Park Eun-kwan, the museum has a comprehensive collection of handbags ranging from antique silk bags from the 16th century to a contemporary Hermes Birkin Bag worth over US$10,000. The museum tells the history of women’s style and rights and how they’ve influenced bag design throughout the centuries. (www.simonehandbagmuseum.co.kr) The Luielle Hat Culture Center, located in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, is all about hats. This is the only museum in Asia dedicated to headgear. The hat museum has some 300 hats on display ranging from

traditional Korean hats such as the gat, made from bamboo and horse hair, to the modern hunting cap and beret. Visitors can make a hat of their own at a studio in the museum.

The Tteok Museum in Jongno-gu, Seoul, gives an insight into traditional Korean food and kitchen culture. The three-story museum features the kitchen gadgets and utensils used to make chewy rice-based treats. Visitors can have tteok, a traditional rice-cake, with tea at the café on the first floor. (www.tkmuseum.or.kr)

Gyeongju Orgel Museum in Gyeongju,

Gyeongsangbuk-do, is a museum with music boxes from over 150 years ago, including Thomas Edison’s earliest tinfoil phonograph. The dance organ, or mechanical automatically-playing organ, also draws interest from visitors. (www.gjorgel.com)

The Sudoguksan Museum of Housing and Living in Incheon, west of Seoul, recreated a hillside shantytown from the 1960s. The museum depicts the lives of ordinary people who lived in the town, such as a willower, a barber and a briquette seller. (www.icdonggu.go.kr/museum/index.asp)

S

eoul has a constellation of big and small art galleries that exhibit artwork for sale. These galleries showcase works of international artists such as Robert Indiana or Louise Bourgeois and represent outstanding Korean artists such as Kimsooja or U-Ram Choe.

Seoul’s biggest gallery district would be Bukchon, where the MMCA Seoul opened last year. The opening of the flagship museum made the area the best destination for art lovers visiting Seoul, and a slew of 18 galleries or museums also opened in the neighborhood last year. The Bukchon area already had Korea’s top galleries, including Gallery Hyundai, Kukje Gallery and the Hakgojae Gallery. Currently, the Gallery Hyundai features Korean modern

paintings, while Kukje Gallery is holding an exhibition of British artist Julian Opie’s works.

Among some 60 galleries and museums in the district, the Artsonje Center is home to cutting-edge contemporary art. Its first exhibition this year, “6-8,” is open only from 6 to 8PM and invites visitors to unconventional spaces within the art museum, such as the parking lot and rooftop.

There are many small galleries in the winding

alleys of Bukchon, each one carrying its own hidden gem of Korean contemporary art, craft or antiques. The Gallery DOS offers “Masse du Sensible” by HyunJoo, and the PKM Gallery presents the work of installation artist Koo Hyun-mo “Sajik-dong.”

An interesting addition to the area will be the renovated work of an acclaimed Korean architect. The Arario Gallery will open a new art museum in the Space Group Building, built by the late architect Kim Swoo-geun (1931-1986), also near the Bukchon neighborhood. The building was on sale because the architectural firm and owner Space Group was financially troubled in early 2013 and Kim Chang-il, owner of the Arario Gallery, bought the iconic building. He will transform it into a museum while leaving the distinctive glass-and-brick building intact.

The Hongdae area has more daring, experimental galleries, including the Alternative Space LOOP, and Itaewon and Hannam-dong also have spaces for young artists such as the Daelim Museum Project Space Gu Seul Mo A Dang Gu Jang, a billards hall-turned-museum.

I

n this tech-savvy era, when everyone carries a smartphone, the development of mobile internet has changed the way people find information about museums.

Those who want to find out which art exhibitions are in town can use mobile applications such as “Mu:um” and “Artday.” These applications have information about ongoing exhibitions and use GPS to locate the nearest museum. The Korean Art Museum Association provides a similar service through its mobile website (m.artmuseummap.com).

Smartphone and tablet-PC accessibility are getting better in museums. Many museums offer QR codes on exhibits or mobile websites to transform smartphones into a personalized digital guide.

The Daelim Museum in Jongno-gu, currently showing American photographer Ryan McGinley’s “Magic Magnifier” pictures, has a nice mobile application that includes a curator’s explanation about the photos, as well as virtual coupons for frequent visitors.

The Seoul Museum of Art’s app helps visitors to easily locate works of art. It also allows visitors to bookmark their favorite works to create a personalized digital catalogue.

The Korea Tourism Organization offers a free audio guide app for five national museums, including the National Museum of Korea and the Gyeongju National Museum of Korea, at the App Store and Google Play. The application, available in English, Japanese and Korean, has a map of the museum and item-by-item audio guides to enhance the museum experience.

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Korea’s Unusual Museums

2

Seoul’s Main Gallery Districts

3

Mobile Museums

Simone Handbag Museum

Gallery Hyundai Museum of korean embroidery

Gahoe Museum

World Jewellery Museum Dongducheon Museum of Chicken arts

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I

n the town of Osong in Chungcheongbuk-do, a precariously narrow dirt path leads to the workshop of Park Jae-hwan, onggijang.

An onggijang is a potter who specializes in a type of glazed earthenware called onggi, the clay jars Koreans use especially for fermenting foods like bean paste, soy sauce and makgeolli. Onggijang Park is especially venerated in the onggi community as he is a government-designated Intangible Cultural Property of Chungcheongbuk-do.

The workshop lets in as much wind as it does natural light, without any modern heating facilities. According to Park, it’s too cold to work in the winter.

1,000th Time’s a Charm

Despite the cold, he is full of stories, some about his craft, others covering everything from a recent trip to Israel to his popularity as a young man. Park shifts naturally from topic to topic, first talking about his Catholic faith, then reminiscing about one of his first successful pots— a ttongjangdok, or portable chamber pot for fermenting excrement into fertilizer.

At 82, the master potter has been creating onggi for some 50 years.

“I started when I was 11, in 1943,” he says. He would run errands and help out at the family workshop.

“The most difficult pot to make was the ttongjangdok. However, someone gave me this piece of advice: no matter how difficult it seems, after 1,000 attempts, you’ll get something usable.”

Practical Art

It took Park 300 tries. But when he placed his finished

ttongjangdok in the field—in Park’s words—“everyone was

wowed when they discovered it was me. Just a few years earlier I’d barely reached the height of my craft, so they were surprised at how well it had been made.”

The ttongjangdok was also the onggi that Park selected to feature in a 2010 exposition. The ttongjangdok has a special place in farm life, according to Park, because of Korea’s mountainous terrain.

“It’s not easy to push around a wheelbarrow full of fertilizer,” said Park. “So people would put their excrement in these onggi to ferment and carry the pot to the fields to use as vitamin-rich fertilizer.”

The same note of pride present in Park’s recollection of his ttongjangdok success is there when he reminisces back to

the heyday of his twenties.

“Even the best potters could only create about seven of those 400-liter makgeolli pots a day. I would work later and create ten.”

Keeping Things Simple

Park’s knowledge of the process itself is perhaps as impressive as his productivity. Onggi are baked at 1250 degrees Celsius after a month of drying. Back when there were no thermometers installed on the kilns, Park would read the temperature in the color of the flames. He’s also able to identify types of onggi—another crucial part of the job—of which are there are hundreds.

Yet Park maintains a refreshing pragmatism in his attitude towards pottery. There’s no schmaltzy rhetoric in his simple admission that he likes creating onggi because it’s a good way to make a living.

He has little patience for those who, perhaps with some poetic license, describe onggi as “breathing” in reference to their porous surface.

“Saying that onggi breathe is a lie,” declares Park.

“Animals breathe. Plants breathe. Onggi are solid objects. They do not breathe. They do not leak, if properly made. Our clay is the finest in the country. Our pots don’t leak.”

Other than fine clay, Park has no secret to success except hard work. “Where a working day is usually eight hours today, I worked about 16 hours a day,” he says.

“Because you can work like that with a skill. You can do that, and make it into an art.”

Park Jae-hwan appreciates his work.

PeoPle

Expert Korean potter Park Jae-hwan has been perfecting his craft

since childhood

Written by Violet Kim

turning Hard Work

into Artwork

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K

im Atta’s spacious studio in Paju Book City is a scene you know from Hollywood movies. As you approach the hallway you hear classical music flowing through the air. By the end of it, you see his work covering the tall white walls of his studio, which seems larger than most galleries. You slowly walk about, taking in the scale of his works—but you begin to feel like an

intruder. Just then, Kim rises from his corner, his presence so tall and striking that it somehow explains the size of his studio. The moment feels strangely orchestrated.

Kim is a world class photographer. He remains the only Korean photographer to have held an exhibition at the International Center of Photography in New York and the first Korean to be published by The Aperture Foundation.

His two projects, The Museum Project and the On-Air series, were both critically acclaimed and drew public interest, especially in the United States, but in his recent project,

Drawings of Nature, no cameras are involved. Kim places

enormous empty canvasses in numerous locations around the world, leaves them there for months to years, and then retrieves them. He works with these canvasses to accentuate the marks nature and time has left on them, but the locus of these works is in what nature does. Can these works be called photography? Can his new series be called a certain person’s work at all? Isn’t it rather, as the name states, the work of nature?

“I might be a photographer, but I’m not just a ‘sajinga’ [Korean word for “photographer”]. Sajin is a term we got from the Japanese. Sa means ‘copy’ and jin means ‘reality.’ I am not—never was—a photographer if photography is an imitation of reality. I think the term is wrong altogether. Photographs are hardly exact representations of reality, but the definition of photography in English is ‘pictures drawn by light.’ Were that the definition, yes, I am a photographer, and Drawings of Nature wouldn’t be an aberration. In fact, in Drawings of the Nature part of the work is literally done by light. But the truth is, I don’t put much weight on medium. Whether you oil-paint or do performance art is not half as important as what you’re trying to convey. As for the second question, not only were these works as physically rigorous as any, but let’s go back to the idea of medium. If other artists draw with their hands, is that not a work of nature?”

Doing What’s at Heart: A Personal History

Kim exudes confidence with his every word, but he doesn’t want to discuss how he got into art. He has a curious background. He studied engineering in school but was reluctant to talk about it. He called it a “prejudice”—that people want to know who the artist is more than his art

“Yes, there were difficulties. It wasn’t easy being

someone with no formal training or any other background in art in this country. I actually think now I’m lucky not to have received any training, but to get into all that would just be a soap opera. Besides, I don’t think it’s meaningful. I’m in the present. My work is in the present. I get over things past, even if they in are my work. Back in New York, ICP’s curator wanted to exhibit The Museum Project, but at that point I was deep in the On-Air project and I persuaded him in the end to center the exhibit around

On-Air. In art, I only do what grabs my attention, what I feel

passionate about.”

Focused on the Present

Kim’s works have transformed, but they share a philosophical interest in existence. If The Museum

Project was about the uniqueness of existence, On-Air

experimented with its finitude. Again in Drawings of

Nature, he attempts to capture existence in its nakedness.

But for a man who’s spent so many years working on a theme that sounds like a Buddhist mantra, “everything eventually disappears,” Kim appears like a man of the world. His stereo playing classical music is not what a normal salary could buy. The leather jacket and scarf he sports are something out of a GQ spread. Once, in another interview, he said that he drives a Range Rover, but his dream is to drive a Bentley. He fell in love with the sound its engine makes. At the question of whether or not he now owns a Bentley, Kim laughs out loud but also grows a little flustered.

“First of all, no, I don’t own a Bentley, I don’t own a house anymore, nor do I own this studio, because I put all the funds I can procure into my current project. The liberation and pleasure art brings surpasses everything else. I’m not sure if you would understand, but I don’t think desiring beautiful things and believing in nothingness need to be reconciled. That would be too literal.”

PeoPle

Photographer Kim Atta returns to Korea after shaking up New York

Written by Hansol Kim

Drawing with Light

kim explains his Indala Series, the finale of his on-air Project, at his studio in Paju, Gyeonggi-do.

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Gwangyang

Port city seamlessly blends the ecological and the industrial

Written by Robert Koehler

travel

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G

wangyang is an almost unreal blend of the industrial and the natural.

On one hand, it’s a land of busy ports,

futuristic industrial landscapes and majestic bridges. At the same time, it’s a land of meandering rivers, deep valleys and rustic hillside villages covered in flowers. Perhaps no other place better captures the tension between the old and new of modern Korea.

The Scent of Plum

In a corner of southwest Korea nearby Gwangyang, overlooking one of the most pristine rivers in the country, is a small village that blossoms into one of the most beautiful spots in the land every spring. Millions of blossoms erupt on the hillsides, blanking the bucolic landscape in pink and effusing the air with the intoxicating scent of plum. Visitors from all over Korea come to inhale the sweet aroma as they gaze upon the pink blossoms, the golden sands of the river and the blue sky.

Maehwa (“Plum”) Village, as this little piece of heaven is called, is the stuff of TV adverts and film sets—so entranced with the landscape was renowned film director Im Kwon-taek that he shot his 2001 film Chihwaseon and 2007 film Beyond the Years here. The village is situated on the lower slopes of Mt. Baegunsan with splendid views of the Seomjingang River and the hillsides beyond. The real draw, though, are the more than 100,000 plum trees that blanket the surrounding fields.

When the plum blossoms bloom, the village hosts its

travel

Gwangyang is considered the culinary heartland of roasted meat like

bulgogi. Downtown

Gwangyang has a whole road dedicated to bulgogi near the Gwangyangseocheon Stream. Some good places to try are Samdae Gwangyang Bulgogi (T. 061-763-9250) and Geumjeong Gwangyang Bulgogi (061-792-3000).

The Seomjingang River is noted for its fresh water clams, or jecheop. They are usually served in a clear soup called jecheopguk. You’ll find plenty of eateries serving this dish in Maehwa Village. Unsurprisingly, the village also produces a good many foods and drinks made from plum, including delicious plum tea (maesilcha).

Being a popular destination for business travelers, Gwangyang has a good deal of accommodation available. For something with a bit of character, try the Harbor Bridge Hotel (061-797-0900), a smartly designed boutique hotel.

Maehwa Village has some homestay facilities (minbak), but these tend to book out quickly during the festival period. Many visitors choose to stay just across the river in the district of Hwagae-myeon in Hadong, where you’ll find many motels.

Take the KTX from Seoul’s Yongsan Station to Suncheon (travel time: 3 hours, 10 minutes), and from Suncheon transfer to a train for Gwangyang (travel time: 9 minutes). Maehwa Village, however, is most easily reached via the neighboring town of Hadong. Buses to Hadong depart from Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal (travel time: 3 hours, 50 minutes). From Hadong, just take a taxi to the village.

Jejudo Seoul

Gwangyang

miracle in action.

At the heart of industrial Gwangyang is the gargantuan POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks, one of the largest integrated steelworks on the planet, producing massive quantities of steel used to build cars, ships, bridges and other structures. Since June 2013, the steelwork has boasted one of the world’s largest blast furnaces. Tours of the facility are available—call T. 061-790-2447 for more info.

Next to the steelworks is the Port of Gwangyang, Korea’s second-busiest container port. Also nearby is the Gwangyang National Industrial Complex, founded by POSCO to help develop the steelworks by attracting related industries, and the massive Yeosu National Industrial Complex, which glows just across the bay. To encourage further development, the Gwangyangman Bay area was designated a free economic zone in 2003.

Connecting the Gwangyang and Yeosu sides of the bay is the Yi Sun-sin Bridge, the world’s fourth-longest suspension bridge. Completed in 2012 and built using entirely Korean technology, the bridge cut what used to be an hour-and-a-half drive to just 10 minutes. Its 270m-high towers guard the bay like the Colossus of Rhodes.

The Gwangyangman Bay area is best appreciated at night, when the bridge and the industrial facilities are lit up, producing an otherworldly landscape of light, steam and steel.

Gwangyang International Maehwa Festival (Mar. 22–30). Many fun cultural events are organized, but most visitors come just to stroll along the rustic hillside paths that crisscross the plum orchards. An observation pavilion provides inspiring views over the landscape. Another must-see is the Cheongmaesil Farm, with a courtyard of 2,500 clay pots neatly arranged in rows.

The Seomjingang River, meanwhile, is a lovely place to stroll about and explore. Forming the boundary between the provinces of Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, the river is bounded by high mountains and is considered the purest of all of Korea’s major rivers. It produces a great deal of seafood, too, including the freshwater clams for which the region is famous.

Blast Furnace of the World

The Seomjingang River flows south until it empties out into the Gwangyangman Bay. There, at the mouth of the bay, is the giant industrial complex that is the other half of today’s Gwangyang. A world away from the bucolic hillsides upstream, this is a Blade Runner-esque landscape of bright lights and hardened steel—the Korean economic

Mt. Baegunsan recreational Forest

PoSCo Gwangyang Steelworks, one of biggest integrated steel works in the world © Gwangyang City Hall

Yi Sun-sin Bridge, the world’s fourth largest suspension bridge © Gwangyang City Hall

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As one skating legend ends an illustrious career, another’s just begins

Written by Kim Tong-hyung

Korean Women Shine

in Sochi

M

aking a list of the top Korean Olympians of all time is difficult. But at least the top two slots require no thought.

For Korea, the Sochi Winter Olympics doubled as a celebration of two of its extraordinary female athletes, both fully entrenched in the pantheon of the nation’s sporting heroes but at different points in their athletic careers.

A Legend Goes Out in Top Style

Kim Yu-na, the figure-skating superstar and defending

champion, completed her quest to retire in style at the age of 23, taking the silver after an impressive performance at the Iceberg Skating Palace.

Kim put up a historic performance at the 2010

Vancouver Olympics, where she crushed the competition with a world-record of 228.56 points, defeating silver medalist Mao Asada of Japan by a staggering margin of over 23 points.

The competition was much closer in Sochi. Kim, who had a narrow lead of less than 0.3 points after the short program, received 219.11 points after the free skate, about

sPorts

five points behind Adelina Sotnikova of Russia who scored 224.59. Italy’s Carolina Kostner, the 2012 world champion, took the bronze with 216.73 points.

“I was relieved more than anything,” Kim said at the news conference after the event.

“I just want to rest now. With the Olympics over, I have a lot of things lined up at home, but I don’t have anything specific planned for the moment.”

Although she failed to become just the third woman to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals, Kim’s fans in Korea, where she is as cherished as air itself, couldn’t ask for more.

“I am pleased that I finished my program without mistakes,” Kim

said in a television interview. “There were practices where I did better, but I gave it all I

could. As I have been telling you all along, I wasn’t going to get caught up in which medal I won.”

Kim’s performance—both at Sochi and over the course of her entire career—was praised not just in

Korea, but overseas as well. Sports writer Bryan Armen Graham

wrote in The Atlantic, “She retires having never finished

off the podium in her entire career, a testament to her

skill, professionalism, and otherworldly consistency.

But more importantly, she

goes out in style. The outcome will do nothing to diminish the bulletproof legacy of Kim Yuna, quite possibly the greatest to ever do it.” Even before the event, CNN said, “Kim’s grace on the ice has led some commentators to call her the greatest skater of all time.”

A New Queen of the Ice

While Kim is leaving at the top of her game, Lee Sang-hwa seems to be entering her prime as an athlete. The 24-year-old speed skater defended her title in the women’s 500-meter sprint and shattered the Olympic record while doing so.

Lee’s Olympic gold extended a streak of dominance rarely seen in the hypercompetitive sport that is speed skating. Before arriving in Sochi, she had won all seven World Cup events she entered, during which she broke the world record four different times, trimming the mark from 36.80 to 36.36 seconds. It sounds crazy now, but Lee was considered barely a fringe contender heading into the Vancouver Games.

Lee fully expects to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics held in the Korean ski resort of PyeongChang, and may even compete in 2022. She seems fully capable of accomplishing her mission to become Korea’s greatest Olympian ever, and with Kim out of the picture, she gets to exclusively own the “Queen of Ice” nickname.

“There were times when I

questioned whether I could win back-to-back Olympic golds. It feels great that I did it,” Lee told reporters after the race.

“Winning in the Olympics is a different feeling than breaking the world record. There are a lot of things that can happen in the Olympics, so

2

1

1. korea’s olympic

team waves the flag as they enter Sochi’s Fisht olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter olympic Games on Feb 8.

2. korean figure skating

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sPorts

while I always said I was confident about a repeat, I also tried hard not to let the pressure get to me. There were people who said my gold medal in Vancouver was a fluke, and I was motivated to prove them wrong.”

A New Face Emerges

The triumphs of Kim and Lee, both defending Olympic champions and world-record holders in their competitions, were impressive but predictable. It remains to be seen whether Shim Suk-hee, the 17-year-old high-school girl who used Sochi as a stage to emerge as the new face of the country’s proud short-track speed skating team, will be able to join the short-list of the country’s great Olympians.

Shim’s standout performance in Sochi—where she won a silver medal in the women’s 1,500 meters and anchored the Korean team that took the gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay—salvaged an unexpected Olympic prize for the short-track team.

The country had won a staggering 19 gold medals in short-track from the 1992 Albertville Games through the 2010 Vancouver Games. It seemed the number would remain at 19 after the Sochi Games until Shim closed out the 3,000-meter relay with a dramatic display of her talent.

Triumph of the Spirit

An inspiring story was Lee Kyou-hyuk, the 35-year old speed skater who ended his illustrious career in Sochi without an Olympic medal.

Appearing in his sixth Olympics, Lee announced his retirement after competing in the men’s 1,000-meter event, where he finished 21st.

Lee had been one of the best speed skaters of his generation, a winner of multiple world championships and a former world record holder in the 1,000 and 1,500 meter race. However, he never managed to leverage this dominance into Olympic success.

Although his athletic abilities were in decline, Lee’s competitive spirit remained uncompromised.

“I have always worked hard to realize my dreams. And my dream has stayed the same for 20 years—winning an Olympic gold medal,” he tweeted before arriving in Sochi. After finishing the last race of his career, however, Lee sounded more grateful than bitter.

“The Olympics were just an excuse. I just wanted to skate for one last time. I have loved skating with all my heart throughout my career,” he told Korean reporters.

Athletes in lesser known sports—at least in Korea—

performed well as well. The Korean bobsled team placed 20th after its first heat, allowing the team to advance to the third and final heat. While the team was unable to better its result in the third heat, finishing the games at 20th place, it did mark the second year in a row that the team made the finals. The Korean women’s curling team, too, beat host nation Russia and routed the United States on the way to an eighth place finish.

See You in PyeongChang

As the Sochi games drew to an end, the international sporting world bid goodbye to Russia and hello to PyeongChang, Korea. At the closing ceremony,

PyeongChang mayor Lee Seok-rae accepted the Olympic flag to the sound of the Korean national anthem. The PyeongChang games will not only be a celebration of sports, but also an opportunity to show just how far Korea has come. Kim Jin-sun, the chairman of the organizing committee for the 2018 games, told reporters in Sochi, “Thirty years ago [during the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games] the world saw a developing country. Just one generation later, the world will see a truly developed country through these Games.”

The Korean skaters were trailing the Chinese before Shim took over the final two laps. With just half a lap left in the race, Shim boldly skated around China’s Liu Qiuhong and beat her to the finish line.

With the win, Korea avenged its controversial defeat by China in the same event four years ago in Vancouver, when it was stripped of the gold after being penalized for an illegal overtaking maneuver.

After winning the gold in the relay, Shim cried and embraced her teammates Park Seung-hi, Kim A-lang and Cho Hae-ri.

“At the last lap, all I was thinking was ‘I need to get in front,’” Shim told reporters after the race.

“I was confident. I stayed positive. Trailing the leader with half a lap left in the race, I still believed I had a shot at coming in first.”

Many observers believe that Shim, barring injury and career-altering slumps, is destined for a serious medal haul.

“She is the type of special talent where you expect her to win every race she enters,” said former Korean Olympian Kim Dong-sung, now a television analyst.

In Sochi, the Korean men put up a quieter performance compared to their female compatriots. Speed skaters Mo Tae-bum and Lee Seung-hoon, both gold medalists in Vancouver, were steamrolled by Dutch skaters who dominated the speed skating events. Short-track skaters Sin Da-woon and Lee Han-bin bumbled at critical moments.

1. lee Sang-hwa won korea’s first gold medal in Sochi on Feb 12. 2. korean fans cheer as lee Sang-hwa wins the ladies speed skating

500 meter event at adler arena Skating Center, Sochi on Feb 11.

1

2

Women’s short track speed skating team—(from left) Shim Suk-hee, kim a-lang, Park Seung-hi, Cho Hae-ri and kong Sang-jeong—pose with their gold medals after winning the women’s olympic short track 3,000-meter relay at Medal Plaza, Sochi on Feb 18.

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entertainment

T

he Dongdaemun fashion district has always been known for its shopping malls, but with Klive, the world’s first hologram concert hall, fans of the ever dynamic Hallyu (“Korean Wave”) phenomenon are now drawn to this side of the city.

Spanning approximately 1,600 square meters, its creators YG Entertainment, District (a digital content production company) and KT certainly had K-pop fans in mind when they created this space.

“There are a lot of fans who come to Korea to

experience Hallyu, but some of them don’t get to see their favorite artists. We thought it would be nice to create a place for tourists to experience and enjoy K-pop and Hallyu,” shares Kim Jonghyeok of KT, who aims to make Klive truly an exciting playground for K-pop enthusiasts.

“Heaven” for K-pop Fans

Upon entering Klive, visitors are welcomed by artists displayed on a huge LED screen that also shows an augmented reality show of other visitors “dancing” with the artists or “riding” with them in their van.

Walk to the right to see the “Giant Tower,” an

interactive LED display that stretches from floor to ceiling. It can be enjoyed in three ways: by changing the moving display of artists in various poses, viewing digital photos and listening to music through the digital jukebox, all of which can be changed as the user pleases. This is

complemented by the “STAR Gift Shop” that lets you take home a piece, or two, of the artists by purchasing original merchandise. Klive official souvenirs are available here as well.

entertainment

The left wing lets visitors take pictures with the artists at the “Star Photo Booth,” pretend to be paparazzi by looking through a lens to see the “Secret Window,” and meet the hologram versions of artists in their dressing rooms at the “Star Lounge.” Visitors can also have some refreshments at “Café Klive” while checking out the beautiful Seoul skyline that can be seen at the “Starry Garden.” The “Klive Gallery,” an art space showcasing the works of local talent, is also found here.

Aside from the many interactive displays, Klive also showcases items used by the artists themselves, such as costumes and concert props. Currently, G-Dragon’s glass car and butterflies from his “One of a Kind” concert tour, as well as Daesung’s “wings” from the Big Bang Alive Galaxy Tour, are found in different areas at Klive.

The Live Attraction

While all these attractions definitely bring a smile to the visiting K-pop fan, it is undeniable that Klive’s main attraction—the hologram theater—takes the cake in making the fans happy.

The hologram theater, which features 30-minute shows to an audience of 350, gives a truly realistic and enjoyable

concert experience with its high quality 270-degree display and 14.2 Channel Surround Sound System—so much so that even those who have seen live K-pop concerts might start thinking everything’s actually real. The interaction between artist and viewers also adds to the show as the artists talk and play with the audience. During the author’s visit, Psy sprayed water into the unsuspecting audience, eliciting surprised screams and laughs.

While the current lineup features purely YG

Entertainment artists, Kim assures that there is more to come. “We’ll continually add to the contents that are shown here. Around the second quarter of this year, we’ll have CN Blue and FT Island, as well as Kara and Rainbow. We are also looking to include actors like Jang Keun-suk and Kim Hyun-joong.”

Korea is indeed the place to be for K-pop fans, and with new entertainment venues such as Klive, tourists are given more reasons to come over and enjoy one of the many things Korea has to offer.

Klive is located on the 9th floor of the Lotte FITIN mall. To get there, get off at Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station and take exit 11 or 12. It is open every day except Mondays.

New hologram theater and entertainment complex in Dongdaemun is

where K-pop fans come to play

Written by Paola Belle Ebora

the Great K-pop escape

1. Fans watch a holographic performance by singer Psy at the opening ceremony of klive, a k-pop holographic performance hall in Seoul’s Dongdaemun district. 2. Star Photo Box © klive 3. Giant Tower © klive

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sPecial issue

A

pan-national effort is underway to register documentary evidence pertaining to “comfort women” with the world’s highest cultural body.

The move is part of a larger effort by the Korean government, academia and civil society to raise international awareness about the suffering of the women who were forced by the Japanese military to serve as sex slaves for its soldiers during the Pacific War. It’s an effort that is yielding tangible results, too, with international pressure rising on Tokyo to

be more proactive in acknowledging its past crimes and providing restitution.

Not National, but Universal

During a visit to Paris in January, Minister of Gender Equality and Family Cho Yoon-sun met with UNESCO director general Irina Bokova to discuss registering documents related to comfort women with the organization’s Memory of the World Register.

Established in 1992, UNESCO’s Memory of the

Seoul moves to register comfort women evidence with UNESCO

Remembering

the Past so It Is not

Repeated

World Register aims to preserve and protect the world’s documentary heritage, promote accessibility and increase international awareness.

In the meeting, Cho stressed that the issue of the comfort women was not merely a bilateral one between Korea and Japan, but a much larger issue of universal human rights in the face of sexual violence against women during wartime. She pointed to support from overseas, most notably a provision in a recent US Congress spending bill that calls on Tokyo to resolve the comfort women issue. Bokova responded by saying she would pay close attention to the issue.

Korea’s move to register the comfort women began on Jan. 15, when the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family first announced its plan to file an application with UNESCO. In February, the ministry submitted to President Park Geun-hye a report that includes a blueprint for submitting an application to UNESCO in early 2015 and obtaining a final registration by 2017. The ministry will spend this year conducting research and seeking documentary evidence in Korea, China, Taiwan and elsewhere. It will also host international symposiums on the comfort women issue in conjunction with international organizations and human rights bodies. To fund these efforts, the government has upped its budget for comfort women-related programs to USD 4.23 million in 2014.

To further increase awareness, the ministry also plans to designate a “Comfort Women Memorial Day.”

Cooperation Across Borders

During World War II, Imperial Japan forced thousands of Asian women to serve as sex slaves at battlefield “comfort stations” in China, Southeast Asia and across the Pacific. Many of the victims came from Korea.

Evidence of this atrocity is ample, and includes testimonies from the comfort women themselves as well as Japanese war veterans. National and international organizations such as the US Congress, EU Assembly and UN High Commission for Human Rights have urged Japan to actively work to resolve this issue.

The Korean government has made it clear it hopes to work with China, Taiwan and other victim nations. At a conference held in Shanghai in early February, scholars from Korea and China announced they would jointly submit documentation to UNESCO. The conference, organized by the Institute of East Asian Regional Studies at Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University and China’s Comfort Women Issue Research Center at Shanghai Normal University, also called for closer cooperation with scholars from Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and North Korea. A Chinese newspaper quotes Comfort Women Issue Research Center director Su Zhiliang as saying, “We have been collecting evidence for the past 20 years or so, but right-wing forces in Japan are still trying to deny their war crimes, of which China and South Korea were among the biggest victims, so we need to do this.”

1. Former comfort woman kim Bok-dong sits next to a comfort woman statue in Glendale, California 2. Institute for research in Collaborationist activities director

of research Park Han-yong displays the diary of a korean worker at Japanese military comfort stations at korea University on aug 8, 2013. 3. “Dragged off,” a painting by former comfort woman kim Sun-deok.

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S

outh Korea’s love affair with smartphones is well documented. Local media outlet Money Today reports that based on industry figures, the number of domestic smartphone users will hit 40 million by the first half of 2014.

Smartphones have become so ubiquitous that this is not really news. Neither is the fact that smartphone use has gone beyond text messaging, as apps designed to transform the way we navigate around a city or share photos leave no aspect of our lives untouched.

An Exploding Trend

Shopping is no exception. In a mere three years, mobile shopping has grown from niche status into a highly profitable industry. In early 2013, the Korea Online Shopping Association predicted that the domestic mobile shopping industry would hit KRW 3.97 trillion in sales, but growth was so rapid that it adjusted the estimate to KRW 4.75 trillion. Such growth is not expected to slow down this year.

There are multiple factors that likely contributed to this explosion in popularity. Widespread high-speed LTE service and the ease of finding Wi-Fi, even on public transportation, is one possible reason. The increasing usage of smartphones among middle-aged and older age groups with cash to spend is another possible reason.

Also, there are a multitude of apps to cater to this

growing popularity. Some shopping apps are simply mobile versions of online shopping malls. Others more closely resemble open marketplaces, where the app in question— G Market, Interpark, and 11st, to name a few of the most widely used—connects the shopper with a variety of sellers.

A New Kind of Shopping

Among these open markets, however, it’s the three giants of social commerce that have emerged as the wunderkinds of the smart phone shopping industry: Ticket Monster (or “TMon”), Coupang and We Make Price (“WeMaP”).

“Whenever I have to shop online, I always check social commerce sites to see if they have better deals—and they often do,” says Seoul-based marketer Song Yaeri, a huge fan of social commerce shopping.

Social commerce apps combine social networking services with their online shopping services and appeal with their ease of use, tempting bargains and sheer variety.

current Korea

Consumers can shop for everything from clothes and makeup to discounts on beauty treatments or ski lift passes.

“Our most popular products are baby products and makeup,” says Yoon Seo-han, who works in TMon’s public relations department.

In 2013, the combined sales of the above services surpassed KRW 3 trillion, and social commerce sales comprised more than 60 percent of all mobile shopping sales. Mobile shopping sales make up most of the social commerce sales.

“70% of TMon’s sales are made through our mobile app,” says Yoon.

According to Song, the social commerce landscape is changing—and bringing big businesses into the game.

New Rules for a New Game

“I used to see more deals from smaller, lesser-known businesses selling their surplus items, but now big

companies are also jumping on the wagon and essentially using the platform as a form of advertising to get more exposure for their brand/products,” says Song.

At the moment, it doesn’t seem that other shopping models stand a chance. You can dig around for sales at a department store, or spot a great kitchen appliance on a home shopping channel, but none of these offer restaurant coupons and eyelash extensions in one dangerously simple app.

“Most of the bigger social commerce sites now have premium or VIP categories that sells things like high-end fashion, luxury dining experiences or vacation packages— products and services you didn’t see or expect from social commerce sites,” says Song.

Korea takes mobile shopping to new heights

Written by Violet Kim

Mobile Shopping:

A New Way to Shop

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summit DiPlomacy

the next 60 Years of

Korea–Us ties

President Park meets with US Secretary of State John Kerry

Written by Yoon Sojung of Korea.net

P

resident Park Geun-hye met with US Secretary of State John Kerry on February 13 at Cheong Wa Dae. President Park welcomed the news of US President Barack Obama’s visit to Korea in April this year, which Secretary Kerry brought with his visit.

President Park praised Kerry’s diplomatic activities in resolving international issues involving Syria and Iran by saying that he has displayed “excellent capabilities around the globe by traveling overseas, covering a distance equal to 13 times around the earth.”

In response, Secretary Kerry expressed his thanks for President Park’s hospitality and said that President Obama is “very excited” about his upcoming Korea visit this April. “There is a huge need for us to be able to continue to keep our alliance as strong and as effective as it is today. The president and all of us in America believe that this is an essential alliance and a central partnership,” said the US Secretary of State. He added that both countries have shared a strong history of 60 years and need to plan for another 60.

Secretary Kerry said that the North Korean nuclear program remains an essential security issue. He also thanked President Park for her leadership and cooperation on

Afghanistan, Syria and Iran, and said that he looks forward to continued productive talks.

Foreign Minister Summit

On the same day, the US Secretary had a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se. “In both diplomatic and security terms, close, trilateral cooperation between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo remains essential,” said Kerry at the meeting. He also said that both he and the United States will continue to encourage both allies, Korea and Japan, to find a mutually acceptable approach to legacy

1. US Secretary of State

John kerry inspects the honor guard after arriving at Seoul airbase on Feb 13.

2. korean Foreign

Minister Yun Byung-se and US Secretary of State John kerry meet with reporters after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry headquarters on Feb 13. President Park Geun-hye meets with

US Secretary of State John kerry at Cheong Wa Dae on Feb 13.

issues from the past and to find ways of enhancing the bilateral and trilateral cooperation that will define the future.

In regard to the family reunions involving separated families of the two Koreas, the US Secretary said that the family reunions are “a matter of human rights” and that they should not be an excuse to somehow place conditions on the other, while stressing that the joint military drills between Korea and the US will be held according to schedule.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told his US counterpart that Korea-US relations are in great condition and that President Obama’s visit will be very timely, considering recent happenings on the Korean Peninsula.

They shared the common view that a meaningful advancement would be possible only when the international community is united in regard to the North Korean nuclear issue. Based on the Korea-US alliance, the two agreed to make continuous efforts to lead Pyongyang toward denuclearization along with the involvement of neighboring countries, including China.

Both Yun and Kerry reaffirmed the fact that Washington supports the unification of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation in regard to sustainable peace and the issue of Korean unification.

To resolve tensions in Northeast Asia, labeled as the “Asian Paradox,” the two agreed that improvements need to be made in the relations between all countries in the region. In this respect, they emphasized that acts of brutality that degrade history should never be allowed to damage the trust between neighboring countries.

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An

Investor’s Paradise

Government announces measures to promote foreign investment to

boost jobs and foster innovation

A

t a meeting with overseas business leaders at Cheong Wa Dae on Jan. 9, President Park Geun-hye said, “I would like to thank foreign businesses for investing in Korea with their continued faith in the economy, despite the global uncertainties found around the world. It is with great confidence that I can recommend

Korea as the most promising destination.”

There is good reason for her confidence. As the president promotes Korea to global investors, her government has undertaken wide-ranging administrative reforms that will make the country an even more attractive place to invest. Regarding investment as central to its efforts to

boost economic innovation and activate internal demand, the government has presented a blueprint to attract job-creating foreign investment and lure global headquarters as well as international research and development centers from leading multinational corporations.

Investing in a Creative Economy

Speaking at the Davos World Economic Forum on Jan. 22, President Park presented her vision of the creative economy, the creation of which is one of the central initiatives of her administration. “A creative economy harnesses the creative ideas of individuals and marries them with science and technology—and with IT,” she said. “It promotes the convergence of different industries and the confluence of industry and culture. Along the way, it creates new markets and new jobs.”

Key to promoting the creative economy, said Park, is creating an ecosystem that rewards entrepreneurship and endlessly produces new ideas. This includes a shift towards investment over loans. “To ease this process, we must help transform the way in which startups and venture companies finance capital: away from loans and toward investment capital, including more use of angel investors,” she said.

At the “Korea Night” event organized by the Federation of Korean Industries, Park promoted Korea as an

international business destination. She told global business leaders, “Korea is trying to foster an optimal business environment and is leaving its doors wide open so that global companies can make as many investments as they want.”

Bringing Headquarters to Korea

To further optimize such a business environment and open the doors even wider, the government undertook a wide-ranging reform of foreign investment-related laws. In announcing the measures, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick said Korea aims to become one of the world’s top 10 investment destinations. At her meeting with foreign business leaders on Feb. 9, President Park presented an even more ambitious goal, saying her government would make Korea “the best country in the world in which to run a business.”

In particular, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy presented a detailed plan to reduce regulations and offer incentives to global companies to set up global or regional headquarters and research facilities in Korea. To do this, the government will peg the income tax rate for all

Policy review

1. President Park Geun-hye gives an opening address on “The Creative economy and entrepreneurship” at the the 44th World economic Forum annual Meeting in

Davos, Switzerland on Jan 22. 2. Microsoft korea opens up its workplace to mark the 25th anniversary of Microsoft’s entry into korea on Feb 12.

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