Korea [2009 Vol. 15 No. 11]

Opening a communicative space between Korea and the world

G-20 Host:

An Honor, A Duty

Asia Initiative Takes Flight With Flurry Of Summit

ISSN: 2005-2162

11

NOVEMBER 2009

www.korea.net

 

CONTENTS

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16 Publisher Kim He-beom, Korean Culture and Information Service Chief Editor Ko Hye-ryun Editing & Printing JoongAng Daily

Cover Photo The Incheon Bridge opened last month, linking Incheon International Airport and the city of Songdo.

E-mail [email protected] Design JoongAng Daily

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. The articles published in Korea do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. Letters to the editor should include the writer’s full name and address. Letters may be edited for clarity and/or space restrictions. 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. 발간등록번호: 11-1110073-000016-06

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Cover Story – Korea at the G-20 •A  New Era of Leadership • L ee: Grand Bargain Is ‘Only Path’ for North

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News in Focus •A  s Emotional Reunions End, Their Future Is Still in Doubt

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Diplomacy •L  ee’s Asian Diplomatic Push



Global Korea •T  o Fix Brand, Help the Needy •S  eoul Centers Are Oases for Expat Residents • T aking Korean Flavors Home • Team Rushes to Help Victims of Earthquakes in Indonesia

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Green Growth • E nvironment Reporters Visit, Praise Korea’s Green Policies

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Culture •S  aving Korea’s Living Culture • 1 00 Years of Pride in Korean Culture •P  lay It Again, Yon-sama: Winter Sonata •S  easide Cheers for Asian Film •C  heongju, Korea’s City of Craft •B  rotherly Folktale in U.S. Text

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Korean Literature • Trapped in Tranquil Domesticity: Oh Jung-hee •P  oetry – The Wind’s Private Life



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Korean Artist • I taly Honors Devoted Violinist and Concert Master for His ‘Life of Music’: Kim Min

Sports • Out of the Park, Times Twenty • U-20 Team Hits Quarterfinals, But Can’t Top African Champs

NOVEMBER 2009 VOL. 15 / NO. 11

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Korea through the Lens • Colossal Sea Link...



Travel • The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass •K  orea’s Taste Masters –Join Top Chef at His ‘Zen Hideaway’ •M  aking Korea No Longer Asia’s Best Kept Secret

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People •K  orean Design Makes a Splash in London • T he Gift of Communication



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Foreign viewpoints • In  Search of Real Korean Green Tea: Brother Anthony

November 2009 korea 5

Cover Story | Korea at the G-20

A New Era of Leadership The world looks to Korea as it becomes the first non-G8 country to chair the Group of 20 and steer economic policy

[Joint Press Corps]

Leaders of 20 of the world’s top economies, including Korean President Lee Myung-bak, leftmost of the three men seated in the center, gather at a round table on Sept. 25 to begin the G-20 financial summit in Pittsburgh, the United States.

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India and Brazil as well as Korea. “Today, leaders endorsed the G-20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation,” the White House said in a statement. “This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy, reform the financial system and lift the lives of the poorest.” Upon returning home, President Lee arranged a special press conference and encouraged Koreans to view their country as a central member of the global order. In a media event televised live around the nation on Sept. 30, Lee disclosed a vision for a greater Korea. Noting that Korea’s hosting of the Group of 20 Summit in November next year would be an opportunity to upgrade the country’s position in the global community, Lee said Koreans must work together to improve the nation’s status. In the special speech titled, “Paradigm shift for moving toward center stage from the

Korea’s hosting the G-20 summit could be as momentous as the ’88 Seoul Olympics. periphery of the international arena,” Lee said Koreans were about to begin a new era in their history. Lee did not hide his excitement over the decision to locate the G-20 Summit in November 2010 in Korea. The president said that as many of his foreign counterparts congratulated him, he was proud to be leader of Korea. “I am standing here today because I want to talk about the fact that Koreans are great and that the world is now recognizing that fact,” Lee said. He added that Koreans have made tremendous accomplishments over the past century. “Significantly, our hosting of the G-20 summit falls during the year marking the 100th anniversary of the forced annexation of Korea by imperial Japan. I am filled with mixed feelings,” he said. “During the past century, we suffered the pain of watching our destiny fall into the hands of world powers because we were too weak. “Korea has now, however, become one of the leading players in the international community, recognized by advanced countries.” Lee said it was especially significant for Korea to host the summit right after it had become the center of economic policy making. “The projected hosting of the summit basically

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick

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ollowing an agreement between leaders of the world’s major economies to institutionalize the Group of 20 as a permanent council on global economic cooperation, Korea was selected to host a summit in November next year. The leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies will meet in Canada in June and Korea in November for economic policy coordination, President Lee Myung-bak and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in a joint press conference in Pittsburgh, the United States, broadcast live on Sept. 25. “First, let me inform our citizens that it was decided to hold the 2010 G-20 summit in Korea in November,” the Korean president said at the press conference, adding that the decision passed unanimously. Canada will host the fourth G-20 meeting in June on the sidelines of the G-8 summit there. The June summit will be co-hosted and co-chaired by Korea, Harper said. G-20 leaders will gather once a year for a routine summit starting in 2011. In the interim year of 2010, Canada and South Korea will host two rounds, in June and November, respectively. Korea assumes the forum chair next year. The Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors — known as the G-20 for short — was created in response to the financial crisis of the late 1990s and to growing recognition that emerging economies were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussions and governance. The first heads-of-government-level G-20 financial summit took place in Washington in November 2008 to address the aftermath of the financial meltdowns that hit the world earlier that year. Another round of meetings took place in London, and the September meeting in Pittsburgh was the third of its kind. During the latest meeting, the leaders agreed to transform the forum into the world’s main body for coordinating economic policy. The G-20 economies comprise 85 percent of the gross world product, 80 percent of world trade and two-thirds of the world population. With this decision, the G-20 will replace the existing Group of Eight, the forum of industrialized nations that long dominated the world economy. The shift from G-8 to G-20 is also designed to reflect the changing global economy and emerging countries such as China,

Cover Story | Korea at the G-20

Leaders participating in the G-20 summit pose for a photo Sept. 25 at the convention center in Pittsburgh. President Lee Myung-bak is second from left in the front row.

signifies that Korea has finally and completely steered itself away from the periphery of Asia to the center of the world,” the president said. Following the speech, a brief question-andanswer session was arranged with Cheong Wa Dae correspondents and foreign journalists, which was also broadcast live. During the conference, Lee stressed that his government would make efforts to persuade the North to give up its nuclear arms instead of relying on the policies of larger powers. “Until now, Korea just followed others and was passive in international society and did not have a say,” Lee said. “Now, we are a member of the G-20. We will be the chair nation and the host next year, and the world will treat us differently. It will no longer be possible to discuss a global issue without including Korea.” A senior Lee administration official said Korea’s hosting of the G-20 in November next year would be a breakthrough in the country’s diplomatic history. “Lee’s leadership in past G-20 summits in Washington and London has been widely praised,” the official said. “The president made clear his position against trade protectionism, initiating ‘standstill’ pledges among the participants at the Washington G-20 summit not to erect any new trade and investment barriers.

This has been seen as one of the most significant achievements of the forum.” Shortly after the Washington summit last year, South Korea launched aggressive efforts to host a G-20 summit. Lee ordered a task force to be established and appointed Sakong Il, then his special economic advisor, to head the G-20 Summit Coordinating Committee. Sakong traveled around the world as Lee’s envoy to persuade major G-20 nations including the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Japan to support Korea’s bid, and the 10 months of passionate diplomacy paid off. “This is not [an unexpected] windfall,” a senior South Korean official added, noting that U.S. President Barack Obama was the most supportive of Korea’s bid. At the London summit in April, Obama suggested that Korea should host the 2010 summit and the proposal was widely endorsed by G-20 members, he explained. Marcus Noland, deputy director and senior fellow at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, told media that Korea’s hosting the summit next year will be an opportunity akin to the Seoul Olympics in 1988. “[This] is an opportunity for Korea to demNovember 2009 korea 9

Cover Story | Korea at the G-20

Korean Leadership Essential to Ensuring Last 12 Months Was Not a ‘Crisis Wasted’

[Joint Press Corps]

onstrate its strengths to the rest of the world, and that can only have a positive impact on Korea’s economy in the long run,” Noland said. The scholar attributed Korea’s successful bid to the hard work of the Lee administration and the growing stature of the Korean economy. Korea has experienced the world’s fastest recovery and has taken a leading role in setting an agenda that includes green development and anti-protectionism. “Diplomatically, Korea’s hosting of the G-20 next year is a big deal,” he said. “Korean policy makers are considered highly capable and the rest of the world is looking for good things to come out of the summit that Korea will host.” Korea’s five influential business organizations also hailed the hosting of the summit. “The selection of South Korea as a venue for the G-20 summit next year means the nation’s role is rapidly expanding in the international community,” the business groups said in a joint statement. “It was one of the greatest achievements for the nation’s diplomatic history.” The business groups included the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Next year’s G-20 summit schedules are also

arranged in order to make optimal use of a scarce resource: the global leaders’ time. In June, Canada was scheduled to host the G-8 summit, and hosting the G-20 within the same time frame is expected to significantly curtail the amount of travel world leaders have to undertake. In November, Japan also hosts the APEC summit, and Korea’s hosting of the G-20 in the same month will serve the busy schedules of state heads best.  By Kim Soo-ae

The first couples of Korea and the United States pose for a reception on Sept. 24 at the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. From left: Korean President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President Barack Obama, Korean First Lady Kim Yoon-ok and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama.

Lee: Grand Bargain Is ‘Only Path’ for North

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resident Lee Myung-bak has proposed a “grand bargain” in which North Korea will swap dismantlement of core parts of its nuclear arms programs for security assurances and international economic aid, and the plan has won global support, including that of the United States and Japan, Cheong Wa Dae said. The proposal was made during Lee’s recent trip to the United States, in a speech at the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Sept. 21. Lee said it was time to stop rewarding the North for bad behavior, and a grand bargain must be pushed forward by Seoul, Washington, Beijing, Tokyo and Moscow. The five nations must consult each other, clearly agree on the final route to disarming Pyongyang and create an action plan, Lee said. “We need an integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issue,” Lee said. “Through the six-nation talks, we need to push forward a ‘grand bargain’ to dismantle the core parts of the North’s nuclear arms programs, and, at the same time, to provide security assurances and international assistance to the North.” Lee said his government has already consulted with the United States about the plan. Cheong Wa Dae officials 10 korea November 2009

later said China, Russia and Japan also supported Lee. During his visit to Seoul on Oct. 9, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama made public his backing for Lee’s “grand bargain.” During the South Korea-ChinaJapan summit in Beijing on Oct. 10, Lee sought China’s support for his proposal, and the three nations agreed to cooperate to bring the North back to the stalled talks. A Lee aide explained the proposal seeks to seal an overall deal because past step-by-step approaches have proven inefficient. The official also said the previous “comprehensive package deal” was more focused on what to give the North, while Lee’s proposal is based on reciprocity. “Five countries of the six-nation talks except for the North have reached a consensus on the overall deal, and we are currently discussing the specifics of the negotiations with the North,” he added. During his New York speech, Lee stressed the North must not feel the process is a threat to its regime. “By giving up its nuclear programs, the North will be able to form new relationships with the United States and the international community, and that will be the only path for the North’s survival and development,” Lee said.  By Kim Soo-ae

L

ast month’s meeting of G-20 political leaders in Pittsburgh was cause for both optimism and responsibility to sustain early signs of a global recovery. Followup measures of the summit will fall primarily on Korea as the chair and host of a G-20 meeting in 2010. This development will mark a significant turning point in global governance, as Korea will be the first non-G8 country to hold those responsibilities since the G-20 emerged as a venue for addressing global financial issues. It also places the burden of proof on Korea to show that an expanded forum beyond the G8

alliance that encompasses economic, social, cultural, educational, scientific, and technological cooperation.” This suggests that Lee conceives the success of South Korea’s G20 leadership as directly tied to expanded alliance coordination with the United States, and it suggests that such coordination has a raison d’être that extends far beyond deterring North Korea. Another component of Lee’s agenda with the United States is the pending Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which has been stalled due to provisions that deal with the politically sensitive auto sector. As the International Institute for Strategic S t u d i e s’ Steven Schrage has argued, Korea’s successful stewardship of the G-20 and Congressional ratification of the KORUS FTA should go hand-in-hand, ultimately to enhance the U.S.-Korea strategic lead on global economic issues. Korea’s great challenge and opportunity is to show that the G-20 can remain effective even as the crisis subsides and to ensure that this is not a “crisis wasted.” Mo Jong-ryn of Yonsei University argues that the rise of the G-20 — and South Korea’s assumption of leadership in it — is an opportunity to redress Asia’s past underrepresentation and its economic weight in the international community. But such an opportunity will be wasted unless Asians themselves deliver in providing a distinctive and effective agenda. Korea must infuse its G-20 chairmanship with effective leadership if the group is to cement its role as the main venue for expanded economic coordination. Korea’s handling of its G-20 chairmanship is a make or break opportunity on many different levels. The country needs to show that it can live up to the task by catalyzing global coordination of exit strategies from the crisis and by addressing global imbalances between developing and By Scott Snyder industrialized countries. 

Scott Snyder directs The Asia Foundation’s Center for U.S.-Korea Policy. He can be reached at [email protected].

If Korea is to solidify the role of the G-20 to set world policy, it must present a robust agenda during its chairmanship next year. can provide effective global leadership. Korea championed global coordination to promote a macroeconomic stimulus that will provide $5 trillion for the next two years, and promoted $1.1 trillion through international financial institutions to counteract the effects of the global financial crisis on developing countries. Korea has also stood against protectionist tendencies, sponsoring “standstill” and “rollback” pledges among G-20 countries, as G-20 Summit Coordinating Committee Chairman Sakong Il explained in the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s May newsletter. As a former CEO, Korean President Lee Myung-bak is well-qualified to promote measures for an early exit from the crisis. Under Lee’s leadership, Korea’s own efforts to promote economic recovery are strongly in line with those of the Obama administration, in no small part because Lee conceives of U.S.-Korea economic coordination as an opportunity to expand the two countries’ alliance. In his speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Lee emphasized that he and President Obama have “agreed that this alliance will no longer just be about ensuring security,” but “a comprehensive strategic

November 2009 korea 11

News in Focus

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Separated families bid their emotional farewell at the end of their reunion at Mount Geumgangsan on Sept. 28.

Time is running out, as many on the waiting list have already passed away.

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[KPPA]

As Emotional Reunions End, Their Future Is Still in Doubt Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future family reunions.

or hundreds of Koreans from either side of the border, the time flew by far too fast. From Sept. 26 to 28, 97 South Koreans were briefly reunited with 233 family members living on the opposite side of the border, followed by a second reunion from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 of 98 North Koreans and 428 of their relatives from the South. Most had been separated during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, while some others had been captured as prisoners of war or when they inadvertantly crossed the border. As in past reunions, emotional farewells dominated the final moments. Hands helplessly reached out through the windows of the bus leaving Mount Geumgangsan, where the reunions took place, as families touched each other for what could easily have been their last encounter. This was the 17th reunion of separated families since the conclusion of the Korean War, and it was the culmination of a sudden series of conciliatory gestures by North Korea, which first broached the idea in August. According to the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs in Seoul, more than 20,000 family members had been reunited in the previous 16 meetings. The first session was held in 1985. But the next reunion didn’t come until 2000, the year of the first inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. From then on, families met at least once each year until 2007. Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration, inter-Korean relations soured. The last face-to-face reunion took place in October 2007, days after the second inter-Korean summit between then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim. Families have also been able to take part in seven remote video conferences. As North Korea grew more and more provocative, conducting nuclear and missile tests, severing inter-Korean military communication lines and restricting cross-borNovember 2009 korea 13

News in Focus

der land passage for South Koreans, it seemed unlikely earlier this year that another reunion could be held in 2009. But North Korea changed its tune in the summer. On Aug. 17, Kim Jong-il sat down with Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of the Hyundai Group, which handles interKorean exchange projects, and agreed to set up a reunion of the families around the Chuseok holidays at Mount Geumgangsan. Those holidays fell on the first weekend of October. Four days later, South Korea’s National Red Cross, which organizes the reunions, officially proposed the Chuseok reunion to its North Korean counterpart. After briefly wrangling over the dates of the meetings, the two sides agreed to bring the families together. A computer randomly selected 300 candidates for the reunion, and the South Korean Red Cross chose the final list of 100 based on age and condition. Three pulled out at the last minute citing health issues. The latest round of reunions was expected to provide a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations. In the early part of the meetings, North Korea even asked the South to extend “a goodwill measure” since the North went out of its way to help resume family reunions. The Lee administration in Seoul has halted unconditional supplies of rice and fertilizer to the North, instead linking aid to denuclearization efforts. Yoo Chong-ha, the South Korean Red Cross chief, said Jang Jae-on, his North Korean counterpart, didn’t specify whether Pyongyang wanted rice or something else. Seoul’s stance on rice and fertilizer, however, had been that this aid should be based on a government-level agreement, since it may be too costly for NGOs, which are busy providing medication for the elderly and children. Yoo also relayed that he and Jang were at least on the same page on the spirit of the reunions. “He said he agrees with the idea, based on the humanitar14 korea November 2009

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Source: The Unification Ministry

The South has proposed regular reunions, but the North has yet to respond.

ian spirit, [that] better inter-Korean relations would be a boon to family reunions,” 90 years Yoo told South Korean pool reporters at or older Mount Geumgangsan at the time. “We 80 ~ 89 want more of the reunions regardless of 70 ~ 79 the ups and downs of political relations.” 60 ~ 69 Officials in the South offered mixed59reacyears or younger tions to the North’s request for aid. Won Sei-hoon, head of the National Intelligence Service in Seoul, said that he would consider appropriate measures for North Korea in response to the ongoing family reunions. He told a National Assembly committee on intelligence that he would 90 years or older consult with relevant government departments regarding aid and would consider 80~89 years providing it as long as strategic materials 70~79 years were not involved. But others were hesitant. Vice Unification 60~69 years Minister Hong Yang-ho said, “Our basic position is that we don’t link inter-Korean 59 years or younger exchange or aid to North Korea with the family reunions.” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sunkyoo echoed the sentiment, though he qualified his remarks by saying, “When it is deemed necessary, the South Korean government will provide humanitarian aid. But we’re already supplying medicine for infants and seniors.” After the tears dried, other questions arose from the latest reunion meetings. Yoo, the Red Cross head in Seoul, said he pressed Jang, his North Korean counterpart, to come up with a regular schedule for the reunions so that more could meet their lost relatives. But the Koreas didn’t follow up on that discussion at the conclusion of the reunions, and no date for the next round has been set. According to the Ministry of Unification, nearly 130,000 South Koreans had placed their names on the waiting list for family reunions as of August this year, but 50,000 have already passed away. Of the survivors, more than seven out of 10 were in their 70s or 80s. On average, there have been fewer than two reunions per year in the past nine years and only a limited number from each side can take part. While logistical problems would make it difficult to satisfy every one of the separated families, capping the number at 100 falls well short,

7,755 28,207 33,235 13,244 3,911

7,755 28,207 33,235 [YONHAP]

Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting for Unit : persons family reunions (through August 2009)

13,244 Families shed tears of joy upon meeting longlost relatives, top and above. The gathering at Mount Geumgangsan also included some time outdoors at the resort, left.

3,911

sometimes with tragic consequences. One 75-year-old South Korean man took a fatal leap in front of a train after he wasn’t chosen for the reunion. Critics also say the South Korean government should consider age and the availability of direct family members on the other side of the border. The Red Cross has been using random computer lotteries to ensure fairness. The selection is preceded by the Red Cross’s compiling of a list of 300 individuals after checking their health and their willingness to travel to Mount Geumgangsan. But the lottery process rules out consideration of age and doesn’t account for whether the individuals’ direct family members are even alive in the North. An official at the Ministry of Unification acknowledged that some South Koreans only meet their distant relatives because their parents or siblings have all already passed away. As critics and the government debate what to do with future reunions, a senior South Korean government official urged the Lee administration to provide humanitarian aid without preconditions to encourage the North to continue engagement. Kim Deog-ryong, the president’s special advisor for national unity, said at an academic forum in Seoul on Oct. 7 that the South shouldn’t tie humanitarian issues with politics. “Fortunately, North Korea appears to be seeking to improve [inter-Korean] relations,” Kim said, calling the

The random selection process for the reunions is somewhat controversial.

family reunions at Mount Geumgangsan part of “definite changes and improvement.” He also stressed that rice and fertilizer aid is directly related to the livelihood of the North Koreans, and supplying these products is necessary so that North Korea “would continuously engage in dialogue.” In recent months, North Korea has alternated between a moderate stance and a hostile one. It has released detained American and South Korean citizens and lifted border restrictions for South Koreans, even while claiming its uranium enrichment program for nuclear weapons development had entered its final phase and saying the United States has to change its hostile policy on Pyeongyang before the North could consider dismantling its nuclear programs. Against this backdrop, the Koreas managed to reunite separated families for the first time in two years. But whether these meetings will be held on a regular basis, and whether they will help improve interKorean relations, remains to be seen. 

By Yoo Jee-ho November 2009 korea 15

[YONHAP]

Diplomacy

East Asian leaders join hands at the fourth East Asia summit, part of the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meetings, held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district, southern Thailand,on Oct 25.

Lee’s Asian Diplomatic Push

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resident Lee Myung-bak cemented Korea’s ties with Southeast Asian nations as he toured Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand and attended a series of bilateral and regional summits in October. During Lee’s stay in Hanoi, Vietnam, Lee sat down for a summit with his counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct. 21 and agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnam relationship to a strategic cooperative partnership to accommodate not only rapidly expanding economic and cultural exchanges but also political and security ties. A broad range of topics were addressed during the 50-minute meeting, said Lee Dong-kwan, public affairs senior secretary

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for Cheong Wa Dae. Following their summit, a joint statement was issued and the two leaders held a press conference. Since Korea opened diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1992, economic exchange has expanded rapidly. Noting that bilateral trade volume has grown from $500 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008, Lee and Triet agreed their countries would try to reach $20 billion by 2015. The two leaders also endorsed a joint project to develop Vietnam’s Hong River as a symbol of cooperation between the two capitals. The program, expected to cost $7 billion, will take over a decade. “Korean companies’ participation in the $9 billion high-speed train project was also prom-

ised at the summit,” Kim Eun-hye, Lee’s spokeswoman, said. On Oct. 22, Lee met with Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen and signed a series of economic cooperation agreements that include a large-scale forestation project and a mineral resources development program. Following normalization of diplomatic ties in 1997, Korea has become Cambodia’s second-largest foreign investor and No. 7 trade partner. Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Korea will help Cambodia create a national economic development plan. Kim said Korea will play the role of incubator for the Southeast Asian country’s development,

[NEWSIS]

President flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan, China and ASEAN President Lee Myung-bak (far left) smiles while sharing an opinion with New Zealand Prime Minister John Philip Key, center, and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the East Asia summit in Thailand.

helping Cambodia open a stock exchange by the end of next year. Lee and Hun Sen also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral agreements. The two countries’ forestry authorities signed a memorandum of understanding in which Cambodia will provide 200,000 hectares of land for a Korean forestation project. “The program will restore forests and create jobs in Cambodia,” Kim said. “And Korean companies investing in the program will secure carbon dioxide emission credits and lumber.” On Oct. 24 and 25, Lee attended regional summits in the royal resort of Hua Hin, Thailand, and discussed Asia and global issues with participating leaders. Lee attended the East Asia Summit on Oct. 25 and the KoreaAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations summit and ASEAN Plus Three meetings on Oct. 24. At the summits, Lee promised to represent the region’s interests in the international community and pushed for the creation of a panAsian trade bloc to rival the European Union. He also explained his “grand bargain” policy to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis and urged the international community to use “close coordination to get the North to abandon nuclear weapons and quickly return to the six-party talks.” Korea agreed to provide more development assistance, help Southeast Asia cope with natural disasters and work to resolve the food crisis in the region. “Lee expressed his hope that the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve will be realized as soon as possible and gave Korea’s commitment of 150,000 tons of rice for the program,” Kim said. Lee’s trip to Southeast Asia was seen as a successful implementation of his “New Asia Initiative” to engage the region, the South Korean presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said. Announced in March this year, Lee’s goal under his initiative is to cooperate with Asian nations and advocate for Asia in the international community. Kim, Lee’s spokeswoman, said the plan gained momentum over the past seven months after Lee attended the ASEAN Plus Three summit in Thailand in April, visited Central Asia in May and hosted the KoreaASEAN special summit in June. “With his visits to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, Lee expanded Korea’s diplomatic horizons to the member countries of ASEAN to promote his New Asia Initiative,” she said. President Lee also attended two summits with Korea’s Northeast Asian neighbors earlier in the month, the first with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Seoul, followed by the second KoreaChina-Japan trilateral meeting in Beijing between the two heads of state and Premier Wen Jiabao of China. At the trilateral meeting Oct. 10, Wen said the North’s leader Kim Jong-il expressed his wish to thaw frozen inter-Korean ties “North Korea wants to improve ties not only with the United States but also South Korea and Japan,” said the Chinese leader at a joint press conference after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Beijing. Kim also asked Wen to deliver his “willingness” to improve relations between the North and the South to Lee, which the Chinese prime minister did at a separate meeting with Lee in the afternoon, according to Lee’s spokeswoman Kim in a press briefing. In response, Lee was quoted as saying, “I can meet [Kim Jong-il] at any time if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons program.” November 2009 korea 17

Wen was in Pyongyang from Oct. 4 to 6 for talks with Kim, in the first visit by a Chinese premier to North Korea in 18 years. He reportedly spent 10 hours with Kim, and the longest conversation lasted four hours. China’s Xinhua News Agency reported last week that Kim Jong-il had informed

issue and conditions for such a deal.” North Korea walked away from the talks aimed at ending its nuclear ambitions last December and said in April that the six-nation talks between the two Koreas, China, Japan, the United States and Russia were no longer viable. The three leaders, whose countries

Lee’s travels are part of his New Asia Initiative to strengthen ties with Korea’s neighbors. accounted for 16 percent of the gross world product last year, vowed at the summit to pursue the “grand bargain” proposal that Lee made in the United States in September. Under the plan, North Korea would dismantle the key parts of its nuclear arms program in exchange for security assurances and aid, the end of sanctions and tension sparked by the nuclear test in May. “Impending issues [for Japan] not only include North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles but also the abduction [of Japanese by the North],” said Hatoyama, who took office last month. “Japan intends to resolve those issues comprehensively, and this is certainly related to Lee’s grand bargain.” The leaders also pledged to respond to other global issues. “We will strengthen communication and consultation on regional and international affairs such as

[YONHAP]

Wen that North Korea was “willing to attend multilateral talks, including the sixparty talks,” depending on the progress in anticipated discussions with the United States. The first freestanding summit between the Northeast Asian neighbors was held last December in Fukuoka, Japan, while the first-ever three-way talks between the nations were held in 1999 on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit. “We will make joint efforts with other parties for an early resumption of the sixparty talks, so as to safeguard peace and stability in Northeast Asia, and thereby build an Asia of peace, harmony, openness and prosperity,” the statement read. Lee said at the joint press conference, “Now is a good time for North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions, and there will be good results if we can offer a proposal for a one-step solution of the nuclear

climate change, financial risks, energy security, public health, natural disasters, terrorism, arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, and UN reform,” their statement read. They also promised to help enact a new climate change accord in December in Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Hatoyama has set climate change as a focus of his administration, vowing to cut Japan’s carbon emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. The three also vowed to cooperate for the success of the fifth G-20 summit to be hosted by Korea in November 2010. According to a key official at Cheong Wa Dae, the three leaders agreed that the countries may start discussing lower barriers to trade through a trilateral trade pact, “although the three countries have a different stance on an FTA.” China is Korea’s No. 1 trading partner, with Korea China’s third-largest trade partner. Korea and Japan have already begun negotiations for a bilateral FTA, though they have been stalled since November 2004. Before then, six rounds of talks had taken place. On the sidelines of the bilateral talks between Lee and Wen, the neighboring nations also signed an agreement on economic cooperation that calls for doubling their annual bilateral trade to $300 billion by 2015. The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year. The fourth foreign

A triangle of tables, each representing one of the three sides, is the setting for the trilateral summit between Korea, Japan and China in Beijing Oct. 10. The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year. 18 korea November 2009

ministers’ meeting in Korea, the sixth ministerial meeting in China and the fourth friendly youth exchange meeting in China are also scheduled for next year. Ahead of the summit in Beijing, however, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited Seoul on Oct. 9 and met with President Lee, forming a united front to pressure North Korea to return to the six-party talks and discussing measures to improve bilateral relations. The visit by Japan’s new prime minister is significant because he chose Korea as his first overseas travel destination for a bilateral summit. “This means the Hatoyama administration attaches great importance to Korea-Japan ties,” a statement issued by Cheong Wa Dae read. Lee and Hatoyama had met in Korea in June, when Hatoyama was leader of the Japanese opposition Democratic Party but not yet prime minister. On Sept. 23, the two also held a bilateral summit in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Following their summit in Seoul, Lee and Hatoyama held a joint press conference and made public their strengthened cooperation in resolving the North Korea nuclear crisis, promoting a one-step solution to end the pattern of rewarding the communist regime for bad behavior. “We agreed that a fundamental change in North Korea’s attitude is crucial to resolve the nuclear crisis,” Lee said. “To facilitate the change, we agreed to implement the UN Security Council resolution while leaving the door for dialogue open and continuing diplomatic efforts to persuade the North to return to the six-nation talks.” Lee also said he and Hatoyama agreed to consult closely with China, Russia and the United States to advance his “grand bargain” proposal. Hatoyama backed Lee’s proposal. “I think the president’s grand bargain plan is precise and proper,” the Japanese leader said. “The idea is that we need to grasp the North Korea issues comprehensively, including nuclear and missile development, and no economic cooperation should be provided unless the North’s willingness to change is seen.” Hatoyama said North Korea’s past abductions of Japanese civilians must be

[KPPA]

Diplomacy

President Lee Myung-bak and first lady Kim Yoon-ok, right, enjoy teatime at the Sangchunjae (Spring House) in the Cheong Wa Dae compound in Seoul Oct. 9, with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wife Miyuki Hatoyama, left.

addressed as part of the package deal, and he appreciated Lee’s support for including the issue in his comprehensive package solution. Japan’s new leader also emphasized once again his government’s willingness to face up to the nation’s military past. Hatoyama took the office on Sept. 16 and expectations have been high in Korea that the two countries will move beyond their troubled past under his liberal leadership.

1995. The statement has become Tokyo’s official stance on its military past. Shortly after Hatoyama took office, Lee expressed hope that Korea and Japan will move beyond their troubled history. Hatoyama also said his government is ready to face up to his country’s wartime acts and improve ties between the two Asian neighbors when he met Lee in September in New York. While Lee and Hatoyama were hold-

Hopes are high Japan’s new leader will work to improve long-neglected Korean relations. “It is important that each and every person in the government and the people of Japan understand the Murayama statement,” Hatoyama said at the press conference. “This is a matter where emotions can easily prevail. It will take some time to seek the understanding of the Japanese, and I hope Koreans can also understand such a situation.” Admitting that Japan’s colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage to Asia, then-Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued an apology in

ing summit talks, Korea’s first lady, Kim Yoon-ok, and the Japanese first lady, Miyuki Hatoyama, paid a visit to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and participated in kimchi making. The Japanese first lady is known as a great fan of Korean cuisine and pop culture. The first couples also had a luncheon after the summit, and Kim Eun-hye, President Lee’s spokeswoman, said the Japanese guests enjoyed the traditional Korean meals and drinks served for the event.  By Kim Soo-ae, Seo Ji-eun November 2009 korea 19

Euh Yoon-dae, chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, gives a keynote speech at a Vietnam-Korea friendship night, a sub-event during the Vietnam-Korea Week, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Oct. 19.

To Fix Brand, Help the Needy

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hat is the best way to e n hanc e Kore a’s national brand? Some say further development of the information technology industry, an area in which this once agricultural country has gained an edge over many advanced countries over a short period of time. Others point to Hallyu, the wave of Korean pop culture that spread across Asia and is lapping at the shores of the rest of the world. But Euh Yoon-dae, chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, looks at the question from a differ20 korea November 2009

ent angle. Offering a helping hand to countries in need will make Korea more popular than anything else could, Euh says. “That is the most important thing in raising a nation’s brand,” Euh remarks during an interview last month at his office in the central Seoul building that houses the council. “Without giving love, you cannot receive it.” That might be a somewhat unexpected answer from a person who built his reputation as a bureaucratic bulldozer on reform. Euh, a former president of Korea University, is known for

transforming the image of the Seoul institution from a traditional “makgeolli-drinking” school into a “winedrinking” school. The massive Englishonly lecturing program he implemented across curriculums from 2003 to 2006 has made Korea University one of the most globalized campuses in the country, as reflected by several local college rankings. And he is taking a similar approach in his new job, Euh admits. He hopes to increase the English-language signage and literature on Korea as council chairman. After all, the council was founded to help foreigners stay on the cutting edge of Korean business and culture. But Euh said that is still secondary to increasing foreign aid. “Just as a human being has dignity, so does a country have national dignity,” Euh said. “The rich who are stingy appear to lack dignity. In the same sense, a country that is not generous in giving out international aid lacks dignity,” he said. The scale of foreign aid is indeed a significant consideration in evaluating a country’s nation branding. Anholt’s Nation Branding Index, the world’s most authoritative measurement of a nation’s brand, ranked Korea 33rd in the world last year, in part due to its insufficient foreign aid relative to its gross domestic product. Korea’s official development aid, or ODA, as a percentage of GDP was 0.09 percent last year, much lower than the United Nations target for advanced countries, 0.7 percent. During his two-year stint as council chairman, which started in January, Euh says he will try to lift Korea’s Anholt index ranking to 15th by 2013. In the interview, Euh stresses that raising international aid could help lift Korea’s ranking, but that the acclaim would be a secondary goal. “Korea becoming a country that helps others is a goal in and of itself, much more important than raising its branding ranking,” Euh says. “Taking care of less developed countries is

Scholarships and a job fair were part of the eight-day friendship week in Vietnam.

Korea’s obligation, increasingly required by the international community that once helped us.” That idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week, an eight-day festival held to promote friendship between the two countries last month in Vietnam. Featuring around 40 economic, diplomatic, and cultural subevents, the festival marked the biggest national friendship event sponsored by a foreign country in Vietnam. Most of the events, organized by the council in cooperation with the Vietnamese government, were aimed at benefiting the Vietnamese, including scholarships and a job fair for young people. An economic forum and a CEO forum, both aimed at passing on Korea’s economic development formula to Vietnam, were other key events. “We hope this Vietnam-Korea Week will provide momentum for Korea and Vietnam to share a future vision and accelerate the opening of a mutually prosperous chapter in our history,” Euh says, adding the Korean government and Korean companies have plans to continue economic aid to Vietnam. “We believe it will also become a significant step in our plan to increase foreign aid,” he says. According to Euh, the council will expand such friendly events and ensuing economic aid packages to other developing countries in Asia and further around the world. Next year, four other countries — Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal and Uzbekistan — will be the main beneficiaries, along with Vietnam.  By Moon Gwang-lip

[YONHAP]

Provided by Presidential Council on Nation Branding

Global Korea

Euh Yoon-dae, chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, addresses about strategies to boost the competitiveness of Korean companies through improving Korea’s nation branding at a lecture held at a Seoul hotel on Oct. 15. November 2009 korea 21

Provided by Global Village Centers

Global Korea

Seoul Centers Are Oases for Expat Residents No longer forced to trust unreliable Web information, foreign residents can now find help just down the street

22 korea November 2009

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efore the Seoul Global Center and its Seoul Global Village Center branches kicked off last year, many expats in Korea still had trouble doing such elementary tasks as paying their gas bills, signing up for Internet service or getting the most out of their T-Money transit cards. The only way to answer these questions was to consult a close colleague who settled in Korea earlier, but sometimes this information could be unreliable — and an expat facing a situation their friend hadn’t faced was out of luck. But then the Seoul Global Center was established at the Seoul Press Center on Jan. 23, 2008, with five “global village” centers opening in neighborhoods densely populated with foreign residents: Yeonnam, Yeoksam, Hannam-Itaewon, Ichon and Seorae Village. Each center offers helpful information and tips for foreigners registering for a cell phone, paying utility bills, learning the Korean language and more. Heads of the centers are all foreigners who have lived for at least three years in Korea, so they share the difficulties expats experience coming to Korea for the first time. Because the neighborhoods that host the village centers are home to different ethnic groups, staff have tailored programs to specific nationalities.

Global village centers offer foreign residents opportunities to experience Korean culture by visiting historic palaces or watching Korean films.

The regular visitors to the Ichon-dong center, where many Japanese live, are moms and children who want to get tips about Korean tourist attractions or learn the local language. “Japanese residents here share a high interest in learning about Korea,” said Yukiko Ishihara, who works at the Ichon branch. “They find living here is a window onto ways to know more about Korea. Of the programs Ichon Global Village Center offers, Korean language classes and bojagi [Korean traditional wrapping cloth] making classes are very popular among Japanese mothers. Bojagi class is very popular, because once Japanese moms know how to make it, they can give it to their friends in Japan as a souvenir.” Ishihara met her Korean husband when she was studying for her master’s degree in English education in England, and they got married in Busan in 2004. After living for two years in Busan, the couple moved to Seoul. The main clients of the Seorae Global Village Center are French expats, just like MariePierre Allirol, who works at the center and is married to a Korean man. Allirol said the Seorae center receives over 240 inquiries by e-mail, phone and in person in a single week. “The main clients are French expats, but many English speakers visit the center [too],” Allirol said. “The most frequently asked questions in our center are for help with accommodations when they tour Korea and when they book tickets for upcoming concerts and exhibitions. There are still plenty of Web sites that do not offer English-language service, and many of them are not capable of accepting registration using foreigner registration cards or foreign diplomat ID cards.” Alan Timblick, a British native who came to Korea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Center, said he receives many inquiries from expat businessmen who want to set up small companies in Korea. The center also tackles larger problems. “We’re proud [of our work on] a problem that rose to a head a couple of years ago, when Korean banks stopped letting foreign customers use their ATM cards overseas,” Timblick said. “We found a solution, the Foreign Ministry changed its regulations and banks were able to resume that service [in June last year]. I’m very happy about that.” Cristina Confalonieri, an Italian native who heads the Yeoksam Global Village Center, is a familiar face in Korea, appearing on the popular KBS-TV show Minyeodeuleui suda (Beauties

Talk). Confalonieri said she applied for the job at the center because she wanted give back to Korean society. Her main clients are English teachers, students and corporate workers. The Italian is most proud of a program Yeoksam has that the other centers don’t. “We offer a movie night every third Friday,” said Confalonieri. “We show famous movies from around the world. There’s no problem understanding them because every movie has English subtitles.” When asked about the most rewarding part of the job, without hesitation staff members talked about the grateful words from fellow expats whom they have helped. Timblick said one customer was so satisfied with the service he opened his wallet to pay for it. “I had to convince him that our service was free, and he was amazed,” Timblick recalled. “Before returning to Japan, Japanese expats often find the time to visit the center in person to say thank you for the help,” Ishihara said. “Whenever I greet such guests, I can’t find the words to express my feelings. I’m very happy with my role and the center. Many told me that before the center was established in Ichon, the only way of solving living problems was to consult the Japanese community, but that it was sort of limited because one can’t ask about minute details such as reading Korean manuals for electronics products.” Center heads treat each question equally, but some are funnier than others. “One time, an expat visited our center and asked us if there was a way to stop his son from going to PC rooms, because he went so often his father believed it distracted him from his school work,” said Allirol. “He asked our staff to write a letter in Korean asking the PC room owners not to let his son visit. His son’s photo and full name was attached to each letter, and he visited every PC room that his son went to to hand them to the owners.” The staff agree other regions in Korea should establish similar centers. “I’m aware that it will take some time to make such expat help centers nationwide,” Allirol said. “The Seorae center sends a newsletter to French expats in Ulsan about concerts and other cultural events in Korea. We also helped a French expat in Daegu with Internet and cable TV. We were glad we were able to help someone who lives far from Seoul, but our role is limited because of the staff and other factors. More centers are needed.”  By Kim Mi-ju November 2009 korea 23

Global Korea

Team Rushes to Help Victims of Earthquakes in Indonesia

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d evastating earthquake struck Indonesia in late September, but Korea has been there to offer a helping hand, according to the Foreign Ministry. A day after the powerful temblor, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, hit the western island of Sumatra,

Taking Korean Flavors Home

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great country serves great food. And the Korea International Cooperation Agency is traveling halfway across the world to prove it deserves that status, holding a Korean cooking class for 20 members of the group Friends of Korea and their families at a restaurant in El Salvador Sept. 29.

“Members still have good memories of their stays in Korea and were truly fascinated with Korean food, so we decided to ask the El Salvador Overseas Office under KOICA to teach us how to cook it,” said Milton Magana, leader of the group and a senior official in charge of Asia-Africa affairs at the El Salvadoran Foreign Ministry. “I was able to deeply understand the delicacy of Korean-style cooking. It was a great opportunity for not just me but the rest of the members to understand Korean food,” Magana said. “The cooking course cannot teach us about overall Korean culture, but we look forward to learning more about Korea through many activities. I think we are going to love Korea more.” Members listened attentively to instructions from the restaurant’s head chef as they tried their hands at classics such as kimchi, bibimbap and gimbap.

The Salvadoran would-be chefs are perfect ambassadors for Korean culture, Koica said. Friends of Korea is a 200-member group of El Salvadoran public officials who trained at various ministries and universities in Korea thanks to grant aid from KOICA. The cooking course was created at the request of the group, because they said they wanted to remember and relive the tastes they experienced while staying here. 24 korea November 2009

Some took notes on the recipes, while others wrote down the chef ’s advice. “I am not going to taste Korean food just for my own satisfaction,” said Jessica Castro, who earned her master’s degree in international development from the Graduate School of International Studies at Korea University in 2008. “I want take advantage of this cooking class to learn how to cook Korean food on my own so that my neighbors can eat it as well.” After the lecture was finished, group members tried out cooking the dishes themselves, then tasted the results. While they cooked, some shared their experiences in Korea. “We rely on these local Salvadorans, who have tasted Korean food during their time in Korea, to popularize Korean food, culture and, ultimately, the Korean national brand as ambassadors,” said Kim Eun-seob, head of the El Salvador Overseas Office of KOICA. By Lee Min-yong

It wasn’t the first mission abroad for the Korean rescue team. trapping thousands of Indonesians under debris, President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter of condolence to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He said the Korean government would do all it could to help earthquake victims, providing emergency aid worth about $500,000. The situation grew even more desperate when a second quake followed the first last month, triggering disastrous fires, destroying infrastructure

Incheon International Airport on Oct. 1 and arrived at an airport in Jakarta. “After Indonesia was hit by the earthquake, we examined the situation closely and prepared to offer help,” said an official from the National Emergency Management Agency. “And as soon as the Indonesian government accepted our offer to dispatch rescue workers, we took off.” The team was equipped with some hundreds of pieces of cutting-edge equipment to help them sniff out and help survivors. It was the relief group’s eighth dispatch to a neighboring country following missions to Taiwan, Turkey, Algeria and China in the aftermath of major earthquakes, to Cambodia when the country experienced a tragic airplane crash and to Phuket, Thailand after a large tsunami. “Our active role offering relief aid allows us to strengthen friendship ties and also reshape Korea’s national image based on humanitarianism,” the NEMA official said. By Lee Eun-joo 

When the western Indonesian island of Sumatra was hit hard by an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, Korea sent in help and $500,000 in emergency aid.

Provided by KOICA

Provided by KOICA

Members of the group Friends of Korea attend a Korean cooking class in El Salvador on Sept. 29.

and leaving many homeless. “Korea has a responsibility to provide humanitarian aid as a member of the international community,” read a release by the Foreign Ministry in response. The Korean government dispatched a 43-member relief team, with two staff members from the Korea International Cooperation Agency, or KOICA, and 41 from the National Emergency Management Agency. They brought with them emergency relief items including blankets and medicine to help panicking residents and foreign tourists caught up in the disaster. Indonesian President Yudhoyono said after the quake that the country was working on an emergency action plan and that what it needed most were doctors and paramedics. In response, 14 countries including Switzerland, Australia and Japan also sent relief teams to help find survivors trapped under collapsed buildings. The Korean rescue workers left

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Culture

Saving Korea’s Living Culture

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ive additional Korean cultural traditions were named part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, at the fourth meeting of the intergovernmental committee that governs the list in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. There, 76 additions were decided on by the 24 member states of the committee. A total of 116 states are bound by the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was adopted in 2003. The convention names oral expressions, rituals, festive events, crafts, music, dances, performing arts and other traditions worthy of preservation. This living heritage is passed on from generation to generation, providing communities and groups with a sense of identity and continuity essential for human cultural diversity and creativity. With the inscription of the five traditions, Korea now has a total of eight on the UNESCO list, including the Gangneung Danoje Festival, pansori chant and “the royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine and its music,” all added in 2008. The Cultural Heritage Administration intends to apply for 40 more inscriptions next year. “Different countries can apply for the same intangible cultural heritage, such as making kimchi,” Yi Kun-moo, the administrator for the Cultural Heritage Administration, said in an interview during the convention in Abu Dhabi. “Thus, it is important for us to take the initiative ahead of countries like Japan.” The five Korean traditions that made it onto the list this year are Ganggangsullae, Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, Namsadang Nori, Cheoyongmu and Yeongsanjae.

UNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditions, adding them to its list of humanity’s intangible heritage

Women wearing traditional hanbok dance the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae, once performed in villages as part of the Chuseok holiday.

28 korea November 2009

Provided by Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea

Cheoyongmu

The Cheoyongmu is a dance performed in the mask and costume of the mystical character Cheoyong, featured in a ninth century Korean legend. According to the story, Cheoyong, son of the dragon king, entered the human world, arriving at Gaeunpo Port in Ulsan during the reign of the Silla Dynasty’s King Heongang. After making it to the capital, he married a beautiful woman and won an official rank. On moonlit nights, he would wander the city, and one night, when he returned home, he found a smallpox spirit in bed with his wife and dispelled it with singing and dancing. This legend gave birth to the folk belief that an image of Cheoyong on one’s gate would prevent the evil spirit from entering the house. It also led to the tradition of the Cheoyongmu, which was performed at royal banquets or at exorcisms on New Year’s Eve to ward off smallpox and promote good fortune. That tradition is still carried on today. With an artistic history of over a millennium, the Cheoyongmu also reflects the cosmological theory of yin and yang and the Five Elements, which prevailed in Joseon society.

Ganggangsullae

Since its designation by the Korean government as Important Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 8 in 1966, Ganggangsullae has been safeNovember 2009 korea 29

Culture guarded and preserved. A primitive form of composite art performed by groups of women, Ganggangsullae has been handed down for two millennia. It is a representative folk art as well as a seasonal custom celebrating the Korean Thanksgiving holiday. As a prayer for a good harvest, Ganggangsullae also is regarded as a hereditary custom from primitive religion, corresponding to the lunar year and women’s fertility. Although the artistic, lyrical verses are simple, they echo the joys and sorrows of life. Research is being conducted on Ganggangsullae in wide variety of fields, including anthropology, folklore, dance, literature, medical science, costumes and economics. This intangible heritage is being recreated as a modern art and expected to make a significant contribution to the wellbeing of the senior citizens and in art therapy.

Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut

The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is an annual Jeju ritual. It is performed in the second month of the lunar calendar, called “Yeongdeung,” in honor of the goddess of wind, Grandmother Yeongdeung, to pray for an abundant harvest and sea catch. On the first day of the Yeongdeung month, Grandmother Yeongdeung arrives with

At Chuseok, village women sang in a circle through the night — not normally allowed in patriarchal old Korea.

These folk arts combine music, dance, drama and athletic feats, sharing general characteristics with other East Asian forms while remaining very Korean in their technical expressions.

her family, the winds, to enjoy the island’s beauty. Spring comes when she leaves. Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China, entering via Bokdeokgae Port. She climbs Mount Hallasan to inquire after the rocks known as the Five Hundred Generals, passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeori, on Mount Hallasan, and goes to Sanbanggul, a cave on Mount Sanbangsan, before reaching Gyorae-ri, Jocheon-myeon, Jeju Island. While enjoying the peach and camellia blossoms, she sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweed seeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of crops, shells, abalones and seaweed. On the 15th day, she leaves Jeju from Jiljinggak. During her stay, each village performs a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut. Of the sharman rite, the most representative is the Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, which begins with the “Yeongdeung Welcome Rite” on the first day of the second lunar month and ends with the “Yeongdeung Farewell Rite” on the 14th day.

Yeongsanjae

The word “Yeongsan” is derived from “Yeongsanhoesang,” the place atop Vulture Peak where Buddha delivered the Lotus Sutra. In Yeongsanjae, or “yesterday’s Yeongsanhoesang,” Buddhists can experience for themselves the preaching of Buddha and perform rituals. In the ceremony, the participants strive for spiritual enlightenment: It is said that heaven and earth vibrate together, while flowers descend from the heavens, enhancing the musical performance. Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (13921910), large Buddhist rituals may have been developed based on the Lotus Sutra. Like the rituals of other religions, Yeongsanjae is an external expression of doctrine and philosophy, and a means of practicing self-discipline. Unlike the rituals of the Qing Dynasty, Korean Buddhism unifies the role of monk and ritual, so that the performance can also be considered an act of self-discipline. In the artistic sphere, beompae (Buddhist chanting) is one of the three elements of traditional Korean vocal music, along with gagok (lyric songs) and pansori (narrative songs).

Namsadang Nori

Namsadang Nori, which literally means “all-male vagabond clown play,” is a folk entertainment handed down by itinerant groups of multi-talented performers called namsadang. These generally tawdry light amusements have their roots in the common people and their everyday lives. In pre-modern times, various troupes moved around the countryside to put on spectacular outdoor shows, but today only a single group based in Seoul remains active. The modern namsadang consists of six acts, including a farmers’ band, a mask dance, a puppet play, tightrope walking, sieve frame spinning and acrobatics.

Left, the Cheoyongmu was traditionally performed to dispel evil spirits and pray for tranquility at royal banquets on New Year’s Eve. Above, a man walks a tightrope during the Gangneung Danoje Festival.

Dano shamanistic rituals mark the beginning of the four-week festival. In the rituals, a central role is played by the sinmok (sacred tree) and the hwagae (a ritual object made of feathers, bells and bamboo wood). One of the festival’s most unique aspects is its integration of Confucian, shamanistic and Buddhist rites.

Pansori epic chant

Provided by Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea

Gangneung Danoje Festival

Left, a man performs the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut. Above, the Yeongsanjae, a reenactment of the Buddha’s delivery of the Lotus Sutra, is performed in front of a Korean temple. 30 korea November 2009

The venue of the annual Gangneung Danoje Festival is Gangneung City, Gangwon-do Province, which lies in the eastern part of the peninsula in the Taebaeksan mountain range. The festival includes a shamanistic ritual on the Daegwallyeong Ridge to pay respect to the mountain god and male and female guardian gods. Used in it are traditional music and odokddegi folk songs, the Gwanno mask drama and oral narrative poetry. The Nanjang Market, Korea’s largest outdoor marketplace, is an important part of the festival today. Local products and handicrafts are sold there, and contests, games and circus performances are held. The brewing of sacred liquor and the

The lively Namsadang Nori shows used satire and humor to appeal to the poor and oppressed.

Pansori, a National Intangible Cultural Property (as of 1964), consists of musical storytelling by a vocalist and a drummer. The popular tradition features expressive singing, stylized speech and a repertory of narratives and gestures. It embraces both elite and folk culture. During performances lasting up to eight hours, a male or female singer, accompanied by a single barrel drum, improvises on texts that combine rural and erudite literary expressions. The term pansori originated from the Korean word pan, meaning “a place where many people get together,” and sori, meaning “song.” Pansori evolved from shamanistic songs in the southwestern part of Korea in the 17th century and continued as an oral tradition among commoners until the late 19th century, by which time it acquired more literary content and enjoyed popularity among the elite. The settings, characters and situations that make up the pansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (13921910). Pansori singers go through long and rigorous training to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres and memorize the complex repertories.

Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine

Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Confucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the Joseon Dynasty that includes song, dance and music. The ritual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descendents of the royal Yi clan. Inspired by classical Chinese texts concerning the ancestral cult and the notion of filial piety, it also includes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestors’ spirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual resting place.  By Limb Jae-un November 2009 korea 31

Culture

100 Years of Pride in Korean Culture

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n Nov. 1, 1909, Emperor Sunjong officially opened the grounds of Changgyeonggung Palace to the public for the first time. With a new botanical garden and zoo, one of the main attractions of the palace grounds was the Jesil Museum, the first modern museum in the country, which showcased cultural assets such as Buddhist paintings and porcelain pieces from the Goryeo Dynasty. The emperor’s philosophy was encapsulated in the phrase yeominhaerak, or, “A good leader shares his enjoyments with the people.” This event at the close of the Joseon Dynasty, with Japanese colonial forces closing in, is considered by some to be Korea’s symbolic point of transition from kingdom to modern society. The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910 and Emperor Sunjong died in 1926, but the museum remained. The Japanese renamed it the Yi Royal Museum, and 32 korea November 2009

it went through two other names before becoming, in 1969, the National Museum of Korea. Today it occupies a beautiful modern complex in Yongsan-gu, just north of the Hangang River in Seoul. This year, to celebrate the museum’s 100th birthday, a special exhibition is being held until Nov. 8, named after the aphorism that led to its existence: “Yeominhaerak.” The event brings together some of the most impressive pieces of Korean cultural heritage. In fact, among the 150 exhibits on display, 55 have been designated national treasures. The special exhibition consists of two parts — historical artifacts related to the museum’s centennial and Korean relics collected from overseas. The first section of the exhibition includes about 120 pieces from the original royal museum. The exhibition also showcases the museum’s activities and evolution through the Japanese

A visitor points to an infrared photo of Cheonmado, “painting of heavenly horse,” presumed to have been created in the 6th century.

November 2009 korea 33

[YONHAP]

Remembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open the palace gates, and the National Museum was born

Culture

[YONHAP]

Mongyudowondo was shown to the Korean public for the first time since its purchase by the Japanese Tenri University. It depicts an idyllic paradise.

The only extant painting from the Silla Dynasty is part of the museum’s collection, but has only been exhibited twice since 1973.

This painting of the Buddist Goddess of Mercy, Suweolgwanumdo, was also on its first outing to Korea.

34 korea November 2009

colonial period (1910-1945), after national liberation and even during the Korean War of 1950 to 1953. The second section contains 30 pieces, including national treasures and artifacts collected by other countries. One of the exhibit’s most important pieces — which unfortunately was taken off display early on Oct. 7 — is undoubtedly the original of Mongyudowondo, the oldest Joseon-era (13921910) painting still intact. Created by Ahn Gyeon, a painter who flourished during the cultural heyday of King Sejong’s rule (1418-1450), the work was shown to the Korean public for the first time. The piece depicts an idyllic paradise that Prince Anpyeong, King Sejong’s third son, described to the artist from a dream of his. The artwork is accompanied by poetry written in calligraphy by the prince and about 20 of the most renowned poets of the time. While An strongly influenced Korean traditional art for ages to come, the poems, written out by hand by the poets themselves, also hold a significant place in the history of local literature and calligraphy. Mongyudowondo was on loan from the central library of Japan’s Tenri University. Its whereabouts became unclear after 1453, when Prince Anpyeong was slain by his older brother Suyang. But it turned up in 1893 in Japan, in the possession of the Shimazu family from Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu. The

painting was designated a Japanese national treasure in 1939 and was purchased by the university when it was put up for sale in the early 1950s. At the time, with war ravaging the country, no Korean buyer could afford the painting, which cost several thousand dollars. The other exhibits have also traveled across sea and land to take part in the exhibition. Suweolgwaneumdo, a painting of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Chiseonggwangyeorae, another depiction of Buddha, owned by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, are both on their first outings in Korea. Also from the Boston institution comes a gilt-silver ewer and basin from the Goryeo Dynasty, among the finest of their kind remaining today. The narrow mouth and cover decorated with an animalshaped ornament are unique to this 12th-cenutry vessel. Another star artifact was Cheonmado, the only painting still in existence from the Silla Kingdom, which was on display until Oct 11. Cheonmado, or Painting of Heavenly Horse, is presumed to have been created in the 6th century. Though it’s called a “painting,” the canvas is somewhat unusual — part of a saddle flap made out of birch bark. It was found in a tumulus, a tomb for an unknown king, located in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, that was excavated in 1973, and it

is designated National Treasure No. 207. The saddle flap is formed of several thick layers of white birch bark with a mystical-looking white horse drawn on the outmost layer. The horse has a horn on its forehead and flames coming out of its mouth. It is postured is as if it were flying through the air, surrounded by swirling patterns of white, red, brown and black. Because of the horn on its head, some experts believe that the creature is not a horse but a girin, a mythical creature whose appearance was thought to signal the arrival of a holy man. Visitors had a chance to judge for themselves by gazing at the piece through an infrared camera at the exhibit, with a resolution of 1.2 million pixels. Though Cheonmado is part of the National Museum’s permanent collection, it is usually kept in a special storage area because of the fragility of the birch bark. It has been displayed to the public only twice before since 1973. For those interested in the real-life words of a Joseon king, 66 letters written by 18th century King Jeongjo are also on display. King Jeongjo was known to be meticulous and thoughtful, and savvy in dealing with people. The letters are divided into two categories: “jeongjosinhan,” letters sent to his minister Sim Hwan-ji discussing state affairs, and “jeongjoeopil,” letters sent to his uncle Hong Nak-im, usually concerning family matters. Just as Emperor Sunjong opened the palace to the people, the museum is making this special exhibition accessible to the public for free. But this isn’t the only event held to celebrate the 100th anniversary. A museum expo was held at various sites around the museum, including the main gate, plaza and reflecting pool, from Oct. 10 to 18 with the participation of 600 museums and art galleries from 15 regions around the country. At the main gate, booths introduced the participating institutions, while at the plaza, visitors enjoyed cultural pro-

grams organized by 39 organizations, including arts and crafts workshops that let them try making traditional fans, masks and pottery. Other attractions included an Africa Museum workshop on African crafts, a performance by dancing robots from the Bucheon Robot Park and even a recreation of a traditional blacksmith’s shop by Korea’s Lock Museum. On Oct. 17 and 18, a special show featuring music, dance and other performances inspired by the history and cultural heritage of the museum, was held. “The Island of Time” will look back on the 100-year history of the museum as a place where the past, present and future collide. On the academic side, an international forum is scheduled for Nov. 3, with some 10 directors invited from museums around the world. A symbolic traditional pavilion topped with green celadon roofing tiles has also been built as a symbol of the museum and is set to open to the public on Nov. 1.  By Lim Ji-su

A traditional pavilion topped with majestic green celadon was built at the museum as part of the celebration.

Below left, museum visitors stand in long lines for their chance to glimpse the exhibit’s star attractions. Below right, visitors view green celadon pieces dating back to the Goryeo Dynasty.

November 2009 korea 35

Culture

Play It Again, Yon-sama: Winter Sonata Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joon, his popularity in Japan unflagging, lends his voice to new animation

S

ome say Hallyu, the Korean wave, has reached its peak, and is now gradually losing its special appeal — but that does not seem to be the case in Japan, where actor Bae Yong-joon is more popular than ever. In late September, 45,000 people swarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch a glimpse of the Korean star, known affectionately there as Yon-sama. Bae was in Japan to celebrate the production of the animated version of the Korean TV drama Winter Sonata, in which he starred. Though the event started at 6 p.m. fans arrived before sunrise, and the dome was soon surrounded by a line 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) long. Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo, who played the female lead, both lent their voices to the animated series, and were on hand for

Winter Sonata

Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon, far left, and actress Choi Ji-woo, sitting next to him, attend a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, dedicated to the release of the Winter Sonata animation based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same name. Reporters from all around Asia were present. 36 korea November 2009

[YONHAP]

Bae Yong-joon & Choi Ji-woo

the party. It has been seven years since the two met. The fans, mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia, had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the animated version of Winter Sonata. When Bae greeted fans from a hot air balloon, some shed tears of joy as they remembered first watching the drama. When the actor made eye contact with his fans, they seemed to be overwhelmed. About 5,000 lucky fans celebrated the launch together outside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24 cinemas around the country. A press conference earlier in the day was equally rambunctious. More than 300 journalists from countries including Korea, Japan and Taiwan, were present for the first public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata together in Japan. The conference was aired on news channels including NHK, Fuji TV and TBS. “The press conference today showed the unchanging popularity of Bae,” said one of the journalists who was present. “It’s often the case that fewer than 100 journalists attend a conference for a Japanese popular star, but today, some 300 attended, which is unbelievable.” A member of the animation production team said, “The attention given to the [Winter Sonata] animation has been huge in Japan.” At the conference, Bae said, “By participating in the animation, lending my voice, I was able once again to feel the passion and warm emotions I felt when I was shooting the drama.” With the sustained popularity of the program, which first aired in 2002, the Korean media company Key East signed an agreement with the Japanese entertainment company Total Promotion to coproduce an animation based on it. The drama helped launch the “Korean Wave” in Japan after it aired on the NHK public television network in 2004. Since then, Bae has become a superstar among Japanese female viewers. The drama revolves around the story of two childhood friends — played by Bae and Choi — and the tragedy that follows them in the years to come. The first season of the animation started airing in mid-October on Japan’s cable channels DATV and Sky Perfect TV. Meanwhile, Bae also introduced to Japanese fans his latest book, Journey in Search of Korea’s Beauty, a compilation of essays about traditional Korean culture, playing the role of a Korean cultural ambassador. Among the crowds at the event was Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of Japan’s new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, as well as leading Japanese political and government figures.   By Lee Eun-joo November 2009 korea 37

Culture

Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun met with fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival.

[Yonhap, PIFF]

The spectacular display of fireworks celebrates the opening of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival on the night of Oct. 8 at the Busan Yachting Center Outdoor Theater.

Seaside Cheers for Asian Film

This year saw the most films ever screened: 355, including 98 world premieres.

E

very autumn, Korea’s southern port city of Busan turns into an Asian Hollywoood, with the arrival of one of the region’s most influential film events. This year, about 200,000 people, from simple movie buffs to renowned actors and directors, swarmed into the city for the Pusan International Film Festival, which retains the host city’s old spelling in its name. This year’s PIFF, now in its 14th year, was held from Oct. 8 to 16 and included the biggest lineup ever, with a record 355 films from 70 countries, including 98 world premieres and 46 international

38 korea November 2009

premieres (films that are shown for the first time outside of their home country), reflecting the festival’s growing importance. But what made this year the biggest ever for the festival was not only the films screened, but also the number of glamorous guests who put in appearances. The festival’s grand opening at the Busan Yachting Center on Oct. 8 was attended by more than 5,000 people, among them a slew of local and foreign movie stars, including Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Yun-jin, Lee Byung-hun and Josh Hartnett. PIFF has grown over the years to rank

among the world’s most prestigious international festivals. Event director Kim Dong-ho said, “When there are international film industry meetings with only eight to 10 film festival directors invited, I am now included on the guest list, which seems to be a sign of the festival’s growing influence.” Korea’s biggest film fest is well-known for its traditional focus on Asian cinema, and on the discovery of young and promising Asian filmmakers through “New Currents,” the main competition section. But this year the scope of the festival was broader, featuring films and directors from non-Asian regions in the “Flash

Forward” section, which turned competitive for the first time this year. The 14th PIFF also screened more Korean films, old and new, than ever before. The opening film was a Korean comedy, Good Morning President by director Jang Jin, known for the sharp humor of Welcome to Dongmakgol, which he penned. The new film stars Korean Wave star Jang Dong-gun and veteran actors Lee Soon-jae and Ko Doo-shim, and touches upon the lives of three fictional Korean presidents, each trapped between political and moral choices. A number of other first-run Korean films were also shown during the festival, helping promote the country’s revitalized movie industry. Behind the resurgence are the blockbusters Haeundae, which was shot in Busan and topped 10 million moviegoers in Korea in just over a month, and the sports dramedy Take Off, which

has attracted more than 8 million viewers. There were also four retrospectives of classic Korean cinema. The first spotlighted the late Korean director Ha Kilchong, who was an icon for local intellectuals in the 1970s, while others were dedicated to director Yu Hyun-mok and actress Jang Jin-young, both of whom passed away this year. The final retrospective, titled “Archaeology of Korean Cinema,” was an outgrowth of a program that works to restore Korean films, and featured three Korean movies rarely screened for general audiences. The other attention-grabber of the festival was I Come with the Rain, which was screened in the festival’s Gala Presentation section. Directed by VietnameseFrench filmmaker Tran Anh Hung, it starred three heartthrobs — Lee Byunghun from Korea, Josh Hartnett from the U.S. and Takuya Kimura from Japan — and was the talk of the town throughout the festival as all three leads were in town, meeting with fans in events, including one at Haeundae Beach, the center of the live activities during the festival. The Asian Film Market, a venue for promising filmmakers and producers to meet with potential investors, along with the Pusan Promotion Plan, was also a success this year. The Asian Film Market has become a key marketplace for the film business since its inception in 2006, drawing 75 participating companies this year. More than 20 films including Korea’s Death Bell and the award-winning documen-

tary Old Partner were sold during the four-day film market in Busan, scoring an estimated $2 million in total sales, the organizers said. Two major distributors, Korea’s CJ Entertainment and Japan’s T-Joy, also announced the launch of a joint venture at the market, which is expected to boost cooperation between the two countries’ film industries. The wide selection of films at PIFF was accompanied by various special events such as Open Talk, where fans met and talked with actors and directors, and outdoor concerts every night during the festival, giving festivalgoers the unforgettable memory of music and movies under the starlit Busan autumn sky.  By Park Sun-young

From right to left, actors Josh Hartnett, Lee Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose for a photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during the film festival. The trio starred in I Come with the Rain, which was screened at the festival’s Gala Presentation.

November 2009 korea 39

Culture

Cheongju, Korea’s City of Craft Biennale in home of world’s first metal type brings art into everyday life

40 korea November 2009

Above, Korean designer Yee Soo-kyung’s Translated Vase, on display at the Cheongju biennale’s “Dissolving Views” exhibition. Left, Fabela Chair by the worldrenowned Brazilian designers the Campana Brothers. It was designed with comfort and art in mind.

tions, “Pressing Matter” and “Dissolving Views,” along with the community arts program, “The River Within Us, The Sea All Around Us.” Pressing Matter, curated by Elaine Kim, deputy director of the World Jewelry Museum, Seoul, gathered a peculiar array of crafts made of different materials from all over the world. Among the foreign artists at this exhibition were furniture

designer David Trubridge from New Zealand, who uses only natural materials, Belgian ceramics maker and designer Piet Stockmans, Dutch designer Hella Jongerius and the world’s most famous Brazilian designers, the Campana Brothers. Organized by Kim Juwon, Dissolving Views took viewers beyond the concept of art as an object and towards “the idea of craft as a living human impulse.”

Provided by the organizer

These works incorporated performance art, music, theater, dance, film, poetry and prose. Perhaps the festival’s most different section, The River Within Us, The Sea All Around Us was more than an exhibit — it played out in spaces around the city of Cheongju, breaking out of the boundaries of the gallery and onto the street. Among the most talkedabout items was a couch designed by the Campanas. The piece grafted cuttingedge technology onto pure Brazilian craft techniques, using materials ranging from plastics to abandoned dolls to produce a surprisingly attractive piece. A variety of special programs were held during the fair, including an exhibit by this year’s spotlight country, Canada; an international academic symposium and arts forum; educational programs, and citizen participation projects. Dr. Lee hopes to bring Cheongju into the mainstream art and culture world, helping people gain a deeper understanding of artistic value and spreading the joy of craft across the world, while at the same time showing how these artists deal with politics, economics, sociology and history in their often complex work. By Yim Seung-hye

Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi has contributed illustrations for editions of many Korean stories in English.

[YONHAP]

I

n 1377, a group of monks in Cheongju, now part of Chungcheongbuk-do Province, rolled ink across a set of moveable metal type, and history was made. Today, every two years, artisans gather in this city to push the envelope just like those monks of old as part of the Cheongju International Craft Biennale. This year’s event, which runs until Nov. 1 at the Choengju Arts Center and various locations around the city, is the sixth since the biennale began in 1999, and organizers hope it will be the first to draw real global attention. The competition is stiff, with similar biannual events taking place in Gwangju and Busan, but this year Cheongju packs more prominent artists than ever. More than 158 artists from 25 countries participated under the theme, “Outside the Box,” with artists hoping to re-establish connections between art, design, technology and the environment. Director Dr. Lee Ihnbum wanted to make the Cheongju biennale unique by focusing not just on Korean artists but on underappreciated foreigners too. Biennales are always full of variety. This one is divided into two main exhibi-

Brotherly Folktale in U.S. Text Illustrated story of Heungbu and Nolbu shows up in American reader

K

orean folktales haven’t reached the same level of children’s stories published in English in the United States, global familiarity as Aesop’s fables or the Brothers including “The Green Frogs,” “The Rabbit’s Escape,” “The Grimm’s stories. But one is now featured in an Rabbit’s Judgment,” “Father’s Rubber Shoes” and “One Sunday Morning.” American elementary school Huh came to New York in 1989 to textbook, with illustrations by a Korean study at the School of Visual Arts. painter — a fine first step. “After getting my master’s degree Ahn Mi-hyang, a Korean housewife from SVA, I started drawing illustrations in Denton, Texas, was recently surprised for English versions of Korean folktales,” to open her second-grade son’s textbook Huh said in a telephone interview with to see a familiar story. “Heungbu and Nolbu” is one every Korean knows. It’s a Yonhap News. “In the United States, tale of two brothers: Heungbu, the youngKorean folktales are popular and the er, poor and good-hearted, and Nolbu, books have been sold to schools, librarthe older, rich and selfish. It was titled ies and bookstores across the country.” “The Swallow’s Gift” in the English text. The Korean folktale “Heungbu and Nolbu” According to Huh, “The Green “I think it is very meaningful that a now appears in an American elementary Frogs,” a story about a frog who always Korean folktale is being included in a school textbook under the name, “The Swal- does the exact opposite of what his regular course book for reading compre- low’s Gift.” mother tells him to, is one of the most hension, not in supplemental material,” popular stories among her work. “AmerAhn said. “Most Korean residents in Denton are families of ican children like frogs and I think they relate to the frog students at nearby universities, including the University of always disobeying his mother,” said Huh. Huh was pleased to hear the news that “Swallow’s Gift” North Texas, and we all welcome the textbook since our children don’t usually get to read Korean folk tales. American was featured in a textbook. “The story was published about 10 years ago. Like Aesop’s Fables, the story is about encouragchildren also seem to like the story.” More than 20 pages in the textbook, Literacy Place 2.3, ing good deeds and punishing evil. I think that’s why they are devoted to the story, with illustrations depicting the picked the story for the textbook.” Huh, currently a lecturer at SVA, is now planning to publish characters wearing traditional Korean hanbok. These were created by Huh Yoo-mi, a Korean painter. Huh, 44, has con- books introducing readers to kimchi and Korean palaces with tributed illustrations for 25 books of Korean folktales and her illustrations.  By Kim Soe-jung November 2009 korea 41

Korean Literature

oh Jung-hee Trapped in tranquil domesticity

From violent self-destruction to household repression, Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman

42 korea November 2009

mid-1970s, the author shifted her focus to the tedium of everyday life within the safe but suffocating enclosure of family and marriage. The protagonists of Oh’s later stories are mostly middle-aged married women who long to escape from their socially defined roles in order to find a truer, more fundamental existence. At times, they manage to escape, but only for a brief time, and they inevitably return to the drudgery of their daily life with disillusionment. Among her stories from this period are “Chinatown,” “Garden of Childhood,” “Words of Farewell,” “Wayfarer” and “Spirit of the Wind.” The coming-ofage stories “Chinatown” and “Garden of Childhood” suggest that the author’s pessimistic perspective toward life is in part shaped by her experience of the Korean War. But her collection of children’s stories, Songi, It’s Morning Outside the Door, suggests that the author is now engaged in shaping a new literary vision for herself.

Major works River of Fire (Bul-ui gang, 1977) Garden of Childhood (Yuneon-ui tteul, 1981) Spirit of the Wind (Baram-ui neogs,1986) Evening Party (Yahoi, 1990) Old Well (Yet umul, 1994) Fireworks (Bulkkotnoli, 1995) Bird (Sae, 1996)

[JoongAng Ilbo]

O

h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the most important woman writers in Korea. Recipient of the 1980 Yi Sang Literature Prize, the 1983 Dongin Literary Prize and the 1996 O Yeongsu Literature Prize, Oh explores the chaotic, often terrifying landscape of the feminine psyche, hidden under a veneer of tranquility, with chilling detachment, elegance and lyrical beauty. An important motif in her early stories is the suppressed emotions of alienated individuals. Unable to achieve harmonious relationships with others, the characters in Oh’s stories lead emotionally detached lives, often manifesting their loneliness and self-hatred through destructive behaviors directed at themselves and others. In stories such as “The Misty Levee,” “Dawn” and “River of Fire,” their violent urges are encapsulated in physical deformity and allowed expression only in perverse or sterile sex. In the

Source: Korea Literature Translation Institute

November 2009 korea 43

Korean Literature

Garden of Childhood (Yunyeonui tteul)

The eight stories collected in this volume present a clear picture of Oh Jung-hee’s literary world, which revolves around women and the feelings of

despair, disillusionment and dispossession they experience within the confines of Korean society. Set in the period immediately before and after the Korean War, the title story “Garden of Childhood” tells the story of a seven-year-old girl, “Yellow Eye.” Her father is away in the army, and her mother supports the family by doing odd jobs at the village market late into the night. The girl’s older brother, who is in effect the head of the

household in his father’s absence, does little to fulfill paternal responsibilities but simply rules over the family, often turning violent. Fearful of his authoritative presence, the girl’s older sister often stays out late into the night. The subtle shades of pain and hatred that color the family interactions are observed through the eyes of this young girl. In “Evening Game,” an anemic spinster plays a game of hwatu (Korean cards) every

night with the ailing father who lives with her. A suffocating sense of stagnation, sterility and shapeless doom pervades their lives as they wait for the woman’s vanished brother. After the father goes to bed, the woman often sneaks out of the house for a rendezvous with a man. But the cold, mechanical sex she has with him at an abandoned construction site proves to be almost sadistic in nature, an exercise in self-hatred rather than the escape she seeks.

The Soul of Wind (Baramui neog)

Including the Dongin Literary prize-winner “A Bronze Mirror,” the nine stories in this volume explore the desire for escape from dysfunctional reality and the fear that accompanies

it as well as the problem of death. Though they all focus on the female psyche, these stories are narrated by men or from a male perspective. The narrator of “The Soul of Wind” is a 30-yearold bank employee. He is able to find an amount of satisfaction in his ordinary, uneventful life, but his wife Eun-su is suffocated by their lives together. She takes every opportunity to leave home and wander about. One day, while hiking alone, she is raped by three men. Returning home, she is confronted by her hus-

band, who can no longer endure her frequent absences and asks to separate. Moving in with her mother, Eun-su learns she is not her mother’s biological daughter. With this revelation, Eun-su begins a long journey into the abyss of her lost memories to reconstruct the truth of her existence. “A Bronze Mirror” is the story of an old couple who lead a quiet, lonely life after the death of their only son. Expecting visitors from church, the old woman prepares dough for fresh noodles she intends to serve. The

visit is canceled, however, and instead a young waterworks employee, who reminds her of her dead son, comes to read the water meter. As a way of prolonging his stay, she offers him noodles. Her kindness and attention make the young man uncomfortable and angers her husband. The old man turns his attention to a bratty girl playing in the yard. Through these mundane details, the story provides a keen psychological portrait of the death and sorrow that lurk behind the tranquil façade of their lives.

Published translations Book Title

Year of publication

Genre

Language

오정희 단편소설선 /Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania

2009

Novel

Polish

옛우물 /老井

2007

Novel

Chinese

중국인 거리 /Chinatown

2004

Novel

English

유년의 뜰 / Der Hof meiner Kindheit

2001

Novel

German

옛우물 /金色の鯉の夢

1997

Novel

Japanese

바람의 넋 / L’Ame du vent

1991

Novel

French

List of Oh's translated works 44 korea November 2009

A Literary Talent Born at a Young Age Sometimes called Korea’s Virginia Woolf, Oh Jung-hee wrote her first prize-winning story while still in high school

O

h Jung-hee (born 1947) is one of the most accomplished writers of short fiction in a country that is justly proud of its accomplishments in this literary genre. She is one of the few authors to have captured both the Yi Sang and the Dongin awards — Korea’s two most prestigious prizes for short fiction — and translations of her works into Japanese, English, French and other languages have won her a small but growing international reputation. English translations of her works have won her comparisons with such writers as America’s Joyce Carol Oates, Canada’s Alice Munro and England’s Virginia Woolf. Oh was just out of her teens when she burst onto the literary scene by winning a competition for aspir-

beginning of her career. Oh’s command of language is formidable — her vocabulary impressive, her word choices deliberate and suggestive. Stories such as “The Cookout” and “Morning Star” reveal a good ear for dialog. Flashbacks, stream-of-consciousness technique, and interior monologues constitute much of Oh’s narratives. Long paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of view of family members past and present are not uncommon. “Words of Farewell,” which depicts separate but parallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her lost husband, is a striking example. This concern with the interior landscape of the characters is for Oh a means for dealing with her characteristic themes of abandonment and loneliness. Heightening the impact of these themes is the author's Oh’s best stories are powerful portraits of typically dispassionate narrative tone, families strained by suppressed emotions. which in her earlier stories takes the form of a nameless first-person narrator ing writers sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo, a Seoul (every story in River of Fire is told in this manner). daily, in 1968. The prize-winning story, “The Toy- These nameless narrators become Everywoman and shop Woman,” concerns a high school girl’s descent Everyman (some of her narrators are male), struginto madness punctuated by kleptomania and an gling in an emotionally parched landscape. obsession with the crippled owner of a toyshop. That Oh has been fascinated with family relationships this highly original debut story was being written ever since her literary debut. Her best stories are while the author herself was in high school suggested powerful yet sensitive portraits of families strained to the arrival of a gifted literary talent. the breaking point by suppressed emotions and Oh has since published some four dozen stories invisible external forces. In these works, Oh peneand novellas. It is an oeuvre of consistently high qual- trates the surface of seemingly pedestrian lives to ity, consisting of provocative, densely textured sto- reveal nightmarish family constellations warped by ries, many of them infused with a restrained inten- divorce, insanity, abandonment, abuse and death. sity that is unsettling, sometimes shocking. Not until Darkness is prominent in these stories, representing 1977 did Oh publish her first collection of short fic- among other things these family nightmares. In “The tion, River of Fire. There followed an especially pro- Toyshop Woman,” “The Cookout,” “The Bronze ductive period in which many of her most memo- Mirror” and elsewhere, darkness creeps upon the rable stories were composed. Oh's production since scene like a sinister beast, unleashing black memothe 1990s has been more sporadic, but works such as ries among the characters. By Bruce Fulton "The Old Well" (Yet umul, 1994), and The Bird reflect professor, University of British Columbia the high standards she set for herself at the very November 2009 korea 45

Chinatown The two excerpts below showcase Oh’s formidable use of language

(1)

Railroad tracks ran west through the heart of the city, ending abruptly near a flour mill at the north end of the harbor. When a coal train jerked to a stop there, the locomotive would recoil as if in fear of dropping into the sea, sending coal dust trickling through chinks in the floors of the cars. There was no lunch waiting for us at home during those winter days short as a deer’s tail, so we would throw aside our book bags as soon as school was over and flock past the pier to the flour mill. The straw mats that covered the south yard of the mill were always strewn with wheat drying in the sun. If the custodian was away from the front gate, we would walk in, help ourselves to a handful 46 korea November 2009

of wheat, leave a footprint on the corner of the mat and be on our way. The wheat grains clicked against our teeth, and after the tough husks had steeped in our warm, sweet saliva, the kernels would emerge, sticking like glue everywhere inside our mouths. About the time they became good and chewy we would reach the railroad. While we waited for the coal train we blew big bubbles with our wheat gum, set up rocks we had gathered from the roadbed and threw pebbles at them, or hunted for nails we had set on the rails the previous day to make magnets. Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stop with one last wheeze. We would scurry between the wheels, rake up the coal dust, and then hook our arms through the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of the egg-shaped briquettes. Usually, by the time the carters from the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty appearance, we had filled our school-slipper pouches with coal — the bigger and faster children used cement bags. Then we would nestle the coal under our arms and hop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of the tracks. We would push open the door to the snack bar on the pier and swarm to the table in the corner. Depending on the day’s plunder, noodle soup, wonton, steamed buns filled with red bean jam, or some such thing would be brought to us. And sometimes the coal was exchanged for baked sweet potatoes, picture cards or candy. In any event, we knew that coal was like cash — something we could trade for anything around the pier — and so the children in our neighborhood looked like black puppies throughout the year. Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Village, others called it Chinatown. The coal dust carried by the north wind all winter long covered the area like a shadow, and the sun hung faint in the blackened sky, looking more like the moon. (2)

Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese in the two-story houses on the hill, they were the yeast of our infinite imagination and curiosity. Smugglers, opium addicts, coolies who squirreled away gold inside every panel of their ragged quilted clothing, mounted bandits who swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their horses’ hoofs, barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of a slaughtered enemy and ate it according to rank, outcaste butchers who made wonton out of human flesh, people whose turds had frozen upright on the northern Manchurian plain before they could pull up their pants — this was how we thought of them. What was inside the tightly closed shutters of their houses? And what lay deep inside their minds, seldom expressed even after years of friendship? Was it gold? Opium? Suspicion?

The Wind’s Private Life 바람의 사생활 가을은 차고 물도 차다 둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가 어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던 순간 그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까 저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘 사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘 고드름은 매달렸을까 슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다 그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나 먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고 비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고 계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데 그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은 사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워 도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간 내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다 처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고 가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다. 한 사내가 두 사내가 되고 열 사내를 스물, 백, 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살 랐던 바람의 습관들 되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고 내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여 무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다 그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다

Autumn is cold, water too is cold. The moment my shadow, that had been wandering here and there in a circular cruel room slowly nibbling leaves, sighed At that moment might the word man have arisen? That remote long-ago today At the place where that word man went soaring aloft might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached? It’s a breast kneaded with sorrow, like the wind, like a bow, otherwise, surely, it could never be so out of breath. Saying it’s the sound of a faraway train won’t do, and saying it’s the smell of rain will do even less. I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word woman but the word man, that nothing seems capable of replacing, is sorrowful and cold, so as I try to grasp my wife who struggles to escape, it seems hot blood will well from my hands. At first sunlight appeared but then eyes’ light would also appear, the breast would appear, feelings would appear. The wind’s habit, turning one man into two, ten men into twenty, a hundred, a thousand, then commits them to the flames, devouring that wind as I look back, making the blood circulate in my tree and branches, is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before you. That wind has not yet, not yet ended splendidly.

From “The Wind’s Private Life” by poet Lee Byung-ryul

Lee Byung-ryul was born in 1967 in a rural area near Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do Province and moved with his family as a child to Seoul, where he grew up. His poetic career began when he was a named winner of the 1995 annual spring literary competition sponsored by the Hankook Ilbo. He is an active member of the poetry group Poetry Power. He has published two collections of poems: You Are Trying to Head Somewhere in 2003 and The Wind’s Private Life in 2006. He was awarded the 11th Best Poem Award from the monthly Contemporary Poetry in 2006.

From Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee November 2009 korea 47

Provided by the Korea Literature Translation Institute & Chang bi

[joongAng Ilbo]

Poetry

Korean Artist

Italy Honors Devoted Violinist and Concert Master for his ‘Life of Music’

48 korea November 2009

Kim Min, left, receives the “A Life of Music” certificate from the Ascoli Piceno Festival Committee.

equally and try to open their hearts to deliver the joy of life through my music, my violin.” For Kim, who described his violin as more important to him than anything else, “A Life of Music” seems a suitable label. But it wasn’t always that way. “I have not come from a straight road. I have taken the other path, wandering around. I was interested in so many different fields like painting, photography and owning a business, so there were times that I had doubts in my music life, as well as financial obstacles that kept me away from the violin.” On 1965, Kim was planning to study abroad after his college graduation. Unfortunately, his family went bankrupt, and Kim had to sell his violin and run a small coffeehouse for a year. In spite of these hard times, that year Kim was away from the music world was when he realized desperately that music meant everything to him. “Once I realized that playing music was my way, I battled to keep at it without stopping,” says Kim. “Although I did not have enough resources, I was just happy to play the violin again.” Four years later, Kim moved to Ger-

many on a DAAD scholarship and performed while he studied. In 1979, he returned to Korea and was appointed concertmaster of the Korean Philharmonic Orchestra and the KBS Symphony Orchestra. He also took over leadership of the Korean Chamber Orchestra and was appointed to the faculty of Seoul National University as a violin professor. In his capacity as music director and concertmaster, Kim led the Korean Chamber Orchestra to become one of the country’s most prominent music groups, bringing them world attention with successful international tours. In 2010, the Korean Chamber Orchestra will celebrate its 45th anniversary — and it will go on its 100th international tour. In this meaningful year, Kim said he hopes to develop a uniquely Korean classical music series by finding and supporting talented composers with a distinctive local sound, while broadening his orchestra’s repertory, building a better recording system and, of course, going on global tours. Kim said he believes Korean society has improved greatly, and its music has to change accordingly. “The music industry cannot have any inequality or discrimination against anyone. It has to grow with balance between the musicians, the audience and the culture itself,” Kim notes. “Society needs to take more responsibility to nurture its children with a systematic arts education that is open to everyone.” Kim had four requests for Korea’s future musicians: First, be patient; second, master a piece of music perfectly once you start on it; third, listen to a variety of musical selections; and four, always think about your future, and once you learn from a past mistake, let it go.  By Susan Yoon

It was only when his family went bankrupt that Kim realized that music was his life.

Provided by Kim min

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iolinist Kim Min, 67, received the “Una Vita per la Musica” (“a life of music”) certificate and medal from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano at the Ventidio Basso Theatre, becoming the first South Korean recipient of the honor. The honors are presented to the musician of the year selected by the Ascoli Piceno Festival committee, whose chairperson, Gaetano Rinaldi, presented the award on behalf of the president. “Of course it is a big honor for me and a vote of confidence in Korea’s music world, which is being acknowledged at an international level,” Kim said. “But I am most thankful to the Korean Chamber Orchestra members, as they made it possible for all of us to be here in this honored place.” Kim was referring to his 30 years of traveling and playing through excitement and anxiety together with the Korean Chamber Orchestra, which has held more than 700 performances in countries across Asia, North America and Europe. One unforgettable performance came on April 3 on Sorok-do Island, a former Korean leper colony where many victims of the debilitating illness still live. “The island’s first classical music organization was founded recently, 100 years after the town was founded, and our visit brought both [groups] to tears,” Kim said. The connection and passionate reaction Kim felt from the island dwellers had a big impact on his music, he said. “With the Sorok-do Island performance, I was assured that the power of sharing can bring everlasting inspiration and encouragement to everyone in any hardship, and that was what I had to do. I will keep communicating with everyone

November 2009 korea 49

Out of the Park, Times Twenty

[AP]

Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20 home runs, 20 steals and a .300 average.

Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run of the season on Oct. 4 off Paul Byrd of the Red Sox.

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hoo Shin-soo’s achievement can be summed up in three numbers: .300, 20 20. The Korean batter for the Cleveland Indians has become the first Asian in Major League Baseball to hit 20 home runs, make 20 steals and hit a .300 batting average in a single season. Playing in his first full season in his Major League career, Choo hit 20 home runs and made 21 steals to become the only player in the American League to pass .300/20/20. With a sizeable number of hitters recording over 40 home runs in a season, recording 20-20 might not seem like much to some. However, only 11 50 korea November 2009

other players achieved the feat this year, and in the history of the Indians, dating back to 1901, Choo is only the eighth. The left-handed 27-year-old is also the first Asian. Some of the best Asian positional players in the MLB, including Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners, Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees and Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs, failed to make it to the magic numbers. Ichiro came closest, in 2005, hitting 15 homers and recording 33 steals, and while Matsui has regularly hit over 20 home runs, he lacks running speed, and his single season best steals total is only four. With 21 stolen bases, Choo was at 19

home runs when he knocked one out of Fenway Park on Oct. 4 over Boston’s “Green Monster.” Choo’s towering tworun homer in the top of the seventh inning smashed a 138-kilometer-perhour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fastball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox. “As I got closer to reaching 20 home runs, I became fixated on reaching the goal and focused on pulling the ball. My batting coach advised me to try to hit towards the opposite field, and it was a huge help,” said Choo in a post-game interview. It was the Indians’ second-to-last game of the season. The right fielder had hit his 19th home run of the season five days earlier, on Sept. 29 against the Chicago White Sox. In reaching the 20-20 mark in his first season as a starter, Choo also finished with 86 RBI. Appearing in the third and cleanup spot in the Cleveland batting order during the season, Choo topped the team in home runs, stolen bases and RBI. The Busan native signed with the Seattle Mariners after leading Korea to a title and earning the Most Valuable Player and Best Pitcher awards at the 2000 World Junior Baseball Championship in Edmonton, Canada. He was converted to an outfielder, and although he made his MLB debut on April 21, 2005, he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 season in the minor leagues until being traded to the Indians along with Shawn Nottingham for first baseman Ben Broussard on July 26, 2006. Choo showed flashes of his current self in 2007, but underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in September of 2007. After missing a chunk of the 2008 season, Choo had a hot September in which he hit .400, five home runs and 24 RBI to earn the American League Player of the Month award and finish the season with a .309, 14 home runs and 66 RBI. Choo was rewarded with a one-year contract in the off-season, and it is expected the Indians will try to lock up the right fielder with a lengthy and  By Jason Kim lucrative deal.

[YONHAP]

Sports

Though the Korean team played hard, it was unable to beat Ghana to make it past the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt.

U-20 Team Hits Quarterfinals, But Can’t Top African Champs

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hey may have come up one game short of tying their all-time record, but they had an impressive run nonetheless. Before Korea’s explosive soar to the final four of the 2002 World Cup, the standard of excellence was set by the squad at the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico. Clad in red, the Korean team made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil. The feisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname “Red Devils,” which has stuck through the years, being adopted by the official support group of the national team. Heading into the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Egypt, many were hoping for a repeat of that magical year by 2002 World Cup team captain Hong Myung-bo. But the more realistic goal turned out to be the round of 16. Hong had never managed a team. Meanwhile, the team’s biggest star, FC Seoul’s Ki Sung-yeung, couldn’t join due to obligations to the senior team. Considering Ki recently signed a three-year deal with the Scottish powerhouse Celtic FC, it was a loss for Korea. “My players showed a lot of mental toughness and adapted to changes quickly. Despite lacking recognizable names on our roster, our players came together and tried their best until the very end. They deserve applause for their effort,” said Korean manager Hong Myung-bo. Placed in what was dubbed the “group of death” by many, Korea had to face Germany, Cameroon and the U.S. Led by

Hong, the U-20 squad started the tourney without much fanfare, losing their first game to Cameroon 2-0. But Hong, known for his stoic demeanor, made some lineup changes for the second game. One was the versatile Yonsei University freshman Kim Min-woo, who, listed at 172 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches), was the shortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster in the first game. Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game, with Kim scoring a nifty equalizer in the second half after managing to get past three German defenders. Facing a must-win situation, Korea dominated the Americans to a 3-1 win to advance to the round of 16. Hong and the boys then faced a strong Paraguay team, which had given up only one goal in the group phase. Kim once again delivered big and carried the team to a 3-1 victory. Kim assisted on Hongik University’s Kim Bo-kyung’s opening goal and then went on to score two of his own to help Korea advance to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup for the first time since the joint inter-Korean team in Portugal in 1991. But Korea quickly succumbed to African champions Ghana, 3-2. “Our players got a chance to play in an international tournament and although it wasn’t perfect, the results reflect the player’s efforts. Our players put forth 100 percent effort. However, they need to try harder to improve their game. They need to put in twice the work of other players,” said Hong in a postgame interview following the game against Ghana.  By Jason Kim November 2009 korea 51

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Korea through the Lens

Click Korea

Right: Colossal Sea Link — The bridge linking Songdo to the Incheon International Airport was completed and opened to the public on Oct. 16. Incheon Bridge is 21 kilometers long (13 miles), making it the world’s seventh-longest and the longest in Korea, with a main span of 800 meters. It was called one of the “10 Wonders of the Construction World” by Construction News and “Deal of the Year” by Euromoney magazine.

[YONHAP]

Above right: Panopticon — Seoul City has selected Millennium Eye, a work by three local artists, as winner of a competition to create a model to represent the Digital Media City, a media cluster under development in the western part of the capital.

[NEWSIS]

Right: First lady’s own cooking show — First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, left, the wife of President Lee Myungbak, promotes the healthy qualities of hansik (Korean cuisine) in an interview with CNN anchor Kristie Lu Stout at Sangchunje in Cheong Wa Dae on Oct. 16th. Kim is a leading proponent of the globalization of Korean cuisine.

Above: Joseon’s Sage King — A new bronze statue of King Sejong the Great (1397-1450) was dedicated on Oct. 9 at Gwanghwamun Plaza, central Seoul, in celebration of the 563rd anniversary of the creation of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. King Sejong the Great is one of Korea’s most respected ancient rulers, credited with overseeing the invention of the alphabet.

Travel

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Pampas grass in Mindungsan in southern Jeongseongun,Gangwon-do Province waves and crackles in the wind.

The Majesty of Autumn 54 korea November 2009

in the Waving Pampas Grass November 2009 korea 55

Travel

Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mindungsan in late autumn, surrounded by tall pampas grass.

[JoongAng Ilbo]

brisk walk along the northern ridgeline toward Samnaeyaksu Spring. From there, take the left-hand path into the forest. When you are done with the climb, you should arrive at Byeoleogok Station. The entire journey takes about six hours, though the trip down to Byeoleogok Station could be a bit challenging for beginners. The local Pampas Grass Festival continues throughout the month until Nov. 1.

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“Mindungsan” literally means “bald mountain,” but this is no Mussorgsky nightmare — the pampas grass provides a tranquil escape from urban life. 56 korea November 2009

n these late days of fall, tall pampas grass fills the mountains to replace the autumn leaves to the north, while the band of red and yellow trees inches south, transforming the southern hills into splashes of beautiful color. Meanwhile, under the crisp clear sky, the pampas grass shines and sways to the music of the wind, like nature’s orchestra playing a symphony. Mount Mindungsan (1,120 meters, 3,675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do Province and Mount Myeongseongsan (992 meters) in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do Province are two popular sites to visit in the autumn for their magnificent pampas grass.

Mount Mindungsan

There are two mountains named Mindungsan in Korea. One is in southern Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do Province, and the other is in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do Province. The name literally means “bald mountain,” and it suits these peaks well, since they’re completely bare, with no tree in sight. The crown of Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseongun even has what could be called a “bald spot,” ringed by brown “hair” that waves and crackles in the wind — a circle of pampas grass. The end of October to early November is the best time to climb Mount Mindungsan, but a hike to the peak during snow season can also be very reward-

ing. The climb is not too difficult, starting off at 600 meters above sea level, with a train ride available for families. Mindungsan’s tanned, bald head is visible to the far north from Jeungsan Station in Gangwon-do Province, and a 1.5-kilometer walk along Dongnamcheon Stream takes you to the trailhead. Cross Mureunggyo Bridge to the right and walk parallel to the tracks for about 10 minutes, and you will soon find yourself standing under the railway. Walk another 50 minutes, and you will reach a trail leading into the forest. Forty more minutes, and you’re at the peak, known as Duuibong and famous for its views of royal azalea fields. The climb down the mountain is a

What to enjoy - Four-wheel railbikes run on 7.2 kilometers of the nowabandoned Jeongseon line tracks, at speeds of up to 30 kilometers per hour. Weekend rides are available by online reservation only (www.ktx21.com). The fee is 18,000 won ($16) for two or 26,000 won for a group of four. Other sites to visit include Kangwon Land (15887789), a leisure center built to revive the old mining town. The facility includes a casino, hotel, golf course, the High 1 ski slopes and a theme park. One local specialty is gondeure namulbap (rice with parboiled herbs and vegetables), once distributed to relieve famine. First, the herbs and vegetables are cooked with the rice, then perilla oil and seasoned soy sauce are added before the dish is served. Though slightly bitter, the rice is great for cutting through the grease urban climbers are used to. Local establishments serving the dish include Gukhwang (033-563-9967), Daraeddeul (033-563-5840) and Dongbakgol Sikdang (033-563-2211). Buckwheat noodles in cold soup is another local favorite. The local natives call the dish “nose ridge hitter” because the noodles are very elastic and sometimes spring up and hits the diner in the

nose after a particularly enthusiastic slurp. The soup is boiled with anchovies, cabbage, pumpkin and potato in soybean paste. Donggwang Sikdang (033563-3100) near Jeongseon Station is famous for this dish.

Mount Myeongseongsan

Myeongseongsan is a mountain with historic ghosts. Near Seoul, this was the location of the last stand of Gung Ye (901-918), the ruler of a shortlived Korean kingdom who died while fighting to protect his state from crumbling. Eventually he became a captive of the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to 14th centuries. Born as a member of the Silla royal family, Gung Ye made himself a king in 901 and named his state Later Goguryeo. But Wang Geon, the founder of Goryeo, tracked him to this mountain after he lost a major battle. Legend has it

Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with anchovies, pumpkin and potato in soybean paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area.

November 2009 korea 57

Travel Korea’s Taste Masters

The view of Sanjeong Lake from the peak is so breathtaking it’s hard to believe it’s just two hours to Seoul.

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Clockwise: Sambuyeon Falls is located near Myeongseongsan, also known as “weeping mountain.” The village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon near Myeongseongsan is well known for its delicious galbi barbequed ribs and makgeolli, traditional Korean liquor.

58 korea November 2009

that the sound of Gung Ye lamenting his defeat was heard across the mountain. There is a natural cave at Mount Myeongseongsan where Gung Ye and his 200 remaining men are believed to have hid while fleeing from Wang Geon’s army. People call this Gung Ye Cave. Myeongseongsan is also called Weeping Mountain, because Prince Ma Ui of the Silla royal family also visited it after his kingdom lay in ruins. Legends say that people heard the mountain itself weeping when the prince arrived. There is only a little pampas grass here, but the view of Sanjeong Lake from the mountaintop is fabulous, attracting scores of climbers during weekends. The trail begins at the Sangdong parking lot. After a 10-minute walk along a gravel field, the trail leads to Biseon Falls. Here the real hiking starts. Some 30 minutes into the valley sits Deungryong Falls, named after a legend that says a dragon appeared out of thick fog and flew up into the sky here. The beauty of this waterfall is often compared with the famous Peach Falls at Mount Seoraksan.

Try taking the trail to the right of the falls for a gentler slope. Twenty minutes up, you will reach the pampas grass, best seen as the sun pours down on it in the high afternoon. For a nice view of Sanjeong Lake, climb another 20 minutes to Samgakbong Peak, then start your descent. The entire journey is 6.5 kilometers and takes about 3 hours. Mount Myeongseongsan is just two hours away from Seoul, making it the perfect site for a family climb. What to enjoy - A theme park near Sanjeong Lake boasts a pirate ship amusement ride and bumper cars, along with other rides. Also nearby is Jainsa Temple, founded by Wang Geon, the founder of Goryeo, under his pen name. It burned down in a forest fire but was restored in 1227. It was destroyed again during the Korean War in 1950. Today’s buildings date from 1964. About an hour’s car ride from the temple is the Hantangang River, Sundam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls. The Sanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium (031-534-5500) there offers spa baths for 8,000 won and a 30-minute traditional Chinese foot massage for 30,000 won. Galbi, marinated barbecued ribs, is a Korean delicacy, and about 30 minutes from Sanjeong Lake, the village of Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun is packed full of about 60 restaurants serving the sumptuous dish, concentrated around the streets leading from Jangam-ni and the Baekun Valley. One of the most popular eateries is called Songsine Galbi (031-535-4872), meaning, simply, “Song family galbi.” Thanks to its location near Heungryongsa Temple on Mount Baekunsan, it’s usually full of hikers. The place is 30 years old and started off as a small studio. The marinated sauce is all natural. Acorn-starch jelly, non-spicy kimchi and assorted vegetables are served together with the barbeque. One serving costs 24,000 won. Songsine Galbi also serves cold noodles in chopped pickled radishes for 3,000  By Kim Sei-jun won.

Join Top Chef at His ‘Zen Hideaway’ Walkerhill’s Hans-Werner Vogt values simple tastes, passionate cooking

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ooking isn’t all that difficult, according to Hans-Werner Vogt, the executive chef at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in eastern Seoul. All you need are good ingredients, some simple equipment and the desire to cook for those you love. Vogt’s philosophy as chef coincides with his specialty, which is always based on fresh ingredients and tasty food such as regional dishes from Europe and simple but tasty Asian food. This is Vogt’s second time in Korea. He worked as an area executive chef at the Westin Chosun Hotel from 1997 to 2004 and he’s been executive chef at the Walkerhill since 2006. “I came to Korea a second time because I like it here,” he says. “I like the people and many of its traditions as well as the four seasons.”

There is one more reason: He enjoys the many fine restaurants in town, especially Zen Hideaway, an Asian dining and wine bar in Sinsadong, southern Seoul. “Whenever I take my Hans-Werner Vogt Executive Chef friends to Zen Hideaway Sheraton Grande Walkerhill they’re surprised to see such a tranquil dining place in the busy streets of Seoul,” he says. “It’s Seoul’s secret sanctuary.” The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of comfort and relaxation, and he likes the artificial pond outside the restaurant’s garden surrounded by tropical trees and plants. The menu includes a range of Asian dishes, from pumpkin croquet (10,000 won, $7.24) and salmon vegetable roll (16,000 won) to spicy chicken and mushroom salad (19,000 won) to tuna garlic steak (24,000 won). There are branches of Zen Hideaway in Sinsa-dong, Myeong-dong in central Seoul and near Hongik University, northern Seoul. To visit the Sinsa-dong branch, go to Sinsa Station, line No. 3, exit 1. For reservations, call (02) 541-1461.  By Lee Eun-joo

A plate of Mandarin chicken salad at Zen Hideaway, an Asian dining and wine bar located in three different places in Seoul. The restaurant has introduced new pizza and pasta menus as well including the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta. [JoongAng Ilbo]

November 2009 korea November 2009 korea 59 59

The Nanta show, now an internationally-known tourist attraction, blends traditional Korean culture with modern showmanship.

Making Korea No Longer Asia’s Best Kept Secret Conference will bring leaders in world travel here in 2011, at the peak of incentives and programs to lure foreign visitors 60 korea November 2009

[YONHAP]

[NEWSIS]

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ith 2010 just two months away, Korea’s tourism officials are scrambling to prepare for the “Visit Korea” campaign. In fact, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has declared the period from 2010 to 2012 as “Visit Korea” years, vowing to put the country once and for all on the global tourism map. Just last month, that ambitious campaign got a significant boost from a prestigious source. At the 18th United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly, meeting held in Astana, Kazakhstan in early October, Korea was named the next host of the UNWTO conference. The UNWTO serves as the forum within the UN for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-how. It has 154 member states, and Korea has been a member since 1975. “[Hosting the assembly] will give Korea the momentum to develop into a tourism powerhouse. As the meeting will take place during our Visit Korea campaign, I think we can expect some synergy,” said Vice Minister Shin Jaemin, who attended the meeting in Astana last month. The next UNWTO assembly is slated for 2011. As the world’s largest international conference on tourism, the assembly is attended by the UNWTO secretary general, the culture ministers of the the member nations and tourism experts. At least 1,500 guests, including government officials, experts and journalists, are expected to gather for the 2011 event, which is expected to bring some 15 billion won ($13 million) in economic benefits, according to the Culture Ministry. It will be the first time Korea has hosted the meeting on its own, after serving as a co-host with Japan in 2001. The venue and exact timing has yet to be decided. But Korean officials show little concern about Korea’s readiness to host such a huge event. “Korea has diverse experience hosting large-scale global meetings and conferences. Korean cities like Seoul, Busan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly even right now,” Shin told reporters. In the meantime, Korea’s tourism officials have high hopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea campaign. Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during the campaign and special marketing events are among the ways Korean officials will use to hit their target — 10 million foreign tourists by 2012. The sector has been struggling this year, hit by the economic crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. In fact, the UNWTO expects to finish the year with the world industry contracting by 5 percent. But at the assembly last month, UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai predicted that business would see a modest uptick in 2010. Korea’s overseas marketing promotions, in fact, began at last months’ UNWTO general assembly in Kazakhstan

Travel

Top, the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel knowhow within the UN. Above, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has selected the period from 2010 to 2012 for its “Visit Korea” campaign. Here First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, third from left, poses with actor Bae Yong-joon, fourth from left, and Minister Yu In-chon, second from right, after the announcement of the campaign.

with “Korea Night,” on Oct. 6, where representatives gave industry leaders a glimpse of what Korea has to offer to tourists. Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism and gave a showcase on Nanta, the famous nonverbal performance mixing traditional samulnori percussion with modern musical forms, among others. “We chose Nanta because it shows a good mix of something traditional and something modern, which in a way represents Korea now,” said Kwon Do-yeon at the Culture Ministry. At the reception, delegates were fed Korean food such as kimchi, bulgogi marinated beef and seaweed-wrapped gimbap rice rolls. Globalizing Korean food is one of the key elements in Korea’s tourism initiatives. In May, the Korean government set up a Korean food globalization committee, aimed at devising ways to proBy Kim Hyung-eun mote Korean food abroad.  November 2009 korea 61

People

Korean Design Makes a Splash in London

Provided by designer

Kim Eun-young

Kim Hyun-been

62 korea November 2009

planned to participate in the design fair this year. “But the judges who were at Milan Designersblock asked me to join the festival in London [as well],” Chung said. Some of the Korean products exhibited during 100% Design London sold quickly. Kim Hyun-been, also chosen as a Next Generation Design Leader by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion for her “DrinKlip” cup holder, was able to sell all 200 of the products she brought on the first day of the festival. Lee Seung-ho, who works in Finland, sold over 1,000 of his about:Blank notebooks, lined in white so that the

Companies and individuals win praise for their unique products at 100% Design London, part of the London Design Festival

lines do not scan or photocopy. “A British hotel said they wanted to order the notebook as presents for their VIP guests,” Lee said. Products from Korean design studios and companies are also gaining wider popularity. The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standing lamps made of porcelain. Saturn Bath also received high praise from other designers for its exquisite TV Tub, a bathtub with a television attached on the end. “A foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea, as a country that only copies other people’s designs, had been broken,” said Lee Gyu-seon, who is currently studying textiles at the British Royal Academy of Arts. “I’m really glad that Korean designers are participating more than they did a year ago, and their abilities are being recognized.”  By Lee Ho-jeong

Provided by designer, Another Ceramic

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ell phones and cars aren’t the only Korean designs getting attention on the global market. That was the message at the London Design Festival last month, attended by young Koreans with cutting-edge, mind-warping work, such as a lamp made to look like a porcelain tea set. One of the events at the festival, 100% Design London, is recognized as one of the three major design exhibitions in the world and is held at Earls Court. Another, Designersblock, displays more experimental designs. A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designers, including eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, participated in 100% Design London this year. The London design exhibition is known for its tough reviews of its applicants. At 100% Design London, Lee Seon-gyong, Kim Eun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist for the Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Magazine, an influential London design magazine. The judges were Vicky Richardson, editor of Blueprint, and Gareth Williams, a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art. Cha ended up winning the award, for his simple and elegant radio. Appearing somewhat like a computer mouse, it had only two controls: volume and tuning. Cha was also selected as a “Next Generation Design Leader” by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion. In recognition of these awards, Cha’s products will be displayed at the main booth for free during next year’s exhibition. “My work has been given a huge promotional boost, as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazine and the Sunday Times,” Cha said. “And since it costs more than 5 million won [$4,300] to rent an exhibition booth, I’m really glad I’ll have a booth in a nice location [for free].” There was even a Korean designer invited by the event organizers. Chung Myeong-yong, a furniture designer working in Milan, Italy, said that he hadn’t

Kim Eun-young’s lamp is top left, and Kim Hyun-been’s DrinKlip, above left. Other ceramic accessories at the festival are pictured above center and right.  November 2009 korea 63

People

The Gift of Communication

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very Sunday, 22-year-old university student Dang Ngoc Thanh heads to Ansan, Gyeonggi-do Province to teach adults — some over twice his age. Thanh came to Korea four years ago from Vietnam. But his ties to Korea go further back, to his childhood. “My father has been in and out of Korea since I was a little boy, striking up business deals involving Korean companies,” says Thanh in almost perfect Korean. His father, who works for an investment consulting firm in Vietnam, is also fluent in Korean. Thanh’s sister now attends Yonsei

64 korea November 2009

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean Language Institute at Yonsei University in Seoul, and is now completely fluent in the Korean language.

University’s Korean Language Institute, the same place Dang Ngoc started his Korean language learning a few years ago. Thanh now attends Hanyang University as a junior majoring in business administration, but once every week, the student becomes a teacher at the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center. “I first started my relationship with the Ansan Migrant Community Service Center last year in May, when I taught Vietnamese immigrants and workers in Korea how to pass the international driver’s license exam. Especially for workers, passing this test was cru-

cial,” he said. Thanh was introduced to the job through the language interpreting center at Hanyang University. After his class last year won rave reviews, Thanh went on to teach Korean there starting April 5. He now meets with a class of around 15 to 18 Vietnamese immigrants every Sunday for three hours, starting at 10 a.m. The young professor says that when he teaches the class, he tries to remember the challenges that he faced when he first started learning Korean. Every week, he prepares his own instructional material on about 20 pages of A4-sized paper.

“[Thanh] is always extremely hardworking and enthusiastic toward his students. I am very thankful that he is a part of our program. I think he possesses a strong will to look after people from his native country,” says Lee Miryeong, public relations head at the center. Even though the commute to Ansan takes him around two hours by train, Thanh has never missed a class. “Even during exam time, I went to Ansan to teach because all my students were waiting for me. How can a teacher not go? Although I have to sacrifice a weekend day every week, when I see that the Vietnamese workers and immigrants I teach have improved on their Korean language skills, it all feels worth it,” Thanh says. “Every language has its own characteristics but I find the Korean language one of the most fascinating. Take the word ‘maeum’ [Korean for heart]. You can use that word in so many different ways, and depending on how you use the word, sentences become totally different in meaning.” Thanh points out that “maeum” can mean relief, determination or love by simply pairing it with different verbs. “In Vietnam, we also use Chinese characters, but the pronunciation and grammar are rather tricky. That’s why I make my own instructional materials, so that my Vietnamese students can differentiate between Korean and Vietnamese in a clearer way.” One of Thanh’s proudest moments came in July, when one of his Vietnamese students at the center, a 31-year-old factory worker at Ansan, went back to Vietnam to take a job at a Korean company there — thanks to his Korean language skills. Thanh says reading the thank you e-mail from him brought him great satisfaction. Even though the Korean Wave has

It takes Thanh two hours to reach Ansan to teach, but he says the success of his students is all the thanks he needs.

brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and other Asian countries, for Vietnamese immigrants and workers in Korea, it is a difficult task to learn the language from scratch. “Popularizing the Korean language will really help Korea’s efforts to globalize,” Thanh says. “Many people from all over the world want to come to Korea. However, Korea is not too English-friendly even though there are a lot of foreigners here. To work or live here, learning Korean is essential because communication through English is difficult.” Particularly for workers, Thanh says, it is hard to communicate and carry out everyday activities in places like hospitals, insurance companies and banks. Though he is majoring in business, Thanh says he would like to continue his language studies as well. The student-teacher is also considering going to graduate school and getting into the financial sector. But for now, he’s devoting himself to his studies — and, of course, to his students.  By Cho Jae-eun

Every Sunday for three hours, Dang Ngoc Thanh, 22, teaches the Korean language to Vietnamese migrant workers in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do Province. November 2009 korea 65

Foreign Viewpoints

I In Search of Real Korean Green Tea Fine Japanese and Chinese green tea is ubiquitous, but Korean growers suffer from poor distribution and insufficient scale.

Brother Anthony (Korean name An Sonjae) first came to Korea in 1980. He is a professor emeritus at Sogang University and wrote the recently published The Korean Way of Tea. He has translated many volumes of Korean literature. 66 korea November 2009

f you have never tasted Korean green tea, you might be wondering what is so special about it. The best way to explain would be to go together to a house on the southern slopes of Mount Jirisan in late April or early May. Sitting with doors and windows open to the early morning sunshine, we watch as our hostess prepares tea she herself has dried only a day or two before over a wood-fire, using very small, just-budded leaves. The water for brewing the tea is drawn from a spring that rises just behind the house. The taste of the first cup of tea is so intense, so unexpectedly rich and varied, so indescribably fragrant, that from that day on the only question would be: “When shall I be able to go back and drink that tea again?” Even in Korea, the finest green tea is not easily obtained. It is easy to buy boxes of one-cup tea bags of green tea at very low cost, but when it comes to leaf tea, it is hard to find. Besides, in Korea, there are relatively few people who regularly drink good green tea, whereas anyone traveling through the southern regions of Japan is accustomed to seeing serried green ranks of tea bushes almost everywhere. There, a cup of simply brewed green tea is automatically offered wherever one goes. If we cross the sea to the regions of China west and south from Shanghai, or to Taiwan, large tea plantations can easily be found. Tea, drunk in various ways, is the staple form of refreshment everywhere in China. In Korea, extensive areas planted in tea are very few and far between. They are mainly found on the slopes of Mount Jirisan, around Boseong-gun, and on Jeju-do Island. In Seoul, green tea from a small number of recognized producers, handmade or mechanized, can be bought in the department stores. Other, rarer teas, have to be sought out in specialized shops and tea rooms, or obtained directly from the producer, even inside Korea. This means that people shopping for green tea in San Francisco or London have to

search extremely hard to find any kind of Korean green tea, while Japanese and Chinese varieties are common. Korean tea is rare, almost unknown. In recent years, a new interest in tea has spread across the world. People in Europe or North America have discovered the health benefits of tea, and have developed a liking for white and green teas, oolongs, and Pu-erh teas. Specialty tea stores in Paris, London or New York often stock hundreds of kinds of teas, from many countries. Yet Korean tea is often almost completely absent from their lists. Many books about tea have been published, often beautifully illustrated. Yet quite often there is not one mention of Korea, even in a book entitled “Tea in the East.” Another called “The True History of Tea” does not mention Korean tea until nearly the end, and then just briefly. More important, the Korean authorities should be encouraging the planting of tea fields by giving generous financial support. It takes several years for tea plants to grow, the fields only produce useable shoots for a short period, and the fields need constant weeding, trimming and care. It is unrealistic to expect the producers to bear such a financial burden. Yet unless there is more tea being grown in Korea, there will not be enough leaves to provide the quantities required for commercial exploitation on an international scale. For Korean tea to become a worldwide commodity, a long-term effort should be made to support the individuals and companies producing it. There is a great future for Korean tea, which is among the world’s best, but it is very urgent for the government to show its interest and support. It is just beginning to promote Korean food. Delicious Korean green tea should always be available at the end of a Korean meal, and I do not mean in a tea bag dipped in hot water! Korean tea is as ancient in its history as that of Japan. Why is it so hard to find?

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