Alcohol has long played a part in Korean life, from its use in court ceremonies to its utility as a social lubricant. Through the centuries, brewers have made brilliant use of the nation’s natural bounty to produce a limitless variety of alcohol beverages. Some, such as soju and makgeolli, are well known even internationally. Others are little known outside the regions where they are produced.

With tastes changing and competition rising from foreign beverages such as beer and wine, brewers of traditional beverages are striving to keep up.

Using traditional techniques, they are crafting new beverages to appeal to the tastes of today’s drinker. They are also reviving long-lost beverages through experimentation and meticulous research.

Also in this issue, we explore the historical port of Mokpo, talk with star makeup artist Ko Won-Hye, discover Korea’s talented magicians and more.

_ Editorial staff, KOREA

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Oh Yeongwoo

Korean Culture and Information Service

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Cho Won-hyung, Lee Suwan, Park Inn-seok

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Seoul Selection

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Robert Koehler

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Kim Eugene

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Park Miso, Woo Jiwon

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Lee Seung Ho

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Lee Bok-hyun, Jung Hyun-young

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ao studio Kang Jinju, 15 Studio

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Photographed by 15 Studio

(From top) Nuruk, rice, crushed nuruk, barley and takju

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Cover Story | » | Written by Jon Dunbar Photographed by 15 Studio

Reviving Korea’s Indigenous Liquors

Artisans, homebrewers and corporations keep traditional brewing going strong

My first dive into the ocean of traditional Korean alcohol was in April 2012, when the Institute of Traditional Korean Food held an exhibition of about 50 folk liquors produced by its student brewers. They used various traditional fermentation and distillation techniques as well as ingredients including apple, ginseng, pine needles, citron and persimmon. I was told many of these recipes had not been made in centuries, although more and more were becoming commercially available.

The drinks offered there ranged in alcohol content from 76 percent all the way down to 1.5 percent. Moju, said to originate in Jeonju, is a low-alcohol sludge that is said to have been used as a hangover cure. With its cinnamon-ginseng flavor, it goes well with the end of a meal, and it is readily available all over Jeonju.

My favorite drink sampled that day, however, couldn’t be said to be a “drink” at all: ihwaju, with its thick yogurty texture, must be eaten with a spoon. With its strong tart flavor, it’s hard to believe the only ingredients are rice and yeast. Many incorrectly say ihwaju contains pear, as ihwa literally means “pear blossom.” But the name only refers to the calendar: start brewing when the pear blossoms bloom in spring.

This one spoonful led me on a quest for more ihwaju. It was not available in the supermarkets. I found one restaurant in downtown Seoul that sold it at KRW 40,000 for 750 ml. Undeterred, I enrolled in a class at Susubori Academy, now the Sool Company, where I learned how to make it on my own.

Traditional brewers work with their hands a lot, and making ihwaju is one of the most labor-intensive procedures. It involves a lot of manual work to turn the rice into powder, add water to shape it into donut-shaped nuggets, boil it, then smush it into a paste and mix it with a special yeast called ihwagok. That mixture is then left for a couple weeks of fermentation, at the end of which it’s ready to go, no additional filtration needed.

The processes of making Korean alcohols are about more than just getting drunk. They are ritualized procedures that bring us closer to Korea’s distinct and vibrant heritage.

Infinite variations

Although Korean alcohol may seem limitless in its variety, nearly all recipes fall into three main categories: takju, cheongju and soju.

Takju, which translates to “whitish alcohol,” is anything that is unfiltered, unrefined or opaque. This includes makgeolli, as well as moju and my favorite iwhaju. Although takju can be enjoyed on its own, it is also an intermediary step in most other more sophisticated recipes.

Takju is a by-product in the process of making cheongju, which means “clear alcohol” and is made by refining the unrefined takju. Due to a law passed during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period, cheongju is classified similarly to Japanese sake. The term yakju, literally “medicine alcohol,” refers to the Korean style.

Distilling cheongju (or other ingredients) leads to soju, literally “fire liquor,” referring to the heat used in distillation. Hongju is a soju, as are munbaeju and baemju, the latter which is aged with a dead snake added in. When Mongolians invaded Korea in the 13th century, they introduced Koreans to distillation methods. Locations of Mongolian outposts – Andong, Kaesong, Jeju and Jindo – became centers of soju production.

Most Korean alcohol recipes first appear in Joseon-era cookbooks. Back then, each yangban family had its own variation that adapted regional specialty ingredients and was passed down through the generations. As food preparation duties including brewing were considered women’s work, alcohol traditions stayed in families, passed from mother to daughter-in-law. Brewing cheongju also generated takju as a by-product high in alcohol and nutrients, which was given to servants and local farmers. The best cheongju and soju recipes that caught the king’s attention would be named and recorded in the royal archives.

Many traditional alcohol recipes have been lost to the ages. During Japan’s 35-year colonization of Korea, Korean alcohol traditions were tightly regulated and taxed.

“In fact, Japanese sake and Korean liquor are not so different,” says Ryu In-su, founder of the Korean Handmade Alcohol Research Institute. “However, the taste itself is different between Japanese sake and Korean liquor. If sake is simple and clean without a single bacterium, Korean liquor is characterized by having a complex flavor and a rich aroma from using wild yeast and fungi. At the time of the Three Kingdoms, we showed the Japanese how to make liquor, but now Japanese sake is more famous than Korean liquor.”

After independence, the situation hardly improved; in the 1960s when food was scarce, laws were passed banning the use of rice in making alcohol.

A breakthrough came in the lead-up to the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics, when an elderly Andong woman named Cho Ok-hwa revealed she remembered from her youth how to distill soju. Both Cho and her soju were designated intangible cultural assets of Gyeongsangbuk-do. Passing along her techniques to her own daughter-in-law, Cho’s soju represents a rare unbroken Korean alcoholic tradition. Nowadays, “Andong soju” is a sought-after cottage industry, with many area distillers offering commercial Andong soju brands.

Breathing new life into ancient recipes

In contrast to Cho, most aficionados have worked hard to recover Korea’s discarded and forgotten heritage.

(From the top) Nuruk, grains and finished products at Sansawon, Baesangmyun Brewery's museum for traditional alchohol in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do

Ryu’s first job out of high school was working at a bar, eventually taking over as manager.

“One day I noticed there was not a single bottle of traditional alcohol among many bottles of wine,” he says. “So why is it not there? This question set me on my path.”

He discovered information was scarce about traditional Korean alcohol, so he gathered what he could and published it online, eventually founding the Korean Handmade Alcohol Research Institute. His institute aims to spread information among the public and offers training for brewers and distillers, aimed at reviving Korea’s traditional spirits.

Korean adults of all ages, sexes and occupations have taken an active interest in traditional Korean alcohol, taking classes from a variety of institutes like Ryu’s and increasing awareness, skills and market size.

Jo Tae-kyung is chief of Korea Studio Sool, a nonprofit institute that conducts research and offers lessons. She classifies most of those interested in Korean alcohol into two groups: one group has specific goals and the other is active hobbyists.

Nuruk is starter used when making alcohol in the traditional manner. It is made by fermenting a coarse dough of grains such as rice and wheat. If you simply scoop out the cloudy beverage you get when you ferment cooked rice with nuruk, you get takju such as makgeolli. If you filter the beverage to get a clear liquid, you get yakju. If you distill it, you get spirits.

누룩은 전통적인 방법으로 술을 만들 때 쓰는 발효제의 일종이다. 쌀, 밀 등 곡물을 굵게 갈아 반죽하여 발효시켜서 만든다. 누룩을 익힌 쌀과 함께 다시 발효시킨 뒤, 그것을 그대로 뜨면 막걸리 같은 탁주, 맑게 걸러내면 약주, 증류시키면 증류주가 된다

Located in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do, Sansawon is an exhibit space dedicated to traditional alcohol and a cultural center where visitors can try brewing traditional alcohol as well as tasting it. In the Sewollang, a garden space with around 500 clay jars, Korean agricultural products ferment over time to become spirits.

경기도 포천에 위치한 산사원은 전통술과 관련한 전시공간인 동시에 술을 직접 빚어보고 맛볼 수 있는 문화센터다. 500여 개의 항아리가 늘어서있는 세월랑에서는 우리 농산물로 빚어 내린 전통 증류주가 세월 따라 익어가는 모습을 볼 수 있다.

“Specific goals include retirement preparation, startups, career change, employment and additional revenue generation,” she says. “In contrast, more of the people who make alcohol at home seem to be hobbyists. They like making it with their hands. Their sense of accomplishment makes them happy as they enjoy each of the processes that consumes time and energy.”

It is notable that research institutes and academies such as Ryu’s and Jo’s are plentiful. This clearly indicates the efforts to research and recover traditional Korean alcohols, not just recipes and techniques but also the corresponding drinking culture, are far from complete.

Kooksoondang, one of the largest traditional spirit producers and best known for its popular brand Bekseju, a flavorable ginseng cheongju, also runs the Project for Reviving Traditional Korean Wines, researching different ancient recipes and regional and seasonal ingredients. Since 2008, they’ve been reviving various liquors, such as Yedam Charyeju, specifically brewed for ancestral worship rites; 50Seju, which expertly blends Bekseju with soju; Myungjak Sanghwang mushroom wine; and its own ihwaju. It even developed Icing, a canned makgeolli flavored with grapefruit. It runs Bekseju Village, a line of Korean liquor brew pubs where these recipes are sold.

Traditional liquor’s future growth

Traditional Korean alcohol has shown positive developments in recent years, as more and more are opening their minds to old-fashioned beverages. Makgeolli enjoyed explosive popularity around 2011, especially in Japan, but the trend unfortunately proved short-lived. However, the temporary economic boost generated increased domestic awareness.

Traditional alcohol also got a boost thanks to foreign attention, as people like Australian Julia Mellor, a director of the Sool Company, served as global ambassadors for Korean alcohol, raising the bar not just for production, but also appreciation.

“I enjoy the process. It’s super fun, but it’s partially practical,” says John Frankl, a hobbyist who makes his own takju, cheongju and soju. “I like what I brew more than anything I’ve been able to find in the store. So it’s worth the investment of time and energy for me to brew my own.”

As more foreign residents come and go in Korea, some take Korean alcohol traditions back to their homelands.

One such example is Tokki Soju in Brooklyn, which offers traditional handmade soju using local U.S. ingredients. Its owner and creator, Brandon Hill, came to Korea in 2011 to study fermentation and distilling techniques. On a recent visit to Korea earlier this year, he appeared for speaking engagements, and his name was splashed across many domestic media outlets.

Overseas consumers are finding their own ways to enjoy these traditional drinks, coming up with their own un-Korean food pairings and mixers. Some North American articles recommend soju mojitos and piña colada makgeolli. Rather than lamenting cultural appropriation and decontextualization – Koreans too are known to experiment with mixing their alcohols – we should see this as evidence of the resilience of traditional Korean alcohol.

“The scope of traditionalism extends beyond the imagination,” Jo says. “It is only when it has its own color and when it is combined with real life, its value shines.”

Drinkers are once again filling their cups with traditional alcohol, which came close to disappearing as Korea modernized. Brewers are producing a wide range of beverages, from ones that use rediscovered traditional methods to modernized beverages that go well with not only Korean cuisine, but also Western cuisine.

﻿근대화를 겪으며 명맥이 끊기다시피 했던 전통주가 애주가들의 술잔을 다시 채우고 있다. 전통 그대로의 방식을 되살려낸 것부터, 한식뿐 아니라 서양 요리와도 궁합이 맞는 현대화된 것까지 종류도 다양하다.

1. Tea towel, Kang Jeoung-eun, Von Living, Design House 2. Soho decanter and cups, Yido 3. Horse leg-shaped soban (small portable table), Yang Byung-yong, Choeunsook Gallery 4. Miyul Sound Cup, KwangJuYo 5. Mini dishes, Lee Seyong, Choeunsook Gallery 6. Twelve-sided soban, Park Gang Yong, Design House 7. Onyu cup, Yido 8. Tea fork, Kimsunmee Ceramicware 9. Soban-shaped lunchbox, Yang Byung-yong 10. Liquor bottle, Lee Neung-ho 11. Wine glass, Kwon Eun-young, (from 9 to 11, Choeunsook Gallery) 12. Mother of pearl tray, Kimsunmee Ceramicware 13. Twenty-four-angle bottle, KwangJuYo

Korea’s local craft liquors

Samhaeju

Seoul/Gyeonggi-do

Samhaeju is a high-end variety of cheongju. Made from rice, water and wheat yeast, the beverage is the product of three cycles of fermentation and filtration over three lunar months, beginning in winter on the first Day of the Pig. The clear drink goes down smooth, despite being 45 percent alcohol by volume. During the days of Joseon, so much rice was going to samhaeju production that the royal government enacted a prohibition on brewing alcohol.

Dugyeonju

Chungcheongnam-do

A specialty of the Myeoncheon area of Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, dugyeonju is Korea’s best known alcohol made from flowers, or gahyangju. Dugyeonju is a clear rice-based beverage, or cheongju, made with azalea petals. The light yellow drink is 18 percent alcohol. Dugyeonju’s fans claim it has medicinal properties, including the ability to relieve a runny nose, nerve spasms, back pain and fatigue.

Hansan Sogokju

Chungcheongnam-do

Brewers in the southwestern city of Jeonju and the northwestern town of Hansan have been brewing sogokju since the days of Baekje. The clear drink with a clean taste is made using water, glutinous rice, nonglutinous rice and only a tiny bit of yeast. Some brewers throw in ginger, pepper or wild chrysanthemums, too. Sogokju is about 15 to 16 percent alcohol by volume.

Igangju

Jeollabuk-do

Brewers in the southwestern city of Jeonju and the northwestern province of Hwanghae-do have been producing pear and ginger soju, or igangju, for centuries. Pear juice, ginger extract, cinnamon and turmeric are added to soju, which in turn is sweetened with honey. The mixture is then matured for a month. The resulting beverage, yellow in hue, is spicy, sweet and goes down smoothly. Long regarded as a high-end beverage for high-end tastes, igangju was served to toast the signing of the United States–Korea Treaty of 1882.

Bokbunjasul

Jeollabuk-do

This sweet beverage, a specialty of Gochang, Jeollabuk-do, is made from Korean black raspberry, or bokbunja. The drink, 15 to 19 percent alcohol by volume, is deep red in color. Its fruity sweetness makes it a favorite among drinkers of all ages and sexes. In fact, it was served at the official dinners of the 2005 APEC summit in Busan and the 2007 inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang. Bokbunjasul is credited with a wide range of medicinal benefits, including preventing cancer, improving memory and boosting male potency. Indeed, the Chinese characters for the word bokbunja means “a fruit that makes a man so energetic that the chamber pot will almost turn over when he urinates.”

Hongju

Jeollanam-do

Easily recognized by its bright red hue, hongju is a specialty of the southwestern island of Jindo. The color comes from the root of the gromwell plant, or jicho, a medicinal herb used to treat indigestion, rashes, fevers, diabetes and other ailments. When soju is passed through slices of jicho root, it turns red. Hongju is strong stuff at about 40 percent alcohol by volume, yet possessing of a surprisingly subtle bouquet and a clean aftertaste.

Gamjasul

Gangwon-do

If there’s one thing Gangwon-do does well, it’s potatoes. Coming to Korea in the later part of Joseon, the potato figures prominently in the province’s local cuisine. Pyeongchang, the host city of the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, even produces a potato alcohol, or gamjasul. The craft disappeared during the Japanese colonial era, but brewer Hong Seong-il revived production in 1990. The clear, yellow beverage, matured for about 40 days, is 11 percent alcohol by volume.

Gyodong Beopju

Gyeongsangbuk-do

Beopju means “law alcohol,” and is so called because, as a liquor produced for use in the palace and in royal rites, its manufacture was strictly regulated. The Choi family of Gyo-dong, Gyeongju, has been making a variety of it, Gyodong Beopju, since Choi Guk-seon, the official in charge of the royal dining table during the reign of King Sukjong (r. 1674–1720), first created it for his sovereign. After retiring from the palace, he returned to his hometown of Gyeongju and set up a brewery. It is a clear rice beverage, or cheongju, made with only glutinous rice, wheat, yeast and water.

Omegisul

Jeju

Omegisul is similar to unfiltered rice wine, or makgeolli, but rather than use rice, brewers use millet, which grows well in Jeju’s volcanic soil. To make omegisul, brewers boil and crush millet cakes, or omegitteok, with the mash then poured into a pot with yeast and water for fermentation. Like makgeolli, omegisul was a favorite of farmers after a long day working in the fields. Omegisul can be distilled further to produce gosorisul, a clear liquor with 40 percent alcohol by volume.

Travel | » | Written and photographed by Robert Koehler

‘Mokpo Is a Port’

The past is alive in the streets of southwest Korea’s historical seaport

Mt. Yudalsan offers a birds’s eye view of Mokpo and its surrounding waters and islands.

Mokpo Modern History Museum Hall No. 1 was once the Japanese consulate.

The hometown I miss, Mokpo, is a port where the steam whistle blows in the fog of the Yeongsangang River and seagulls cry beneath Samhakdo Island’s lighthouse. Mokpo is a port. The steamboat cries.

The legendary singer Lee Nan-young sang “Mokpo is a Port” in 1942, poignantly capturing the ambiance of her hometown, where the morning mist lies thick and the deep vibrato of the foghorn reverberates through the salty air like a temple bell’s echo in a mountain valley. As the song says, Mokpo is a port, and a colorful one at that, its streets, markets and wharfs serving a heady mix of history, flavors, sass and waterfront charm. The old downtown, its alleyways lined by historical homes, offices and gardens of exotic design, many built at the height of imperial rule in the early 20th century, is an especially captivating place in which to stroll, learning about the nation’s dramatic and often tragic past as you take in the sights.

The Lee Hun-dong Garden was built in the 1930s.

Mokpo Modern History Museum Hall No. 2 was the Mokpo branch office of the Oriental Development Company.

Alleyways of history

Hidden away in the craggy coastline of Korea’s southwestern tip, between the rocky peaks of Mt. Yudalsan and the islands of Dadohaehaesang National Park, Mokpo has been the region’s most important port since 1897, when the harbor was opened up to foreign trade. The Japanese, who forcibly annexed Korea in 1910, took an especially keen interest in developing the port into an outlet for Korean agricultural and fishery products such as rice, cotton, salt and seaweed. By the 1940s, the city was Korea’s third busiest port behind Busan and Incheon.

After Korea was granted independence from colonial rule in 1945, the commercial center of southwest Korea shifted from Mokpo to the inland market town of Gwangju. The bustling seaport continued to thrive, however, the city expanding from the waterfront strip into the valleys beyond. Land reclamation projects even brought offshore islands such as Samhakdo into the city center. Work is currently underway on a sprawling, state-of-the-art “new port,” a container facility built on reclaimed land outside of town, scheduled for completion in 2020.

Though a thoroughly modern city, Mokpo’s history lives on in its rich collection of historical architecture. During the colonial era, many Japanese settlers established homes and businesses in the neighborhood between the waterfront and Mt. Yudalsan, at the foot of which was the old Japanese consulate. Their houses and offices, built in a variety of styles from traditional Japanese and European renaissance to eclectic fusions of Eastern and Western elements, still stand as wood, stone and brick testaments to the past.

The most eye-catching of Mokpo’s historic properties is Mokpo Modern History Museum Hall No. 1, an ornate, Renaissance-style building perched on the foot of Mt. Yudalsan, its elevated perch giving it a commanding view of the old city center. Built in 1900, the red brick landmark originally served as the Japanese consulate. It later functioned as Mokpo’s city hall and a cultural center before being re-purposed as a modern history museum in 2014.

Not far from Mokpo Modern History Museum Hall No. 1 is Mokpo Modern History Museum Hall No. 2, a grandiose gray edifice, also built in the Renaissance style, that was once the Mokpo branch office of the Oriental Development Company, Japan’s answer to the British East India Company. The museum has a fascinating collection of old photographs of the city. Just across the alley is a local treasure, the House Filled with Happiness, a Japanese-style wooden house that has been renovated as a café.

Also worth visiting is the Lee Hun-dong Garden, founded by a Japanese settler in the 1930s and acquired by the prominent businessman Lee Hun-dong in 1947. The garden is open only on Saturdays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. There’s a museum dedicated to Lee Hun-dong on site, too.

Atop Mt. Yudalsan

The rocky peaks of Mt. Yudalsan provide a stunning backdrop to downtown Mokpo. The 228 meter-high mountain also offers inspiring views over not only the city, but also its port and the scenic islands of Dadohaehaesang National Park. It’s also very accessible, with a road that allows cars to go as far as Nojeokbong Peak, a popular scenic overlook. There’s a walking trail to Nojeokbong, too, which starts from Mokpo Modern History Museum Hall No. 1.

A hiking trail follows the entire ridge of the mountain, with scenic spots marked by viewing pavilions and observatory decks. While not high, the mountain is rocky, and you’ll want to watch your step in places. The best views are from the highest peak, Ildeungbawi, where you can enjoy a beautiful sunset over Mokpo Bridge and Dadohaehaesang National Park.

You don’t have to head up Mt. Yudalsan to get good views of Mokpo, however. In the heart of the old city is Mokpojin, a hillock where, in the days of Joseon, a naval artillery battery protected Mokpo harbor from invaders. It’s now a historical park with views over the city center’s old alleyways. You can get good views of the port from Samhakdo and Mokpo Yacht Marina, too.

Mokpo at night

Mokpo operates nighttime city tours on Friday and Saturday. The bus departs from Mokpo Station at 7 p.m., passing sites such as Mt. Yudalasan, Samhakdo and the raw fish market at Mokpo’s north harbor. You’ll also get a chance to walk around Gatbawi, a pair of seaside rocks that have become a popular scenic spot, and the nearby boardwalk that takes you past a dancing water fountain. The area around the water fountain has plenty of cafés in which to relax, too.

Fishing boats sit in Mokpo’s old harbor.

The café House Full of Happiness is a renovated colonial home.

Where to eat

Fermented skate, or hongeo, is a local specialty. If you’re looking for hongeo, try Deoginjip (T. 061-242-3767) in Muan-dong. Another local favorite is small octopuses, or nakji. Dokcheon Sikdang (T. 061-242-6528) is a good place to try it.

Colombang Bakery (T. 061-243-2161), near Mokpo Station, is a local institution, famous for its cream cheese baguette. For coffee, go vintage at House Full of Happiness, or go trendy at Pier5 (T. 061-287-0019), near Gatbawi.

Where to stay

Mokpo has plenty of small- and medium-sized hotels along the waterfront and near Gatbawi and Peace Square. If you’re looking for a place in which it’s really worth staying, however, check out Mokpo 1935 (T. 061-243-1935). The charmingly restored Hanok guesthouse is an opportunity to spend the night in part of the city’s history.

Getting there

High-speed trains to Mokpo depart Seoul’s Yongsan Station (travel time: 3 hours).

The sun sets over Mokpo Bridge and the islands of Dadohaehaesang National Park.

People | » | Written by Hahna Yoon Photographed by 15 Studio

Barefaced and Beautiful with Ko Won-Hye

Korea’s makeup artist to the stars discusses the elements of Korean beauty

“A lot of people say that I can come off very cold at first,” says makeup artist Ko Won-hye, who seems anything but. Dressed in a vanilla-white dress that perfectly accentuates her slight tan from a recent trip to Italy, Ko is poised, elegant and so unpretentiously warm that her fame comes as an afterthought. Recognizable from television shows such as “Get It Beauty” and “Infinite Challenge,” Ko is a first-generation makeup artist who is on a first-name basis with everyone from Jang Yoon-ju to Bae Doona. From a sunny room in her Apgujeong salon, we talk about playing hooky in school, her obsession with time and all things beautiful.

When makeup was child’s play

“When I was younger, I played a lot of ‘Miss Korea,’ and I ’d do runway walks, strike poses, and, I don’t know why, but I’d also pretend to make speeches in English,” says Ko, who admits that she spent a great portion of her childhood in front of the vanity, playing with her mom’s makeup.

While she didn’t put on makeup until she was a college student, she started an obsession with skincare as a high school student and even took some extreme measures to get rid of pimples. “I would beg my mom for money, skip school and seek out the best dermatologists.”

After Ko entered university and it became socially acceptable to wear makeup, she “went straight for the semi-smoky eye” and “roamed about Namdaemun Market scouring for the latest imports from the U.S. or Japan, as foreign makeup shops didn’t exist.”

Her rising talents afforded her a part-time job painting the faces of dolls on brooches. “I drew one doll for 50 won. Can you imagine that?” says Ko with a laugh.

A pause on dreams, a go in life

After graduating college, Ko wanted to pursue a career in makeup by going abroad to Japan and studying there. “But my parents, fearing that I would get in with the wrong crowd, forbid me from going and I temporarily gave up on my dreams,” she says. She gives a brief timeline of major events of her life: “I got married at the age of 26, and at 28, I had a baby. It wasn’t until after that, I attended a makeup academy in Korea for the first time.”

Poster for “Get it Beauty,” a TV show offering beauty tips

Poster for “Gukhwasu,” another TV program on cosmetics

Ko tries the wares at her own beauty salon.

Ko says the idea that you would “learn to put on makeup” was as good as nonexistent, and the concept that you would learn from a professional was equally foreign. “At the time, makeup was something you learned by following your mom, and the only so-called technique was to dip your brush and put it on.”

Eyebrows, the gateway to emotions

Shortly after Ko started attending the makeup academy, she began to practice on her friends. “After I put makeup on them, they looked so different,” Ko says. “The reactions that they received from their respective neighborhoods were so good that they suggested I teach private lessons in small groups. I think I taught almost 150 people at the time and earned a bit of cash.”

She says her main focus was on how to neatly draw your eyebrows. “A lot of women think about their eyebrows, because the eyebrows express emotions,” she says. “For instance, when someone is angry, their eyebrows are like this,” Ko says, pointing her index fingers together. She believes one of the reasons why people saw such a drastic change in the women she made over was because of the eyebrows.

Motherhood and makeup

At age 31, Ko left Korea to attend classes at the Joe Blasco Make Up Center in Los Angeles. “I asked my mom to look after my five-year old son, and I think, without her help, I wouldn’t have been able to make that trip,” she says about her 10 months in the U.S. She laughs and adds that perhaps, if it weren’t for him, she might not have come back to Korea.

“Because I learned makeup after I already became a mother, I don’t think I was particularly ambitious about pursuing a career. During the classes, I learned very enthusiastically, but afterward, it wasn’t like anyone was going to offer me a full-time job,” Ko says. She feels that this is a reality for many mothers in Korea. With a note of hopefulness, however, she says, “I did have the thought, ‘If I keep doing this, won’t it lead me somewhere in 10 years?’”

A time without Photoshop

After Ko came back to Korea, she went through a whirlwind of gigs. She did movie makeup (a skill she picked up from a part-time gig in the U.S.), she taught at a makeup academy, and she opened her first salon in Samseong-dong. In the year 2000, she began doing makeup for magazine and commercial photo shoots. “A lot of magazines had just launched in Korea – Vogue, Marie Claire, Bazaar,” Ko says.

The growing magazine industry was still unfamiliar with freelancing, though. “I would finish my work and when I would ask to be paid, the companies would ask, ‘What pay? We are giving you a byline for the work that you did, why should we pay you?’ A lot of people didn’t understand freelancing.” She would insist on being paid, and she still critiques the system for continuing to underpay and underappreciate makeup artists.

“Back in the day, doing magazine work was really fun,” Ko adds. “All the photos were film. There was no Photoshop. You had to wait three days to get photos back. Since magazines were first arriving in Korea, I had a lot of creative control over the styles, and I got to experiment with everything from avant-garde to all types of strong makeup.”

A-listers and contouring

Although Ko’s name often appears alongside top stars in many an internet search and she is in fact close to several celebrities, she insists that she has not made it a priority to work with A-listers. “I never cared much for celebrity status and wasn’t wowed by meeting them,” Ko says. “Oftentimes, people think that I’m a makeup artist for the stars because they visit my shop, but I was never trying for that title. It’s just because I was one of the first freelance makeup artists available.”

In fact, Ko does not even watch television. “Too many trends come in [to Korea] from foreign television shows, even if those trends aren’t compatible with Korea,” Ko says. In terms of makeup, her philosophy is that 70 percent of a look should be the best of the wearer’s natural self, and just 30 percent should be based on trends. Instead of seeking out the next season’s colors at fashion shows abroad, she prefers to browse through shopping malls and make her version of the colors that are coming in.

“I don’t really like following trends. You can observe them and know they exist, but they pass,” she says. She holds a particular grievance against contouring – a technique so à la mode that it yields 37 million Google results. “Foreign faces and Korean faces aren’t the same, and I don’t think that we should be working so hard to follow [Western beauty ideals]. Just do what’s best for your face,” Ko advises.

Ko works with actress Bae Doona.

Ko prepares a model for a magazine shoot.

Korea & I | » | Written by Martin Fryer Illustrated by Kim Min Ho

Food, Music and Pottery

British Council Korea Director Martin Fryer discusses his love for three art forms

Food, music and pottery. I’ve long had a love for all three. Wherever I travel, I seek the local specialities in all three art forms. Yes, for me culinary culture is an art, and in all three fields Korea yields up wonders for the uninitiated.

Food as a culinary art

Living in Seoul and on my trips to other parts of Korea, I have discovered that when it comes to restaurants, price and quality don’t always equate. The simpler places offer the best tastes, and wherever there are lots of Koreans sitting down to eat, you can be sure somebody’s cooking well.

Often it’s outside Seoul that I’ve found the most exciting tastes, and it’s the side dishes that I look out for. I’ve eaten vegetables I’ve never seen before at Cheong Nae Restaurant near the entrance to Hwaeomsa Temple, and in Jeonju, Goong offers one of the best arrays of appetisers before the main course in its “Royal” course menu. In Gurye, in the valley beneath the magnificent Jirisan National Park, I was introduced to rice-paddy snail soup, a local breakfast special at Seomji Food Restaurant. As a novel way of recycling waste, this small restaurant’s car park surface is made up of hundreds of thousands of tiny snails’ shells. The soup is one of many of Korea’s so-called hangover soup varieties, although I prefer to think of it as a good way to start the day before a hike in the mountain or a day working in the fields.

Like many foreigners, I enjoy market food, something we are rediscovering in places like Borough Market in London, but which has never disappeared in Korea. I go back to Yukhoe Alley in Seoul’s Gwangjang Market to line up outside my personal favourite hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Buchon Yukhoe, time and time again. And in Jeonju’s main market, I’m not surprised to see that Jo Jeom Rye’s sundae stall has expanded into a multi-room establishment since I first visited it three years ago.

There’s no lack of choice for that staple to vanquish hunger, the humble bowl of noodles. In Seoul, my favourite places are Jaem Bae Ok for beef noodles, Eul Mil Dae for cold noodles and Jinju Hoegwan for kongguksu.

Hooked on pansori

While food meets one basic need, I don’t think I could live without music either. Korea has introduced me to pansori, and through pansori, to one its dramatic forms, changgeuk opera. I first came across pansori in Gwangju in an open air concert within weeks of arriving in Korea. The outdoors is the perfect setting for this story-telling form of song, as pansori needs vocal strength as well as good acting. The singer, or sorrikkun, must have a rapport with their drummer, gosu, to convey the humour, pathos and drama of a pansori story.

For a western ear, it can take some time to get accustomed to pansori, but I’m now hooked, and I look forward to hearing Ahn Suk-seon, one of the great masters of the art, whenever she performs. The National Theatre of Korea’s New Year’s Eve pansori concert is one of the highlights of the year, loyally attended by pansori aficionados who express their pleasure in a uniquely vocal way throughout the performances. Pansori is also a key element of changgeuk opera, which is enjoying a revival thanks to the work of the National Changgeuk Company. “Madam Ong” and “Mr. Heungbo” are recent productions I’ve seen, and in 2018 the company will take its acclaimed production of “Trojan Women” to Brighton and London to introduce audiences there to the charms of both pansori and changgeuk in an exciting adaptation of the Euripides play.

The beauty of Korean ceramics

It was the Austrian-born British potter Lucie Rie (1902–1995) who, probably more than any other British ceramicist, recognised the beauty of Korean pottery and introduced it to British collectors and art lovers. It is said she kept a Korean moon jar in her studio for fifty years, and it is well known that Korean ceramics influenced and inspired the British modernist pottery movement. The simplicity of form appeals to my aesthetic taste, even many years before I had the chance to live in Korea. I have now had the opportunity to watch the making and firing of moon jars by two masters, Seo Kwang-soo and Kang Min-soo, in their Icheon studios and kilns, and I have acquired works of Kang Min-soo to take with me when I leave Korea. I have also had the privilege of seeing British artist Neil Brownsword working with ceramic artist Lee Kang-hyo to create new work. Both the UK and Korea have strong traditions in this art form, traditions that have been impacted by change but which retain their integrity thanks to artists like these.

Arts & Entertainment 1 | » | Written by Hahna Yoon

Making Magic Happen in Korea

Choi Hyun-woo and Yu Ho-jin set the stage for the golden age of Korea’s magic scene

Choi Hyun-woo has put on shows employing a range of concepts, including “The Brain,” a mental magic show that uses the psychology of the audience, and “The Sherlock: Gravity 503,” which combines magic and musical theater.

While the word “abracadabra” may have been popularized in Korea through the 2009 hit song from the Brown Eyed Girls, the development of illusionary arts and magic seems to be coming from a new generation of young, imaginative artists who do a little more than just recite the incantation. One could even argue that magic has the potential to follow in the footsteps of other Korean cultural exports like TV shows, pop music and food. Active names in the field who have been collecting international awards and wowing audiences all over the world include Choi Hyun-woo and Yu Ho-jin.

Laying groundwork

Any discussion of the magic and illusionist scene in Korea would be difficult without first naming Lee Eungyeol, who set the scene for the many magicians who followed. Despite growing up in a community with no support for the magic arts, Lee was one of the first Korean illusionists to be recognized internationally by winning the 2001 Japan UGM magic competition. In 2011, Lee made headlines once again when he was awarded the Merlin Award of the International Magicians Society. Today, many Koreans recognize him from the Daum tvPot series “My Little Television.”

Veteran magician Choi Hyun-woo debuted in 1996.

Yu Ho-jin is a member of the seven-man team “The Illusionists,” some of the best magicians in the world. He serves as the Manipulator, who specializes in card tricks and sleight of hand.

Charming Choi

Another magician who debuted as a pro in 1996 is Choi Hyun-woo. Also known by the nickname Charming Choi, the magician is a household name thanks to the television program “Star King.” He began to gain attention when he took three awards at the 2002 International Brotherhood of Magic Convention. He’s maintained his reputation by making appearances on the small screen.

His greatest claim to fame is his win of the Originality Award at the World Championship of Magic in 2009, the first Asian to do so. Hosted by the International Federation of Magic Societies, the World Championship of Magic is the world’s largest magic competition and one of magic’s most prestigious. Choi was also chosen to judge the competition in 2012, an honor in itself.

In 2015, he hosted a live magic show on stage called “The Sherlock: Gravity 503.” Not only has Choi been active domestically, performing over 1,000 shows during his twenty-year career, he has frequently performed outside of Korea, too. In fact, his numerous appearances on Japanese television have earned him the title “Magician of Hallyu,” a reference to the growing overseas popularity of Korean pop culture.

Yu’s poetic magic

A magician who has made headlines more recently is 25-year-old Yu Ho-jin. After falling in love with the art of magic at age nine, Yu decided to pursue magic instead of academics and worked meticulously to achieve his reputation as one of the world’s best in card magic. Practicing day in and day out, he entered the professional world as a 15-year-old. Today, you might recognize Yu from his illusion performances in the current promotional videos for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, in which he appears to be performing Olympic feats in easily recognizable Seoul locations.

Most notably, Yu was the first Asian to win the Grand Prix at FISM in 2012 and has continued to rack up awards since then. In 2014, Yu was awarded the honor “Magician of the Year,” by the Academy of Magic Arts, the first Korean ever so honored.

In 2015, he performed in the Broadway musical “The Illusionists” as the character the Manipulator. In a review of the musical, the Hollywood Reporter raved about Yu’s performance, saying, “The show’s best performer remains Yu Ho-Jin … who delivers sleight-of-hand card tricks so gracefully and elegantly that they are practically poetic.”

Yu Ho-jin became the youngest person and the first Asian to win the Grand Prix at the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques, the so-called “Olympics of Magic,” in 2012.

Arts & Entertainment 2 | » | Written by Diana Park Photos courtesy of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

The Revival of a Fading Wish

International media artist Krzysztof Wodiczko gives voice to Korea’s unheard

The MMCA exhibit includes about 80 of Wodiczko’s works dating from the late 1960s to the present. The highlight is “My Wish,” a new work in which images are projected onto a statue of independence activist Kim Koo.

For over four decades, international media artist Krzysztof Wodiczko has created interdisciplinary works to restore a sense of dignity and identity to marginalized groups around the world. Through Oct. 9, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (MMCA) presents his first large-scale solo exhibition in Asia, “Krzysztof Wodiczko: Instruments, Monuments, Projections.” The exhibition explores the progression of his public projections and instruments, landing on his newest project featuring the stories of Korean individuals.

Born in Poland, Wodiczko studied industrial design at the Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw. In 1969, he created his first instrument project, “Personal Instrument,” a device that used hand motions and electronic components to manipulate and transform the sounds of his environment, as a reflection of the need for critical interpretation of messages heard through the heavy censorship prevalent in Poland at the time. His subsequent instrument works from the 1970s to 1980s highlighted the narratives of alienated groups in the West like the homeless population, war veterans and immigrants, providing them with communication outlets.

From the late 1990s, Wodiczko began producing public projections addressing global topics such as human rights and democracy. He projected videos of interviews onto significant public monuments, using these buildings as screens through which participants could speak. “Hiroshima Projection” (1999), for example, was showcased on the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. He projected the hands of the survivors of the Hiroshima bombing onto the building as the audio of their accounts played in the background. Wodiczko emphasized that these presentations attribute value to the speaker. “Projections engage the symbolism of the projected monument and establish dialogue through the surface,” he says. “So when unheard groups speak through them, the value of their experiences is elevated. This format makes the viewer realize that they must be heard, so change can happen.”

Wodiczko is a globally renowned media artist whose work speaks for the marginalized.

Voices of Korea

Wodiczko’s commitment to making the unheard heard unites his extensive line of work in different mediums and contexts. His heartfelt compassion for marginalized groups extends into his newest project about the people of modern Korea.

The project “My Wish” presents the diverse narratives that make up Korean society, including an artist who defected from North Korea, an immigrant from Bangladesh, mothers of victims of the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014 and a young man in his 20s who is having a hard time finding work. The participants’ faces, hands and feet are projected onto a statue of the Korean independence activist Kim Koo so that the legendary freedom fighter seemingly speaks through the individuals. Through the canvas of a revered activist, their words carry value that did not exist before, and their personal narratives contribute to a collective history.

Inspired by Kim’s vision, Wodiczko spoke with many people, collecting their wishes for their country. During his visits in 2016, he heard and engaged with the stories of Koreans at a historic point in time, when society was writhing due to a major corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of then President Park Geunhye. “Kim Koo’s vision is only a reference,” he explains. “He was an activist, but most importantly, he was a visionary. A visionary recognizes a deep, profound need for change. Though the unfulfilled needs of people are personal, they become historical in a time when people are thinking about the country’s future.”

Displayed on the dome of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, “Hiroshima Projection” (1999) was a video of testimonies by victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Korean Culture in Brief | » |

Festival Season

Autumn is the time to experience Korea’s many local celebrations

September marks the beginning of autumn, when the mercury dips comfortably, the sky grows high and blue, the cosmos flowers erupt in an explosion of violet, and the leaves begin their colorful metamorphosis before making their final descent to the ground below. Many provincial regions mark this time of year, when the agreeable weather and scenic beauty encourage people to return to the great outdoors, with local celebrations and festivals, some of which draw tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country. These festivals not only provide an excuse to party, but also give participants an opportunity to learn about local traditions and to experience the nation’s regional diversity.

The Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival, to be held from Sept. 22 to 24, celebrates one of Korea’s most iconic pieces of architectural heritage, the imposing Hwaseong Fortress of Suwon, Gyeonggi-do. Built in the late 18th century by the visionary King Jeongjo of Joseon, the fortress is a crowning achievement of Korean engineering, so much so that it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The festival boasts a variety of performances and activities, most notably a reenactment of the royal procession of King Jeongjo involving 4,210 people and 720 horses.

Jeju’s Tamna Culture Festival, to be held from Sept. 20 to 24, showcases the arts and heritage of the giant volcanic island. Visitors can take in many of Jeju’s unique traditions, including the Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, a shaman ritual performed by the island’s famous female divers as a prayer for calm seas and an abundant catch. The festival offers many participatory events as well.

The historical towns of Buyeo and Gongju, the capitals of the ancient kingdom of Baekje, host the Baekje Cultural Festival from Sept. 28 to Oct. 5. One of the Three Kingdoms that dominated the Korean Peninsula for the first seven centuries of the first millennium, Baekje was renowned for its sophistication and worldly orientation. It even played an important role in transmitting continental civilization to Japan. The festival includes performances of traditional arts, Buddhist ceremonies, parades, exhibitions and more.

In the national capital, the Seoul Performing Arts Festival, to be held Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, presents 17 performances by 17 companies from seven nations: Greece, Romania, Ireland, Great Britain, France, Canada and Korea. In addition to stage performances, the festival also includes workshops, conversations with artists and an awards ceremony. The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, held Sept. 21 to 29 in Goyang, Paju, Gimpo and Yeoncheon, four towns along the frontier with North Korea, gives filmgoers a rare opportunity to appreciate works by the world’s top documentary filmmakers in a space pregnant with historical significance.

Korea Comes to London

London Korean Festival 2017 brings K-pop, traditional arts and more to the British capital

On July 8, Korea and the United Kingdom kicked off a series of cultural exchanges between the two nations with the London Korean Festival 2017.

This festival, a celebration of all things Korean, drew around 15,000 participants, largely young Londoners in their 20s.

The highlight of the festival was a K-pop concert, “Feel Korea,” with performances by boy bands Highlight, KNK and Snuper and girl band EXID. There were also performances by a Korean traditional music group, a break dancing crew and a taekwondo demonstration team. Additionally, organizers set up spaces where visitors could see Korean arts and crafts, try Korean food or learn about the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The festival, which returned following an incredibly successful debut in 2015, also marks the beginning of Korea/UK 2017–18, a year-long reciprocal program of the British Council’s UK/Korea 2017–18 program. Artists from the two nations will visit one another’s countries, enhancing bilateral cooperation in the arts and forging ties between artists and arts organizations. For instance, 19 Korean troupes performed in this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the most teams ever.

Literature | » | Written by Barry Welsh Illustrated by Kim Yoon-myung

Voice of the Forgotten Youth

Hwang Jungeun’s novel ‘One Hundred Shadows’ gives voice to those on the fringes of society

Hwang Jungeun is one of Korea’s rising literary stars. Her trio of novels and various short story collections have achieved both critical and commercial success by tapping into the fears and desires of the country’s generation of disaffected youth. She is seen by many as being at the forefront of a group of relatively young Korean writers whose work explores and embodies the difficulties of life in modern Korean society. As these writers see it, modern society is trapped in an ancient feudal-like system that forces individuals through a gruelingly competitive education system in the desperate hope of securing a good job, of which there seem to be fewer and fewer. The wealthy, powerful or famous can sidestep this relentless, dehumanizing grind, but those who can’t often slip through the cracks, forced to live on the fringes where they are forgotten and marginalized by mainstream society.

The forgotten people

Hwang Jungeun’s novels and stories are written for and about these forgotten people. Her work is populated by the poor, the abused, the neglected, the abandoned and the homeless. Her two works translated into English, the novel “One Hundred Shadows” and short story “Kong’s Garden,” depict the lives of struggling temporary workers with little education, few career prospects and unstable relationships. “One Hundred Shadows,” Hwang’s first novel, was published in 2010 and became a word-of-mouth best seller by capturing the zeitgeist of the late 2000s and early 2010s. It tells the story of Eungyo, a young woman who works at a small repair shop called Mr. Yeo’s in a rundown, increasingly derelict electronics market the government is trying to close for redevelopment. We learn that Eungyo was seriously bullied by her classmates in high school until one day she decided she couldn’t take it anymore and dropped out to work at the repair shop. It’s here at the electronics market that she first meets Mujae, a young man working as an apprentice at a transformer shop. The story of how Mujae ended up at the electronics market is also tinged with tragedy. His father made a bad business decision, quickly falling into debt. When Mujae was still a boy, his father died and Mujae inherited the debt. In order to pay the interest, he falls deeper into debt until his life is consumed by a vicious circle of debt payments and rising interest. Many readers have called “One Hundred Shadows” a love story between Mujae and Eungyo, and while their relationship does appear constantly poised to tip over into something more than friendship, it’s a description Hwang herself has at times resisted. Nevertheless, although they are not exactly lovers, the tender heart of the novel is how Mujae and Eungyo’s halting, tentative relationship develops despite their straitened economic circumstances.

Hwang surrounds her not-quite-lovers with a supporting cast of eccentrics who work in and around the market: Eungyo’s boss Mr. Yeo, lottery obsessed Yugon, the old man who runs the light bulb shop, the homeless woman who has been selling blood sausage outside the market for 20 years. They all have their own stories, tales of hardship that have brought them to the market. All the while, as Eungyo and Mujae’s faltering relationship progresses, the prospect of redevelopment, upheaval, economic uncertainty and loss of livelihood hangs over everyone. As the government starts pushing tenants out and closing down sections of the market, it’s as if a noose is slowly tightening around the necks of those who are left. What can they do? Where can they go? How will they survive?

Realism

In interviews, Hwang has been very open about the fact that the novel is inspired by real locations and events as well as her own upbringing. The electronics market in “One Hundred Shadows” was based on two similar markets in Seoul: Sewoon Electronics Market in Jongno and Yongsan Electronics Market, both of which have now been substantially redeveloped. Hwang’s father worked repairing audio equipment for 40 years at the Sewoon market. She grew up around the traders there and witnessed the first of the buildings getting demolished for redevelopment in 2008. Many of the small businesses in “One Hundred Shadows,” the light bulb seller, the repair shop, the transformer workshop, are based directly on real locations, which explains the novel’s general feeling of casual authenticity. Hwang has also frequently spoken about writing the novel as a direct response to the Yongsan Tragedy of Jan. 20, 2009. As the Yongsan area was being redeveloped, several residents occupied a building to protest. They barricaded themselves in a building scheduled for destruction and fought off the police for several days. Eventually the police stormed the building, which then caught fire. Five protesters and one police officer died in the conflict. Weeks of protests followed. Like many other citizens, Hwang saw the events transpire on TV. She wrote “One Hundred Shadows” from summer to autumn that year. She would write during the day until the sun went down and then attend the protests in the evening.

Fantasy

Despite being rooted in real-life tragedy and genuine economic issues, “One Hundred Shadows” is not simply a work of straightforward social realism. It is also not an angry novel. In her later novels, Hwang sometimes uses language to express rage in visceral tirades against the inequities of life. “One Hundred Shadows” uses a surreal, almost fantasy-like device to express the death, despair and helplessness she experienced during the Yongsan protests. The novel starts with Eungyo witnessing her shadow starting to “rise.” In the reality of the story, it is generally accepted that when your shadow “rises,” it represents something very bad, some kind of turning point in your life. For many, it is the moment that life defeats them, when they resign themselves to whatever hardship they are suffering. The shadows take on a semi-physical presence and literally haunt people, sometimes sitting beside them at the dinner table or lying on top of them in bed. The characters fear their shadows, and Eungyo is repeatedly warned not to follow hers if she sees it rise. It is a wonderfully surreal and evocative image that offers a variety of possible interpretations.

‘What’s in store for Yang?’

Many of the themes and ideas found in “One Hundred Shadows” can also be found in “Kong’s Garden,” another story of a young woman working on the fringes of society and struggling with her role in life. The Korean title, “Yang-ui Mirae,” carries the meaning of “What’s in store for Yang?” with yang being a word which can mean “young woman” or, sometimes, “sheep.” In a writer’s note for the story, she describes her work as being about these young women who live on the fringes, always having to work in menial jobs, often ignored, sidelined and forgotten. She says that she finds herself thinking about these girls, asking herself, “How did she spend her day today? How will she spend it tomorrow?” In giving voice to the voiceless, Hwang Jungeun has become a poet laureate for Korea’s forgotten youth.

My shadow rose, I said, and Mr. Yeo blinked.

He was sitting on a stool, holding a probe connected to an oscilloscope. He furrowed his brow under his salt-and-pepper hair, blinked once, then twice, and asked,

So what did you do?

I followed it.

You followed it?

Just a little way.

You shouldn’t have followed it.

I’m not going to any more.

That’s right, Mr. Yeo said, touching the probe to the circuit board and peering at the screen. The green line that had been streaming across the palm-sized monitor morphed into an undulating wave.

Those shadows, Mr. Yeo said, then stared intently at the monitor for some time. Whenever I assumed his thoughts had drifted he would reposition the probe, and when I thought he was engrossed in his task he suddenly came out with, those shadows, you know. After a while more of this abstraction he finally looked up at me.

So how did you feel, when you were following the shadow?

Pretty good, I said. I couldn’t help but follow it. Mr. Yeo nodded as if to say yes, that’s how it is.

That’s what’s scary, you feel light somehow, carefree, if you surrender to the shadow’s pulling at you, so you keep on following it, and that’s when it strikes. People turn slow-witted when they’re in that kind of daze, so it attacks when your wits are slowest of all, he said, and gently set the probe down on the worktable. Wait and see, it’ll start growing now.

Growing bigger?

That’s right.

And then what happens?

It becomes more dense. Gravity, or something.

Oh.

Don’t worry too much. They say you can survive as long as you keep your eyes peeled, even if you’re captured by a fox.

Isn’t it a tiger?

What do you mean, a tiger?

The saying is that you can survive as long as you keep your eyes peeled, even if you’re captured by a tiger.

A tiger, a fox, it’s all the same, Mr. Yeo said, pushing a lamp with a tin hemisphere shade right up against the board. What I’m saying is, you need to keep your eyes peeled when what’s in front of you has teeth. (“One Hundred Shadows,” Tilted Axis Press, 2016, p. 28–30).

Policy Review | » | Written by Lee Kijun

Actively Getting Passive

New regulations spur the proliferation of ‘passive houses’ that keep you comfortable with less energy and money

This house in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do, built using passive methods, can keep warm without using fossil fuels by ensuring that heat inside the home does not leak outside.

The government is recommending that every new apartment building that holds more than 30 families cut its energy consumption by up to 60 percent from this December.

In June, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a new regulation that sets mandatory energy reduction targets for the buildings to 50–60 percent, up from the current 30–40 percent. The regulation would require new residences to be built to the Passive House standard, a rigorous model that allows for significant power savings through the use of energy-efficient building components and ventilation systems with heat recovery.

Greener and cheaper

The passive house concept was first developed 20 years ago in Germany as a way to sharply reduce the cost of home heating by minimizing the amount of heat required and lost. The houses are more environmentally responsible than normal houses and also save homeowners money.

According to the Passive House Institute, a building must meet multiple criteria to be considered a passive house, such as a Space Heating Demand below 15kWh annually or 10W (peak demand) per square meter of usable living space. To this end, a passive house adopts thick, well-insulated walls and roof and complete air sealing to an exacting standard. Buildings are designed to make use of maximum sunlight exposure through their orientation and the installation of high-efficiency windows. Heat is kept in during the winter and out in summer.

Local acceptance

Unlike most new technologies, the idea of the passive house was accepted in provincial areas first, mainly among residents of country houses. Park Jin-guk, who’s been living in a passive house in the countryside town of Sudongmyeon, Namyangju, since 2013, said, “Since my family moved to this house, we have never worried about heating and cooling energy costs. Last winter, the average monthly electricity bill was only KRW 800.”

In 2013, Onyang-6-dong had become the first Korean authority that built its community center according to the passive house standard. The center uses renewable energy systems such as geothermal and solar power to cover more than 30 percent of its total power usage. It is also equipped with LED lighting, a rainwater collection system and a waste heat recovery system.

“In the hot summer, we use only a few air conditioners to maintain a mild temperature. When we come to the office on a winter morning, the heat from the previous day is still left inside,” said Lee Miran, deputy director of public facilities in Asan, to the Munwha Ilbo.

The community center has been widely acclaimed. It won the grand prize at the National Green Building Competition in 2013. In 2014, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific also awarded its grand prize to the center for its high energy efficiency. More than 100 teams of college students, local government officials and journalists have paid a visit.

The Citizens Center of Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, is being constructed using passive methods.

Onyang-6-dong Community Center in Asan is a model example of passive construction.

Private enthusiasm

Window and door manufacturers are developing highly efficient products that fit the requirements of the new regulation. Eagon Windows & Doors has launched a well-insulated window design that beat out other firms for a renovation contract for an apartment complex in Banpo, Seoul, that contains more than 600 units. According to the company, energy consumption would be cut by 42 percent with the new windows.

Many other companies are also investing their resources in energy-saving technologies. “With tougher government controls, the demand for high-quality products that can save a huge amount of energy will skyrocket,” said an official from LG Hausys, a manufacturer specialized in windows and walls. “We are planning to develop a high-end product line of windows and doors, targeting large-scale apartment construction projects.”

This is Pyeongchang | » | Written by Linda Miruh Jeon

Olympics of Culture

Korea gears up for the PyeongChang Winter Games with the 2018 Cultural Olympiad

The G-200 Fireworks Festival marks the approach of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

With fewer than 200 days to go until the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the country is busy doing everything it can to boost interest in the upcoming Winter Games – the first Olympics in Korea since the summer of 1988. To add to the excitement, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has organized a special event called the 2018 Cultural Olympiad, a series of cultural festivities being held in the run up to and during the Winter Games.

The Olympics and beyond

Last month at a press briefing in Seoul, the organizers of the Cultural Olympiad unveiled their official logo and slogan, “Culture is added in PyeongChang!” The logo is a pink emblem that resembles a blooming flower with the Hangul consonant mieum (ㅁ) at the center. Mieum refers to both the first letter of the Korean words for culture, munhwa, and door, or mun. Thus, it’s meant to symbolize both an open door that welcomes the world, as well as the blossoming cultural exchanges that will take place at the Olympics, the ministry explained.

The event’s art director, In Jae-jin, explained at the press briefing that the Cultural Olympiad emphasizes three key aspects: practicality, participation and sustainability. Hence, the organizers have been utilizing existing festivals and turning them into events that appeal to a wider audience. Moreover, in terms of sustainability, their goal is to leave a legacy that will outlive the Olympics.

From exciting music festivals to innovative art programs

Some 150 programs are scheduled to be held across the province of Gangwon-do, as well as a few other areas including Seoul. Several events already began last month, as July 24 marked the 200-day countdown to the Opening Ceremony. For example, during the three-day Gangneung JazzPresso Festival, held July 21 to 23, 15 coffee shops lining Gangneung’s famous seaside café street transformed their venues into jazz clubs where visitors could enjoy great music as they sipped on coffee. This delightful festival may become an annual event.

Another exciting musical event is the PyeongChang Music Festival, which kicked off on July 18 and ran until Aug. 8. A special “Korea-China-Japan Concert” was held to celebrate the two other upcoming Olympic events in Asia, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. Also, on Aug. 2, the festival premiered composer Texu Kim’s piece “Fanfare for PyeongChang” at the Alpensia Concert Hall.

To raise interest among the younger generation, the Cultural Olympiad committee teamed up with various festival organizers to add Olympic-related themes to existing events. Examples include the Seoul Street Arts Festival and the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival, which was held from Aug. 11 to 13 at the Songdo Moonlight Festival Park. This year’s line-up includes big names like Bastille, DNCE, Kang San Ae and Zion. T. Plus, the ACC World Music Festival was held at Gwangju’s National Asia Culture Center from Aug. 25 to 26.

One of the main events in Seoul is the upcoming 2017 Seoul Arirang Festival, to be held at Gwanghwamun Square in October. This year’s theme, “Arirang – A Song of Passion,” was inspired by the PyeongChang Olympic slogan “Passion. Connected.” The event will showcase performances that combine traditional Korean music with classical sounds.

Percussionist Park Yun, violists Wayne Lin and Shin A-Rah, cellist Park Sangmin, violist Hung-Wei Huang and clarinetist Kim Han premier Texu Kim’s “Fanfare for PyeongChang.”

The 2017 PyeongChang Arts Dream Camp gave students from Vietnam, Columbia, Indonesia and Malawi a chance to experience winter sports.

PyeongChang – a place of culture

The opening ceremony for the 2018 Culture Olympiad will be held on Feb. 3, just ahead of the official opening ceremony for the Olympics, and a myriad of events will continue to be held until the last day of the Paralympics in March. Programs like the “Four Seasons Fantasy” and “A Mysterious Forest” will transform Gangwon-do into an all-around entertainment facility where people can immerse themselves in Korea and appreciate the natural beauty that PyeongChang has to offer.

For more information, please visit the Culture Olympiad’s official blog: blog.naver.com/​2018​culture​olympiad (or Facebook/Instagram: @2018cultureolympiad).

Current Korea | » | Written by Eugene Kim Photo courtesy of Yonhap News

A Nation of the People, a Just Republic of Korea

Government unveils five-year plan to achieve vision of prosperous nation where the people rule

President Moon Jae-in announces his administration’s five-year roadmap on July 19.

On July 19, President Moon Jae-in officially unveiled his administration’s five-year roadmap, outlining major polices to be carried out during his term in office. The agenda, which includes no fewer than 100 specific policy items, addresses long-standing ills that have plagued Korean society, promotes job growth and seeks changes in the inter-Korean relationship. It embodies the five main policy goals that constitute the Moon administration’s national vision: a government of the people, an economy pursuing co-prosperity, a nation taking responsibility for individual lives, well-balanced development across every region and a Korean Peninsula of peace and prosperity. President Moon said, “The five-year plan that the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee announces today will serve as a blueprint and a compass that will lead us toward a new Korea.”

Five policy tasks

The five-year plan sets out to realize the administration’s vision by establishing five policy goals. The first, “A Government of the People,” aims to root out corruption and influence-peddling. The government will establish an independent agency to serve as an anti-corruption control tower. Schedules of high officials, including President Moon himself, will be made public in real time, while the status of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea will be elevated. An open government platform will be introduced, standards for appointing senior officials improved, and a transparent personnel system adopted. Measures will also be taken to make the police and prosecutors more humane.

The second goal, economic co-prosperity, aims to create a national economy where everyone wins. Some 810,000 public-sector jobs will be created to pump-prime job creation in the private sector. Youth employment will be promoted by raising the youth employment quota in public organizations from 3 percent to 5 percent. Minority shareholders’ right will be strengthened, small-scale businesses protected from conglomerates, and a range of other measures enacted, including lowering credit card fees and mobile phone charges. At the same time, a presidential committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution will promote policies to take Korea’s economy into the next generation.

The third goal, “A Nation Taking Responsibility for Each Individual,” seeks better social health through increases to the basic pension, allowances for children and other social support programs. The government will provide more public housing, and public education will be strengthened, including the gradual phasing in of free high school education. The government will also bolster public safety through measures such as closing Korea’s nuclear power plants.

The fourth goal is “Well-balanced Development across Every Region.” This includes strengthening regional autonomy by measures such as transferring national functions to local governments and adjusting the tax code. The government will work to improve the lot of farmers through policies such as stabilizing rice prices by adjusting rice production. The authorities will also revitalize regional clusters and promote urban regeneration projects.

Finally, the Moon administration will strive to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula by reducing tensions with North Korea based on a strong deterrent capability. In particular, Seoul will promote a new economic map for the Korean Peninsula, creating new engines of growth.

Global Korea | » |

Kazakhstan

PyeongChang Olympics Promoted at Expo 2017 Astana

With the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games less than 200 days away, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korean Cultural Center in Kazakhstan set up a pavilion at Expo 2017 Astana to promote the global sporting event. Opened on June 11, the Korea Pavilion gave visitors to the expo a chance to experience Korean sports, tourism and traditions through displays and hands-on exhibits, including virtual reality. Organizers also held social media events and provided souvenir photographs.

The booth will run until Sept.10, when the expo comes to a close. Opened on June 10 in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Expo 2017 Astana focused on the issue of sustainable access to energy, adopting as its theme “Future Energy: Solutions for Tackling Humankind’s Greatest Challenge.” Some 115 countries and 22 international organizations are taking part in the expo, which is expected to draw about 5 million spectators by its conclusion.

Canada

Korean Culture Fair Held in Ottawa

People in the Canadian capital of Ottawa got a chance to experience a bit of Korea. Held as part of the “Ottawa Welcomes the World” festivities, the Korean Culture Fair, organized by the Korean Cultural Center in association with the Korean Embassy in Canada, took place at the Lansdowne Park’s Horticulture Building on June 25. The fair presented a range of performances and hands-on programs that introduced a cross section of Korea, both traditional and modern.

The Korean Culture Fair included performances of Korean traditional music, demonstrations of Korean martial arts, K-pop dancing and Korean traditional games like jegichagi (a game not unlike hacky sack), and a traditional wedding. Some of Ottawa’s top Korean chefs took part, too, teaching Korean cooking classes. There was even a spicy ramyeon eating contest, with prizes given to the winner.

Written by Korea.net Honorary Reporter Aigerim Sadykova
Photos courtesy of Kang Sergei

Actions Speak Louder than Words

A Korean-Kazakhstani opens a taekwondo gym as a labor of love

“Actions speak louder than words,” as the saying goes. Recently, I had a chance to get acquainted with a person who is characterized by these words. Kang Sergei of Kazakhstan is a father of three and the supporter of his family. He is also an excellent organizer and an enthusiastic man with a good sense of humor.

He loved to talk about his children and about the importance of family values, which are embedded in both the Korean and Kazakh people. With pride, he talks about the achievements of his life and his taekwondo club, Arlan.

In 2015, Kang, together with his wife Julia, created the Children and Youth Sports Club TKD Arlan in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. From the Kazakh language, the word arlan translates as “wolf,” so the club has the logo of a gray wolf.

The inspiration for the gym was Kang’s son, Maxim. As an ethnic Korean Kazakhstani, Kang introduced his son Maxim to taekwondo at the age of seven. Now, the 12-year-old Maxim is a master of the sport, participating in all kinds of competitions and receiving diplomas and medals.

In 2015, Kang decided that it was time to create his own gym in order to support his son. Friends whose children also practiced taekwondo gave Kang the chance to act on his good idea. He began preparing the official documents and searched for a suitable place to rent.

At first, it seemed difficult to find a spacious location for training, but luckily, there was an empty basement in Kang’s apartment building. He reached an agreement with the owner of the apartment, agreeing to a single condition: to do the renovations himself.

“I personally painted the walls,” Kang says with a laugh. His friends helped him collect the money needed for the work.

Kang claims “there were no difficulties” in his journey to establish the club. He found it a satisfying challenge to start everything from scratch, to find like-minded people and professional taekwondo trainers and to earn recognition from the Kazakhstan Taekwondo Federation (WTF).

Now, Kang has successfully run the club for over a year, training 60 children. He wants to develop Arlan as a public association with the idea of family leisure. “The children would do taekwondo, while the parents would go to the library that I’m going to open this summer. Grandparents would play chess.”

He believes that there’s no need to criticize. He encourages the public to act and to spread family values. He wants children to learn their historical roots and to develop and move forward.

“I live for children. They make me young. When I retire, I will continue to handle the gym, Arlan,” says Kang.

Flavor | » | Written by Cynthia Yoo Photographed by ao studio Kang Jinju Stylized by 101recipe

Hobakseon, Steamed Zucchini

It’s your stuffed summer squash of choice

Hobakseon, or steamed zucchini, is a mandatory dish in most Hansik certificate courses. A cursory search reveals that the dish is considered an essential element of Korean cooking, and of royal cuisine in particular. Hobakseon is steamed zucchini hobak, but other popular seon dishes include steamed eggplant, cucumber or cabbage. A variety of vegetables can be used to hold seasoned fillings of both vegetables and meat.

Seon dishes are first mentioned in a 17th century cooking text, “Eumsikmidabang,” written by a noblewoman in Korea’s southeastern region. The first significant Hansik cookbook written in accessible Hangeul, it describes a dish made with white gourd, or dongwaseon. Interestingly enough, the recipe doesn’t call for steaming the gourd or stuffing it with meat or vegetables as it would today. Instead, the gourd is lightly blanched and preserved in soy sauce. A couple of centuries later in the 19th century text “Siuijeonseo,” a hobakseon recipe describes how to carve a zucchini and stuff it with various seasoned ingredients, very much similar to today’s version.

The basic concept of seon dishes is that a vegetable is carved and then stuffed with seasoned fillings. Unlike jjim dishes that are usually meat or seafood stuffed with vegetables, seon dishes are the inverse with vegetables being the main vessel to hold meat or seafood ingredients. Another difference is that traditional seon dishes are usually stuffed with fish or seafood, not red meat or poultry. However, many cooks today incorporate meat into the filling. Most seon recipes also season the steamed dish with vinegar or mustard-based sauce and garnish it with sliced mushrooms, peppers or eggs.

Hobakseon is traditionally an anju dish paired with alcohol. It makes for a much healthier alternative to the usual fried dishes. You may also see it at a housewarming party, or jipdeuri, with a host ready to impress. That’s because the dish depends on a light but firm hand to balance the flavors from the zucchini with the meat and vegetable filling and the light broth in which they’re simmered.

As with any signature Korean dish, hobakseon is prized as much for its health benefits as for its taste. It’s low in calories but packs a punch in vitamin C, protein and dietary fiber. This summer squash is famous for its ability to combat diabetes, high blood pressure and even cancer. Its folate content makes it particularly healthy for pregnant women.

How to make hobakseon:

1. Soak shiitake mushrooms in water and thinly slice them. Also chop/mince beef. Then mix in seasoning sauce with both.

2. Separate egg yolk and whites and then fry them into white and yellow jidan (egg garnish). Slice them into thin pieces.

3. Cut zucchini into 6cm long slices and carve slits into them. Some use cross patterns, others use diagonal slices about 5mm thick.

4. Slightly blanch zucchini pieces in salted water. Then fill in the carved slits with beef and mushroom mixture.

5. Boil a cup of anchovy stock and season it with salt and soy sauce. Reduce heat and place the stuffed zucchini pieces in the stock. Keep seasoning the zucchini with the stock and cook through.

Learning Korean | » | Written by Lim Jeong-yeo Illustrated by Kim Yoon-myung

Red, the Sweetest of Flavors

Pop group Red Velvet’s hit “Red Flavor” is a good opportunity to start learning the Korean words for colors

On July 9, the five-woman pop group Red Velvet released its new hit song, “Red Flavor,” which influential U.S. music magazine Billboard declared to be the earworm of the year.

According to Billboard, Red Velvet is edging out other female K-pop groups with a strong presence and upbeat music. “The Red Summer: Summer Mini Album,” the album containing “Red Flavor,” ranked at the top of Billboard’s World Albums chart upon with its release. This is Red Velvet’s third time to sit at the top of the international chart. Around the end of July, almost a month after release, “Red Flavor” was still within the top five most-listened-to songs on domestic online charts in Korea.

Now, a flavor normally doesn’t have a color, but with the figure of speech, the band connotes the hot summer season and the excitement of budding love in the eye-catching hue of red.

In Korean, “red” is ppalgansaek. Ppalgan is the adjective form of “red,” with saek meaning “color.”

When someone blushes and you have the nerve to point it out, you’d say, Bol-i ppalgae. With bol being “cheek,” the remark says the person’s cheeks are flushed. When a traffic light is red, you’d say ppalgan-bul-iya, with bul meaning “light.”

In Korean, the colors of the rainbow, in order, are ppalgansaek (빨간색), juhwangsaek (주황색), noransaek (노란색), choroksaek (초록색), paransaek (파란색), namsaek (남색) and borasaek (보라색).

When you want to ask in Korean, “What color do you like?” you’d say, “Museun saek-eul joahae?” Add “yo” at the end for politeness’s sake if need be.

So what are the things that have red flavor? To visualize this, Red Velvet employs various foods of the crimson hue like watermelon, strawberry jam and red wine in the song’s music video. The outfits the singers sport are also red.

Korean Art Through Coloring

Traditional patchwork wrapping cloth Jogakbo

Thank you for your feedback

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Readers’ Comments

From the July issue, I especially liked the article about Korean cuisine in the Flavor section. Also, it would be good if there were more sections where I could learn the Korean language.

Worker from Algeria

My favorite sections from the July issue were Korea & I and Travel. I hope this magazine will provide more information about traveling in Korea.

Employee from Indonesia

The article introducing Hahoe Village in the July issue reminded me of my experience visiting the town. This article widened my knowledge about the town, which made me want to go there again.

Retired pastor and lawyer from the U.S.

The policy review article “Getting Serious about Pollution” in the July issue caught my interest. It was really impressive to know that the newly elected South Korean president has put serious effort into dealing with environment issues.

Professor from Thailand

I really enjoyed reading about Hanji in the Cover Story section of the July issue. I learned that Hanji is one of the best traditional papers, and I became more curious about Korean culture. Also, the Learning Korean section always helps me a lot in improving my vocabulary. I hope this section keeps up the good work.

University student from Indonesia