Opening a communicative space

between Korea and the world

G-20 Host: An Honor, A Duty

Asia Initiative Takes Flight With
Flurry Of Summit

11
NOVEMBER
ISSN: 2005-2162

2009

www.korea.net
  NOVEMBER 2009
CONTENTS  VOL. 15 / NO. 11

06 16 28 50 54
Publisher
Kim He-beom,
Korean Culture and
Information Service
06 Cover Story – Korea at the G-20
•A  New Era of Leadership 28 Culture
•S  aving Korea’s Living Culture 52 Korea through the Lens
• Colossal Sea Link...
• L ee: Grand Bargain Is ‘Only Path’ for North • 1 00 Years of Pride in Korean Culture
Chief Editor
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12 News in Focus


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 lay It Again, Yon-sama: Winter Sonata
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4 korea November 2009 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
Leaders of 20 of the world’s top economies, in-
cluding Korean President Lee Myung-bak, leftmost
of the three men seated in the center, gather at a
[Joint Press Corps]

round table on Sept. 25 to begin the G-20 finan-

cial summit in Pittsburgh, the United States.

6 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 7

 Cover Story | Korea at the G-20

F
ollowing an agreement between leaders
of the world’s major economies to insti-
tutionalize the Group of 20 as a perma-
nent council on global economic coop-
eration, Korea was selected to host a summit in
November next year.
The leaders of the world’s 20 largest econo-
mies 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
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 state-
ment. “This decision brings to the table the
countries needed to build a stronger, more bal-
anced global economy, reform the financial
system and lift the lives of the poorest.”
Upon returning home, President Lee
arranged a special press conference and encour-
aged 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

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick

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, respec-
tively. 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 eco-
nomic 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 industri-
alized nations that long dominated the world
economy. The shift from G-8 to G-20 is also
designed to reflect the changing global econo-
my and emerging countries such as China,
8 korea November 2009
must work together to improve the nation’s sta-
tus.
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 Leaders participating in signifies that Korea has finally and completely
Koreans were about to begin a new era in their the G-20 summit pose steered itself away from the periphery of Asia
history. for a photo Sept. 25 at to the center of the world,” the president said.
Lee did not hide his excitement over the the convention center Following the speech, a brief question-and-
decision to locate the G-20 Summit in Novem- in Pittsburgh. President answer session was arranged with Cheong Wa
ber 2010 in Korea. The president said that as Lee Myung-bak is second Dae correspondents and foreign journalists,
many of his foreign counterparts congratulated from left in the front which was also broadcast live.
him, he was proud to be leader of Korea. row. During the conference, Lee stressed that his
“I am standing here today because I want to government would make efforts to persuade
talk about the fact that Koreans are great and the North to give up its nuclear arms instead of
that the world is now recognizing that fact,” Lee relying on the policies of larger powers.
said. He added that Koreans have made tre- “Until now, Korea just followed others and
mendous accomplishments over the past cen- was passive in international society and did not
tury. have a say,” Lee said. “Now, we are a member of
“Significantly, our hosting of the G-20 sum- the G-20. We will be the chair nation and the
mit falls during the year marking the 100th host next year, and the world will treat us dif-
anniversary of the forced annexation of Korea ferently. It will no longer be possible to discuss
by imperial Japan. I am filled with mixed feel- a global issue without including Korea.”
ings,” he said. “During the past century, we suf- A senior Lee administration official said
fered the pain of watching our destiny fall into Korea’s hosting of the G-20 in November next
the hands of world powers because we were too year would be a breakthrough in the country’s
weak. diplomatic history.
“Korea has now, however, become one of “Lee’s leadership in past G-20 summits in
the leading players in the international com- Washington and London has been widely
munity, recognized by advanced countries.” praised,” the official said. “The president made
Lee said it was especially significant for clear his position against trade protectionism,
Korea to host the summit right after it had initiating ‘standstill’ pledges among the par-
become the center of economic policy making. ticipants at the Washington G-20 summit not
“The projected hosting of the summit basically to erect any new trade and investment barriers.
This has been seen as one of the most signifi-
cant 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 includ-
ing the United States, Britain, France, Germa-
ny, 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 sum-
mit 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 Insti-
tute 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 dem-
November 2009 korea 9
 Cover Story | Korea at the G-20

onstrate its strengths to the rest of the world,

and that can only have a positive impact on Korean Leadership Essential to Ensuring
Last 12 Months Was Not a ‘Crisis Wasted’
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 econo-

L
my. Korea has experienced the world’s fastest
recovery and has taken a leading role in setting ast month’s meeting of G-20 political alliance that encompasses economic, social,
an agenda that includes green development leaders in Pittsburgh was cause for both cultural, educational, scientific, and techno-
and anti-protectionism. optimism and responsibility to sustain logical cooperation.” This suggests that Lee
“Diplomatically, Korea’s hosting of the G-20 early signs of a global recovery. Follow- conceives the success of South Korea’s G20
next year is a big deal,” he said. “Korean policy up measures of the summit will fall primarily leadership as directly tied to expanded alli-

[Joint Press Corps]

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 organiza-
tions 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 com-
munity,” the business groups said in a joint
statement. “It was one of the greatest achieve-
ments for the nation’s diplomatic history.”
The business groups included the Federa-
on Korea as the chair and host of a G-20 meet- ance coordination with the United States, and
ing in 2010. it suggests that such coordination has a raison
This development will mark a significant d’être that extends far beyond deterring North
turning point in global governance, as Korea Korea.
arranged in order to make optimal use of a The first couples of Korea will be the first non-G8 country to hold those Another component of Lee’s agenda with
scarce resource: the global leaders’ time. In and the United States pose responsibilities since the G-20 emerged as a the United States is the pending Korea-U.S. Scott Snyder directs The
June, Canada was scheduled to host the G-8 for a reception on Sept. venue for addressing global financial issues. It Free Trade Agreement, which has been stalled Asia Foundation’s Center
for U.S.-Korea Policy. He
summit, and hosting the G-20 within the same 24 at the Phipps Conserva- also places the burden of proof on Korea to due to provisions that deal with the politically
can be reached at ssny-
time frame is expected to significantly curtail tory in Pittsburgh. From show that an expanded forum beyond the G8 sensitive auto sector. As the International der@asiafound-dc.org.
the amount of travel world leaders have to left: Korean President Lee Institute for Strategic
undertake.
In November, Japan also hosts the APEC
Myung-bak, U.S. President
Barack Obama, Korean
If Korea is to solidify the role of the G-20 S t u d i e s’
Schrage has argued,
Steven

tion of Korean Industries and the Korea Cham-
ber of Commerce and Industry.
Next year’s G-20 summit schedules are also
Lee: Grand Bargain Is ‘Only Path’ for North
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
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok to set world policy, it must present a robust
and U.S. First Lady Mi-
chelle Obama.
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
Korea’s successful
stewardship of the
G-20 and Congressio-
nal ratification of the
KORUS FTA should go hand-in-hand, ulti-
mately to enhance the U.S.-Korea strategic
lead on global economic issues.
Korea’s great challenge and opportunity is

P
resident Lee Myung-bak has proposed a “grand bar-
gain” in which North Korea will swap dismantlement
of core parts of its nuclear arms programs for secu-
rity 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
later said China, Russia and Japan also supported Lee. promoted $1.1 trillion through international to show that the G-20 can remain effective
During his visit to Seoul on Oct. 9, Japanese Prime financial institutions to counteract the effects even as the crisis subsides and to ensure that
Minister Yukio Hatoyama made public his backing for of the global financial crisis on developing this is not a “crisis wasted.”
Lee’s “grand bargain.” During the South Korea-China- countries. Korea has also stood against pro- Mo Jong-ryn of Yonsei University argues
Japan summit in Beijing on Oct. 10, Lee sought China’s tectionist tendencies, sponsoring “standstill” that the rise of the G-20 — and South Korea’s
support for his proposal, and the three nations agreed to and “rollback” pledges among G-20 countries, assumption of leadership in it — is an oppor-
cooperate to bring the North back to the stalled talks. as G-20 Summit Coordinating Committee tunity to redress Asia’s past underrepresenta-
A Lee aide explained the proposal seeks to seal an over- Chairman Sakong Il explained in the Center tion and its economic weight in the interna-
all deal because past step-by-step approaches have proven for U.S.-Korea Policy’s May newsletter. tional community. But such an opportunity
inefficient. The official also said the previous “comprehen- As a former CEO, Korean President Lee will be wasted unless Asians themselves deliv-
sive package deal” was more focused on what to give the Myung-bak is well-qualified to promote mea- er in providing a distinctive and effective
North, while Lee’s proposal is based on reciprocity. sures for an early exit from the crisis. Under agenda.
“Five countries of the six-nation talks except for the Lee’s leadership, Korea’s own efforts to pro- Korea must infuse its G-20 chairmanship
North have reached a consensus on the overall deal, and mote economic recovery are strongly in line with effective leadership if the group is to
we are currently discussing the specifics of the negotia- with those of the Obama administration, in no cement its role as the main venue for expand-
tions with the North,” he added. small part because Lee conceives of U.S.-Korea ed economic coordination. Korea’s handling
During his New York speech, Lee stressed the North economic coordination as an opportunity to of its G-20 chairmanship is a make or break
must not feel the process is a threat to its regime. “By giving expand the two countries’ alliance. opportunity on many different levels. The
up its nuclear programs, the North will be able to form new In his speech to the Council on Foreign country needs to show that it can live up to the
relationships with the United States and the international Relations in New York, Lee emphasized that task by catalyzing global coordination of exit
community, and that will be the only path for the North’s he and President Obama have “agreed that strategies from the crisis and by addressing
survival and development,” Lee said.  By Kim Soo-ae this alliance will no longer just be about ensur- global imbalances between developing and
ing security,” but “a comprehensive strategic industrialized countries.  By Scott Snyder

10 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 11

 News in Focus

F
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
Separated families bid their emotional fare- for what could easily have been their last encounter.
well at the end of their reunion at Mount This was the 17th reunion of separated families since the
Geumgangsan on Sept. 28. 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

As Emotional Reunions End, 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,

Their Future Is Still in Doubt

inter-Korean relations soured. The last face-to-face
reunion took place in October 2007, days after the second

Time is running out, as many on the waiting list have already passed away.
12 korea November 2009
[KPPA]
inter-Korean summit between then South Korean Presi-
Red Cross representatives from the two Koreas meet to discuss future dent Roh Moo-hyun and Kim. Families have also been
family reunions. able to take part in seven remote video conferences.
As North Korea grew more and more provocative, con-
ducting nuclear and missile tests, severing inter-Korean
military communication lines and restricting cross-bor-
November 2009 korea 13

Age breakdown for South Koreans waiting for
family reunions (through August 2009) Unit : persons
Source: The Unification Ministry
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 inter-
Korean 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 uncondi-
tional 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 humanitar-
14 korea November 2009
ian spirit, [that] better inter-Korean rela-
tions would be a boon to family reunions,”
Yoo told South Korean pool reporters at or older
90 years
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 mixed59reac-
years or younger
tions to the North’s request for aid.
Won Sei-hoon, head of the National Intel-
ligence 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 depart-
ments regarding aid and would consider 80~89 years
providing it as long as strategic materials
were not involved. 70~79 years
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 Sun-
kyoo 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
[JoongAng Ilbo]
their names on the waiting list for family
reunions as of August this year, but 50,000
have already passed away. Of the survi-
vors, more than seven out of 10 were in
The South has their 70s or 80s.
proposed On average, there have been fewer than
two reunions per year in the past nine
regular years and only a limited number from
reunions, but each side can take part. While logistical
problems would make it difficult to satisfy
the North has every one of the separated families, cap-
yet to respond. ping the number at 100 falls well short,
7,755
28,207
33,235
13,244
3,911
7,755
28,207
33,235
13,244
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 mem-
bers 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 offi-
cial urged the Lee administration to provide humanitar-
ian 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
News in Focus
[YONHAP]
Families shed tears of joy upon meeting long-
lost relatives, top and above. The gathering at
Mount Geumgangsan also included some time
outdoors at the resort, left.
The random family reunions at Mount Geumgangsan
part of “definite changes and improve-
selection ment.”
process for the He also stressed that rice and fertilizer aid
is directly related to the livelihood of the
reunions is North Koreans, and supplying these prod-
somewhat ucts is necessary so that North Korea
“would continuously engage in dia-
controversial. logue.”
In recent months, North Korea has alter-
nated between a moderate stance and a
hostile one. It has released detained
American and South Korean citizens and
lifted border restrictions for South Kore-
ans, 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 man-
aged 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 inter-
Korean relations, remains to be seen.
 By Yoo Jee-ho
November 2009 korea 15

East Asian leaders join hands at the fourth East Asia summit, part of the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meet-
ings, held in Cha-Am in Hua Hin district, southern Thailand,on Oct 25.
Lee’s Asian Diplomatic Push
President flies across region to meet with leaders from Japan, China and ASEAN
P
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 coun-
terpart Nguyen Minh Triet on Oct. 21 and
agreed to upgrade the Korea-Vietnam
relationship to a strategic cooperative part-
nership 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
16 korea November 2009
for Cheong Wa Dae. Following their sum-
mit, a joint statement was issued and the
two leaders held a press conference.
Since Korea opened diplomatic rela-
tions 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 agree-
ments that include a large-scale forestation
project and a mineral resources develop-
ment program.
Following normalization of diplomat-
ic ties in 1997, Korea has become Cambo-
dia’s second-largest foreign investor and
No. 7 trade partner.
Lee and Hun Sen agreed that Korea
will help Cambodia create a national eco-
nomic development plan. Kim said Korea
will play the role of incubator for the
Southeast Asian country’s development,
[YONHAP]
[NEWSIS]
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.
Diplomacy
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 memo-
randum 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 Korea-
Association 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 pan-
Asian 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 implementa-
tion of his “New Asia Initiative” to engage the region, the South Kore-
an 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 Korea-
ASEAN special summit in June.
“With his visits to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, Lee expand-
ed 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 Korea-
China-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 rela-
tions 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
 Diplomacy

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 report-
ed last week that Kim Jong-il had informed
Lee’s travels are part of his New Asia Initiative
to strengthen ties with Korea’s neighbors.
Wen that North Korea was “willing to
attend multilateral talks, including the six-
party talks,” depending on the progress in
anticipated discussions with the United
States.
The first freestanding summit between
issue and conditions for such a deal.” North
Korea walked away from the talks aimed
at ending its nuclear ambitions last Decem-
ber 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
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 Septem-
ber. Under the plan, North Korea would
dismantle the key parts of its nuclear arms
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 Pro-
tocol. 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 barri-
ers to trade through a trilateral trade pact,
“although the three countries have a differ-
ministers’ meeting in Korea, the sixth min-
isterial meeting in China and the fourth
friendly youth exchange meeting in China
are also scheduled for next year.
Ahead of the summit in Beijing, how-
ever, 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 bilat-
eral 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

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 six-
party 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 pro-
posal for a one-step solution of the nuclear
program in exchange for security assur-
ances 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
ent 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 eco-
nomic 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
[YONHAP]
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 confer-
ence and made public their strengthened
cooperation in resolving the North Korea
nuclear crisis, promoting a one-step solu-
tion 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 imple-
ment the UN Security Council resolution
while leaving the door for dialogue open
and continuing diplomatic efforts to per-
suade 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 develop-
ment, and no economic cooperation
should be provided unless the North’s will-
[KPPA]
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 1995. The statement has become Tokyo’s
he appreciated Lee’s support for including official stance on its military past.
the issue in his comprehensive package Shortly after Hatoyama took office,
solution. Lee expressed hope that Korea and Japan
Japan’s new leader also emphasized will move beyond their troubled history.
once again his government’s willingness to Hatoyama also said his government is
face up to the nation’s military past. ready to face up to his country’s wartime
Hatoyama took the office on Sept. 16 and acts and improve ties between the two
expectations have been high in Korea that Asian neighbors when he met Lee in Sep-
the two countries will move beyond their tember in New York.
troubled past under his liberal leadership. 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 ing summit talks, Korea’s first lady, Kim
person in the government and the people Yoon-ok, and the Japanese first lady, Miyu-
of Japan understand the Murayama state- ki Hatoyama, paid a visit to the Institute of
ment,” Hatoyama said at the press confer- Traditional Korean Food in Seoul and par-
ence. “This is a matter where emotions can ticipated in kimchi making. The Japanese
easily prevail. It will take some time to seek first lady is known as a great fan of Korean
the understanding of the Japanese, and I cuisine and pop culture.
hope Koreans can also understand such a The first couples also had a luncheon
situation.” after the summit, and Kim Eun-hye, Pres-
Admitting that Japan’s colonial rule ident Lee’s spokeswoman, said the Japa-

ingness to change is seen.” and aggression caused tremendous dam- nese guests enjoyed the traditional Korean
A triangle of tables, each representing one of the three sides, is the setting for the trilateral summit between Korea, Japan and China in Hatoyama said North Korea’s past age to Asia, then-Japanese Prime Minister meals and drinks served for the event.
Beijing Oct. 10. The next trilateral summit will be held in Korea next year. abductions of Japanese civilians must be Tomiichi Murayama issued an apology in  By Kim Soo-ae, Seo Ji-eun

18 korea November 2009 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
W
hat is the best way to
e n hanc e Kore a’s
national brand?
Some say further
development of the information tech-
nology 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 Brand-
ing, looks at the question from a differ-
20 korea November 2009
transforming the image of the Seoul
institution from a traditional “makge-
olli-drinking” school into a “wine-
drinking” school. The massive English-
only lecturing program he implement-
ed 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
Provided by Presidential Council on Nation Branding
to increasing foreign aid.
“Just as a human being has dignity,
so does a country have national digni-
ty,” 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 dig-
nity,” 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
ent angle. percent last year, much lower than the
Offering a helping hand to coun- United Nations target for advanced
tries in need will make Korea more countries, 0.7 percent.
popular than anything else could, Euh During his two-year stint as council
says. chairman, which started in January,
“That is the most important thing Euh says he will try to lift Korea’s
in raising a nation’s brand,” Euh remarks Anholt index ranking to 15th by 2013.
during an interview last month at his In the interview, Euh stresses that
office in the central Seoul building that raising international aid could help lift
houses the council. “Without giving Korea’s ranking, but that the acclaim
love, you cannot receive it.” would be a secondary goal.
That might be a somewhat unex- “Korea becoming a country that
pected answer from a person who built helps others is a goal in and of itself,
his reputation as a bureaucratic bull- much more important than raising its
dozer on reform. Euh, a former presi- branding ranking,” Euh says. “Taking
dent of Korea University, is known for care of less developed countries is
Global Korea
Scholarships Korea’s obligation, increasingly required by the inter-
national community that once helped us.”
and a job fair That idea was behind Vietnam-Korea Week, an
eight-day festival held to promote friendship between
were part of the two countries last month in Vietnam. Featuring
the eight-day around 40 economic, diplomatic, and cultural sub-
events, the festival marked the biggest national
friendship friendship event sponsored by a foreign country in
Vietnam.
week in Most of the events, organized by the council in
Vietnam. cooperation with the Vietnamese government, were
aimed at benefiting the Vietnamese, including schol-
arships 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 pros-
perous 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]
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

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
B
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 con-
sult 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 “glob-
al 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.
The regular visitors to the Ichon-dong cen-
ter, 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 inter-
est in learning about Korea,” said Yukiko Ishi-
hara, 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 Vil-
lage Center are French expats, just like Marie-
Provided by Global Village Centers
Pierre 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 ques-
tions in our center are for help with accommo-
Global village centers dations when they tour Korea and when they
offer foreign residents book tickets for upcoming concerts and exhibi-
opportunities to expe- tions. There are still plenty of Web sites that do
rience Korean culture not offer English-language service, and many of
by visiting historic them are not capable of accepting registration
palaces or watching using foreigner registration cards or foreign
Korean films. diplomat ID cards.”
Alan Timblick, a British native who came to
Korea in 1977 and heads the Seoul Global Cen-
ter, said he receives many inquiries from expat
businessmen who want to set up small compa-
nies 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 Kore-
an 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
Global Korea
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 con-
sult the Japanese community, but that it was sort
of limited because one can’t ask about minute
details such as reading Korean manuals for elec-
tronics 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,” Alli-
rol 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 cen-
ters are needed.”  By Kim Mi-ju
November 2009 korea 23

Provided by KOICA
Taking Korean Flavors Home
A
great country serves great
food. And the Korea Inter-
national 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.
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
“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 Salvador-
an 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.
Members of the group Friends
of Korea attend a Korean
cooking class in El Salvador
on Sept. 29.
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 Stud-
ies 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 Kore-
an food, culture and, ultimately, the
Korean national brand as ambassadors,”
said Kim Eun-seob, head of the El Sal-
vador Overseas Office of KOICA.
By Lee Min-yong
Team Rushes to Help Victims
of Earthquakes in Indonesia
A
d evastating earthquake
struck Indonesia in late Sep-
tember, 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,
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 Indone-
sian President Susilo Bambang Yud-
hoyono. He said the Korean govern-
ment would do all it could to help earth-
quake victims, providing emergency aid
worth about $500,000.
The situation grew even more des-
perate when a second quake followed
the first last month, triggering disas-
trous fires, destroying infrastructure
When the western
Indonesian island
of Sumatra was hit
hard by an earth-
quake measuring
7.6 on the Richter
scale, Korea sent in
help and $500,000
in emergency aid.
and leaving many homeless.
“Korea has a responsibility to pro-
vide 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 Manage-
ment Agency. They brought with them
emergency relief items including blan-
kets 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 doc-
tors and paramedics. In response, 14
countries including Switzerland, Aus-
tralia and Japan also sent relief teams to
help find survivors trapped under col-
lapsed buildings.
The Korean rescue workers left
Global Korea
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 coun-
try following missions to Taiwan, Tur-
key, 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
Provided by KOICA
November 2009 korea 25
 Culture

Saving Korea’s Living Culture

F
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 gov-
UNESCO acts to help preserve five more local traditions, erns the list in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from Sept. 28
adding them to its list of humanity’s intangible heritage 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 gen-
eration, 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 heri-
tage, such as making kimchi,” Yi Kun-moo, the administrator for the
Cultural Heritage Administration, said in an interview during the con-
vention 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.

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

Provided by Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea

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,
Women wearing traditional hanbok dance which prevailed in Joseon society.
the harvest rite known as Ganggangsullae,
once performed in villages as part of the Ganggangsullae
Chuseok holiday. Since its designation by the Korean government as Important Intan-
gible Cultural Heritage No. 8 in 1966, Ganggangsullae has been safe-
28 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 29

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, Gang-
gangsullae also is regarded as a heredi-
tary 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 sci-
ence, costumes and economics. This
intangible heritage is being recreated as
a modern art and expected to make a
significant contribution to the well-
being of the senior citizens and in art
therapy.
Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut
The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeong-
deunggut 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, Grand-
mother Yeongdeung, to pray for an
abundant harvest and sea catch. On the
first day of the Yeongdeung month,
Grandmother Yeongdeung arrives with
30 korea November 2009
At Chuseok, her family, the winds, to enjoy the island’s beauty. Spring
comes when she leaves.
These folk arts combine music, dance,
drama and athletic feats, sharing general
village women Yeongdeung comes to Jeju from China, entering via characteristics with other East Asian
sang in a Bokdeokgae Port. She climbs Mount Hallasan to
inquire after the rocks known as the Five Hundred
forms while remaining very Korean in
their technical expressions.
circle through Generals, passes through Eoseungsaeng Dangolmeori,
the night — on Mount Hallasan, and goes to Sanbanggul, a cave on
Mount Sanbangsan, before reaching Gyorae-ri,
Yeongsanjae
The word “Yeongsan” is derived
not normally Jocheon-myeon, Jeju Island. from “Yeongsanhoesang,” the place atop
allowed in While enjoying the peach and camellia blossoms,
she sows the seeds of five grains and plants seaweed
Vulture Peak where Buddha delivered
the Lotus Sutra. In Yeongsanjae, or “yes-
patriarchal seeds along the shore to ensure an abundance of crops, terday’s Yeongsanhoesang,” Buddhists
old Korea. shells, abalones and seaweed. On the 15th day, she
leaves Jeju from Jiljinggak. During her stay, each village
can experience for themselves the
preaching of Buddha and perform ritu-
performs a shaman rite called Yeongdeunggut. Of the als. In the ceremony, the participants
sharman rite, the most representative is the Chilmeori- strive for spiritual enlightenment: It is
dang Yeongdeunggut, which begins with the “Yeong- said that heaven and earth vibrate
deung Welcome Rite” on the first day of the second together, while flowers descend from the
lunar month and ends with the “Yeongdeung Farewell heavens, enhancing the musical perfor-
Rite” on the 14th day. mance.
Since the mid-Joseon Dynasty (1392-
Namsadang Nori 1910), large Buddhist rituals may have
Namsadang Nori, which literally means “all-male been developed based on the Lotus
vagabond clown play,” is a folk entertainment handed Sutra. Like the rituals of other religions,
down by itinerant groups of multi-talented performers Yeongsanjae is an external expression of
called namsadang. These generally tawdry light amuse- doctrine and philosophy, and a means of
ments have their roots in the common people and their practicing self-discipline. Unlike the
everyday lives. In pre-modern times, various troupes rituals of the Qing Dynasty, Korean Bud-
moved around the countryside to put on spectacular dhism unifies the role of monk and ritu-
outdoor shows, but today only a single group based in al, so that the performance can also be
Seoul remains active. considered an act of self-discipline. In
The modern namsadang consists of six acts, includ- the artistic sphere, beompae (Buddhist
ing a farmers’ band, a mask dance, a puppet play, tight- chanting) is one of the three elements of
rope walking, sieve frame spinning and acrobatics. traditional Korean vocal music, along
with gagok (lyric songs) and pansori
(narrative songs).
Gangneung Danoje Festival
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 Tae-
baeksan mountain range. The festival
includes a shamanistic ritual on the Dae-
Provided by Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea
gwallyeong 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
Left, a man performs the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut. Above, the Yeongsanjae, a there, and contests, games and circus
reenactment of the Buddha’s delivery of the Lotus Sutra, is performed in front of a Korean performances are held.
temple. The brewing of sacred liquor and the
Culture
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
Pansori, a National Intangible Cultural Property (as
of 1964), consists of musical storytelling by a vocalist
and a drummer. The popular tradition features expres-
sive singing, stylized speech and a repertory of narra-
tives and gestures. It embraces both elite and folk cul-
ture. 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 eru-
dite 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 south-
western part of Korea in the 17th century and contin-
ued as an oral tradition among commoners until the
late 19th century, by which time it acquired more liter-
ary content and enjoyed popularity among the elite.
The settings, characters and situations that make up the
pansori universe are rooted in the Joseon period (1392-
1910). Pansori singers go through long and rigorous
training to learn a wide range of unique vocal timbres
and memorize the complex repertories.
The lively
Royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine
Namsadang Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the venue for this Con-
Nori shows fucian rite devoted to the ancestors of the Joseon
Dynasty that includes song, dance and music. The rit-
used satire ual is practiced once a year on the first Sunday in May
and humor to and is organized by the descendents of the royal Yi clan.
Inspired by classical Chinese texts concerning the
appeal to the ancestral cult and the notion of filial piety, it also
poor and includes a prayer for the eternal peace of the ancestors’
spirits in the shrine believed to be their spiritual resting
oppressed. place.  By Limb Jae-un
November 2009 korea 31

100 Years of Pride
in Korean Culture
Remembering the day in 1909 when Sunjong flung open
the palace gates, and the National Museum was born
O
n Nov. 1, 1909, Emperor
Sunjong officially opened
the grounds of Chang-
gyeonggung 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 show-
cased cultural assets such as Buddhist
paintings and porcelain pieces from the
Goryeo Dynasty. The emperor’s phi-
losophy 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
Culture
it went through two other names before
becoming, in 1969, the National Muse-
um of Korea. Today it occupies a beau-
tiful 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: “Yeo-
minhaerak.” 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. A visitor points to an infrared
The first section of the exhibition photo of Cheonmado, “painting
includes about 120 pieces from the of heavenly horse,” presumed
original royal museum. The exhibition to have been created in the 6th
also showcases the museum’s activities
[YONHAP]
century.
and evolution through the Japanese
November 2009 korea 33
 Culture

is designated National Treasure No. grams organized by 39 organizations, A traditional pavilion

Mongyudowondo was shown to the 207.
Korean public for the first time since its The saddle flap is formed of several
purchase by the Japanese Tenri Univer- thick layers of white birch bark with a
sity. It depicts an idyllic paradise. 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,
including arts and crafts workshops
that let them try making traditional topped with majestic
fans, masks and pottery. Other attrac-
tions included an Africa Museum green celadon was built
workshop on African crafts, a perfor- at the museum as part of
mance by dancing robots from the
Bucheon Robot Park and even a recre- the celebration.
ation of a traditional blacksmith’s shop
by Korea’s Lock Museum.
On Oct. 17 and 18, a special show
featuring music, dance and other per-

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 tak-
en off display early on Oct. 7 — is
undoubtedly the original of Mongyudo-
wondo, the oldest Joseon-era (1392-
1910) 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 para-
dise that Prince Anpyeong, King
Sejong’s third son, described to the art-
ist from a dream of his. The artwork is
accompanied by poetry written in cal-
ligraphy 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 cal-
ligraphy.
Mongyudowondo was on loan from
the central library of Japan’s Tenri Uni-
versity. 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 pos-
session of the Shimazu family from
Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu. The
[YONHAP]
painting was designated a Japanese
national treasure in 1939 and was pur-
chased 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 trav-
eled 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 depic-
tion 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 animal-
shaped ornament are unique to this
12th-cenutry vessel.
Another star artifact was Cheon-
mado, the only painting still in exis-
tence from the Silla Kingdom, which
was on display until Oct 11. Cheonma-
do, or Painting of Heavenly Horse, is
presumed to have been created in the
6th century. Though it’s called a “paint-
ing,” 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 Prov-
ince, that was excavated in 1973, and it
some experts believe that the creature is formances inspired by the history and
not a horse but a girin, a mythical crea- cultural heritage of the museum, was
ture whose appearance was thought to held. “The Island of Time” will look
signal the arrival of a holy man. Visitors back on the 100-year history of the
had a chance to judge for themselves by museum as a place where the past, pres-
gazing at the piece through an infrared ent and future collide.
camera at the exhibit, with a resolution On the academic side, an interna-
of 1.2 million pixels. tional forum is scheduled for Nov. 3,
Though Cheonmado is part of the with some 10 directors invited from
National Museum’s permanent collec- museums around the world.
tion, it is usually kept in a special stor- A symbolic traditional pavilion Below left, museum visitors stand in long
age area because of the fragility of the topped with green celadon roofing tiles lines for their chance to glimpse the ex-
birch bark. It has been displayed to the has also been built as a symbol of the hibit’s star attractions. Below right, visitors
public only twice before since 1973. museum and is set to open to the public view green celadon pieces dating back to
For those interested in the real-life on Nov. 1.  By Lim Ji-su the Goryeo Dynasty.
words of a Joseon king, 66 letters writ-
ten 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 cat-
egories: “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 accessi-
ble 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 participa-
tion 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-
November 2009 korea 35
 Culture

Play It Again,
S
ome say Hallyu, the Korean wave, the party. It has been seven years since the two met.
has reached its peak, and is now The fans, mainly from Japan and other parts of Asia,
gradually losing its special appeal had emotional reactions to the event celebrating the ani-

Yon-sama: — but that does not seem to be the

case in Japan, where actor Bae Yong-joon is
more popular than ever.
mated 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

Winter Sonata
Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joon,
his popularity in Japan unflagging,
lends his voice to new animation
In late September, 45,000 people made eye contact with his fans, they seemed to be over-
swarmed Tokyo Dome hoping to catch a whelmed.
glimpse of the Korean star, known affection- About 5,000 lucky fans celebrated the launch together
ately there as Yon-sama. Bae was in Japan to outside the Tokyo Dome as the premiere aired live in 24
celebrate the production of the animated cinemas around the country.
version of the Korean TV drama Winter A press conference earlier in the day was equally ram-
Sonata, in which he starred. Though the bunctious. More than 300 journalists from countries
event started at 6 p.m. fans arrived before including Korea, Japan and Taiwan, were present for the
sunrise, and the dome was soon surrounded first public appearance by the two stars of Winter Sonata
by a line 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) long. together in Japan.
Bae and the actress Choi Ji-woo, who The conference was aired on news channels including
played the female lead, both lent their voices NHK, Fuji TV and TBS.
to the animated series, and were on hand for “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
Bae Yong-joon & Choi Ji-woo
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 net-
work in 2004. Since then, Bae has become a superstar
among Japanese female viewers.
The drama revolves around the story of two child-
hood friends — played by Bae and Choi — and the trag-
edy 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

[YONHAP]
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 anima-
tion based on the popular Korean TV drama with the same
name. Reporters from all around Asia were present.
latest book, Journey in Search of Korea’s Beauty, a compila-
tion 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

36 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 37


The spectacular display of fireworks
celebrates the opening of the 14th Pusan In-
ternational 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 impor-
tance.
But what made this year the biggest
ever for the festival was not only the films
screened, but also the number of glamor-
ous 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 inter-
national festivals. Event director Kim
Dong-ho said, “When there are interna-
tional 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 prom-
ising 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
[Yonhap, PIFF]
Forward” section, which turned com-
petitive 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 fic-
tional 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
Culture
Stars like Josh Hartnett and Lee Byung-hun met
with fans on Haeundae Beach during the festival.
has attracted more than 8 million view- tary Old Partner were sold during the
ers. four-day film market in Busan, scoring an
There were also four retrospectives of estimated $2 million in total sales, the
classic Korean cinema. The first spot- organizers said. Two major distributors,
lighted the late Korean director Ha Kil- Korea’s CJ Entertainment and Japan’s
chong, who was an icon for local intel- T-Joy, also announced the launch of a
lectuals in the 1970s, while others were joint venture at the market, which is
dedicated to director Yu Hyun-mok and expected to boost cooperation between
actress Jang Jin-young, both of whom the two countries’ film industries.
passed away this year. The final retrospec- The wide selection of films at PIFF
tive, titled “Archaeology of Korean Cine- was accompanied by various special
ma,” was an outgrowth of a program that events such as Open Talk, where fans met
works to restore Korean films, and fea- and talked with actors and directors, and
tured three Korean movies rarely screened outdoor concerts every night during the
for general audiences. festival, giving festivalgoers the unforget-
The other attention-grabber of the table memory of music and movies under
festival was I Come with the Rain, which the starlit Busan autumn sky. 
was screened in the festival’s Gala Presen- By Park Sun-young
tation section. Directed by Vietnamese-
French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung, it
starred three heartthrobs — Lee Byung- From right to left, actors Josh Hartnett, Lee
hun from Korea, Josh Hartnett from the Byung-hun and Takuya Kimura pose for a
U.S. and Takuya Kimura from Japan — photo during Open Talk at PIFF Village during
and was the talk of the town throughout the film festival. The trio starred in I Come with
the festival as all three leads were in town,
meeting with fans in events, including
one at Haeundae Beach, the center of the
the Rain, which was screened at the festival’s
Gala Presentation.
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, draw-
ing 75 participating com-
panies this year. More
than 20 films including
Korea’s Death Bell and the
award-winning documen-
November 2009 korea 39

Cheongju, Korea’s City of Craft
Biennale in home of world’s first metal type brings art into everyday life
I
n 1377, a group of
monks in Cheongju,
now part of Chung-
cheongbuk-do Prov-
ince, 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 partici-
pated under the theme,
“Outside the Box,” with art-
ists hoping to re-establish
connections between art,
design, technology and the
environment.
Director Dr. Lee Ihn-
bum wanted to make the
Cheongju biennale unique
by focusing not just on
Korean artists but on under-
appreciated foreigners too.
Biennales are always full
of variety. This one is divid-
ed into two main exhibi-
40 korea November 2009
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 direc-
tor 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
These works incorporated
performance art, music,
theater, dance, film, poetry
and prose.
Perhaps the festival’s
[YONHAP]
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 gal-
lery and onto the street.
Among the most talked-
about items was a couch
Above, Korean designer Yee designed by the Campanas.
Soo-kyung’s Translated Vase, The piece grafted cutting-
on display at the Cheong- edge technology onto pure
ju biennale’s “Dissolving Brazilian craft techniques,
Views” exhibition. Left, using materials ranging
Fabela Chair by the world- from plastics to abandoned
renowned Brazilian designers dolls to produce a surpris-
the Campana Brothers. It ingly attractive piece.
was designed with comfort A variety of special pro-
Provided by the organizer
and art in mind. grams were held during the
fair, including an exhibit by
this year’s spotlight country,
Canada; an international
academic symposium and
arts forum; educational pro-
designer David Trubridge grams, and citizen partici-
from New Zealand, who pation projects.
uses only natural materials, Dr. Lee hopes to bring
Belgian ceramics maker and Cheongju into the main-
designer Piet Stockmans, stream art and culture world,
Dutch designer Hella Jonge- helping people gain a deeper
rius and the world’s most understanding of artistic
famous Brazilian designers, value and spreading the joy
the Campana Brothers. of craft across the world,
Organized by Kim Ju- while at the same time show-
won, Dissolving Views took ing how these artists deal
viewers beyond the concept with politics, economics,
of art as an object and sociology and history in
towards “the idea of craft as their often complex work.
a living human impulse.” By Yim Seung-hye
Culture
Korean painter Huh Yoo-mi
has contributed illustrations
for editions of many Korean
stories in English.
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 Sun-
American elementary school day Morning.”
textbook, with illustrations by a Korean Huh came to New York in 1989 to
painter — a fine first step. study at the School of Visual Arts.
Ahn Mi-hyang, a Korean housewife “After getting my master’s degree
in Denton, Texas, was recently surprised from SVA, I started drawing illustrations
to open her second-grade son’s textbook for English versions of Korean folktales,”
to see a familiar story. “Heungbu and Huh said in a telephone interview with
Nolbu” is one every Korean knows. It’s a Yonhap News. “In the United States,
tale of two brothers: Heungbu, the young- Korean folktales are popular and the
er, poor and good-hearted, and Nolbu, books have been sold to schools, librar-
the 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. “Amer-
Ahn 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.
North Texas, and we all welcome the textbook since our chil- Huh was pleased to hear the news that “Swallow’s Gift”
dren don’t usually get to read Korean folk tales. American was featured in a textbook. “The story was published about
children also seem to like the story.” 10 years ago. Like Aesop’s Fables, the story is about encourag-
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.”
characters wearing traditional Korean hanbok. These were Huh, currently a lecturer at SVA, is now planning to publish
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

oh Jung-hee
Trapped in tranquil domesticity
From violent self-destruction to household repression,
Oh explores the dark side of the Korean woman
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 Litera-
ture Prize, Oh explores the chaotic, often terrify-
ing 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 destruc-
tive behaviors directed at themselves and others.
In stories such as “The Misty Levee,” “Dawn”
and “River of Fire,” their violent urges are encap-
sulated in physical deformity and allowed
expression only in perverse or sterile sex. In the
42 korea November 2009
Korean Literature
mid-1970s, the author shifted her focus to the Major works
tedium of everyday life within the safe but suf- River of Fire
focating enclosure of family and marriage. The (Bul-ui gang, 1977)
protagonists of Oh’s later stories are mostly mid-
Garden of Childhood
dle-aged married women who long to escape (Yuneon-ui tteul, 1981)
from their socially defined roles in order to find
a truer, more fundamental existence. At times, Spirit of the Wind
(Baram-ui neogs,1986)
they manage to escape, but only for a brief time,
and they inevitably return to the drudgery of Evening Party
their daily life with disillusionment. Among her (Yahoi, 1990)
stories from this period are “Chinatown,” “Gar- Old Well
den of Childhood,” “Words of Farewell,” “Way- (Yet umul, 1994)
farer” and “Spirit of the Wind.” The coming-of-
Fireworks
age stories “Chinatown” and “Garden of Child- (Bulkkotnoli, 1995)
hood” suggest that the author’s pessimistic per-
spective toward life is in part shaped by her Bird
(Sae, 1996)
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
[JoongAng Ilbo]
Source: Korea Literature
in shaping a new literary vision for herself. Translation Institute
November 2009 korea 43

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
Including the Dongin Liter-
ary prize-winner “A Bronze
Mirror,” the nine stories in this
volume explore the desire for
escape from dysfunctional real-
ity and the fear that accompanies
Published translations
Book Title
오정희 단편소설선 /Miłosc zeszłej jesieni I inne opowiadania
옛우물 /老井
중국인 거리 /Chinatown
유년의 뜰 / Der Hof meiner Kindheit
옛우물 /金色の鯉の夢
바람의 넋 / L’Ame du vent
44 korea November 2009
Garden of Childhood
(Yunyeonui tteul)
despair, disillusionment and
dispossession they experience
within the confines of Korean
society.
Set in the period immedi-
ately before and after the Kore-
an 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
The Soul of Wind
(Baramui neog)
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-year-
old 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-
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 ane-
mic spinster plays a game of
hwatu (Korean cards) every
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 daugh-
ter. With this revelation, Eun-su
begins a long journey into the
abyss of her lost memories to
reconstruct the truth of her exis-
tence.
“A Bronze Mirror” is the
story of an old couple who lead
a quiet, lonely life after the death
of their only son. Expecting visi-
tors from church, the old woman
prepares dough for fresh noo-
dles she intends to serve. The
Year of publication
2009
2007
2004
2001
1997
1991
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 wom-
an’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 aban-
doned construction site proves
to be almost sadistic in nature,
an exercise in self-hatred rather
than the escape she seeks.
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 pro-
longing 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 mun-
dane details, the story provides a
keen psychological portrait of
the death and sorrow that lurk
behind the tranquil façade of
their lives.
Genre Language
Novel Polish
Novel Chinese
Novel English
Novel German
Novel Japanese
Novel French
List of Oh's translated works
Korean Literature
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 beginning of her career.
accomplished writers of short fiction in a Oh’s command of language is formidable — her
country that is justly proud of its accom- vocabulary impressive, her word choices deliberate
plishments in this literary genre. She is one of the few and suggestive. Stories such as “The Cookout” and
authors to have captured both the Yi Sang and the “Morning Star” reveal a good ear for dialog. Flash-
Dongin awards — Korea’s two most prestigious priz- backs, stream-of-consciousness technique, and inte-
es for short fiction — and translations of her works
into Japanese, English, French and other languages
rior monologues constitute much of Oh’s narratives.
Long paragraphs juxtaposing images and points of
have won her a small but growing international rep- view of family members past and present are not
utation. English translations of her works have won uncommon.
her comparisons with such writers as America’s Joyce “Words of Farewell,” which depicts separate but
Carol Oates, Canada’s Alice Munro and England’s parallel spiritual journeys by a woman and her lost
Virginia Woolf. husband, is a striking example. This concern with the
Oh was just out of her teens when she burst onto interior landscape of the characters is for Oh a means
the literary scene by winning a competition for aspir- for dealing with her characteristic themes of aban-
donment and loneliness. Heightening
Oh’s best stories are powerful portraits of the impact of these themes is the author's
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), strug-
into 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 pene-
and 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 memo-
the 1990s has been more sporadic, but works such as ries among the characters.
"The Old Well" (Yet umul, 1994), and The Bird reflect By Bruce Fulton
the high standards she set for herself at the very professor, University of British Columbia
November 2009 korea 45

[joongAng Ilbo]
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 loco-
motive 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
Poetry
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 every-
where inside our mouths. About the time they became
The Wind’s Private Life
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
바람의 사생활
the roadbed and threw pebbles at them, or hunted for
nails we had set on the rails the previous day to make
magnets.
가을은 차고 물도 차다 Autumn is cold, water too is cold.
Eventually the train would appear and rattle to a stop
둥글고 가혹한 방 여기저기를 떠돌던 내 그림자가 The moment my shadow, that had been wandering here
with one last wheeze. We would scurry between the
어기적어기적 나뭇잎을 뜯어먹고 한숨을 내쉬었던 and there in a circular cruel room
wheels, rake up the coal dust, and then hook our arms
순간 slowly nibbling leaves, sighed
through the gaps in the doors and scoop out some of the
egg-shaped briquettes. Usually, by the time the carters
At that moment might the word man have arisen?
from the coal yard across the tracks had made their dusty 그 순간 사내라는 말도 생겼을까
That remote long-ago today
appearance, we had filled our school-slipper pouches 저 먼 옛날 오래전 오늘
with coal — the bigger and faster children used cement
At the place where that word man went soaring aloft
bags. Then we would nestle the coal under our arms and 사내라는 말이 솟구친 자리에 서럽고 끝이 무딘 might a sorrowful blunt icicle have been attached?
hop over the low wire fence on the harbor side of the 고드름은 매달렸을까
tracks. It’s a breast kneaded with sorrow, like the wind, like a
We would push open the door to the snack bar on the bow,
슬픔으로 빚은 품이며 바람 같다 활 같다
pier and swarm to the table in the corner. Depending on otherwise, surely, it could never be so out of breath.
그러지않고는 이리 숨이 찰 수 있나
the day’s plunder, noodle soup, wonton, steamed buns Saying it’s the sound of a faraway train won’t do,
filled with red bean jam, or some such thing would be 먼 기차소리라고 하기도 그렇고
and saying it’s the smell of rain will do even less.
brought to us. And sometimes the coal was exchanged for 비의 냄새라고 하기엔 더 그렇고
I can grasp the inner and outer aspects of the word wom-
baked sweet potatoes, picture cards or candy. In any event, 계집이란 말은 안팎이 잡히는데
an
we knew that coal was like cash — something we could 그 무엇이 대신해줄 것 같지 않은 but the word man, that nothing seems capable of replac-
trade for anything around the pier — and so the children ing,
in our neighborhood looked like black puppies through- 사내라는 말은 서럽고도 차가워 is sorrowful and cold, so as I try to grasp my wife who
out the year. 도망가려 버둥거리는 정처를 붙드는 순간 struggles to escape,
Some people called our neighborhood Seashore Vil- 내 손에 뜨거운 피가 밸 것 같다 it seems hot blood will well from my hands.
lage, others called it Chinatown. The coal dust carried by
the north wind all winter long covered the area like a 처음엔 햇빛이 생겼으나 눈빛이 생겼을 것이고 At first sunlight appeared but then eyes’ light would also
shadow, and the sun hung faint in the blackened sky, look- appear,
가슴이 생겼으나 심정이 생겨났을 것이다.
ing more like the moon. the breast would appear, feelings would appear.
한 사내가 두 사내가 되고
The wind’s habit, turning one man into two,
(2) 열 사내를 스물, 백, 천의 사내로 번지게 하고 불살
ten men into twenty, a hundred, a thousand,
Although we had no direct contact with the Chinese 랐던 then commits them to the flames,
in the two-story houses on the hill, they were the yeast of 바람의 습관들
our infinite imagination and curiosity. Smugglers, opium devouring that wind as I look back,
addicts, coolies who squirreled away gold inside every 되돌아보면 그 바람을 받아먹고 making the blood circulate in my tree and branches,
panel of their ragged quilted clothing, mounted bandits 내 나무에 가지에 피를 돌게 하여 is what has made the millennia flow heedlessly past before
who swept over the frozen earth to the beat of their hors- 무심히 당신 앞을 수천년을 흘렀던 것이다 you.
Provided by the Korea Literature Translation Institute & Chang bi
es’ hoofs, barbarians who sliced up the raw liver of a 그 바람이 아직 아직 찬란히 끝나지 않은 것이다 That wind has not yet, not yet ended splendidly.
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 Manchu- From “The Wind’s Private Life” by poet Lee Byung-ryul
rian 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 friend- 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
ship? Was it gold? Opium? Suspicion? 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

Italy Honors Devoted Violinist and
Concert Master for his ‘Life of Music’
V
iolinist Kim Min, 67, received
the “Una Vita per la Musica”
(“a life of music”) certificate
and medal from Italian Presi-
dent 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 pos-
sible 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 orga-
nization 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 perfor-
mance, 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
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 differ-
ent 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. Unfor-
tunately, 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 des-
perately 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-
Korean Artist
many on a DAAD scholarship and per-
formed while he studied. In 1979, he
returned to Korea and was appointed con-
certmaster of the Korean Philharmonic
Orchestra and the KBS Symphony Orches-
tra. 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 Cham-
ber Orchestra to become one of the coun-
try’s most prominent music groups, bring-
It was only when his family went
ing them world attention with successful bankrupt that Kim
international tours.
In 2010, the Korean Chamber Orches-
realized that music was his life.
tra 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 clas-
sical music series by finding and support-
ing talented composers with a distinctive
local sound, while broadening his orches-
tra’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 discrimina-
tion against anyone. It has to grow with
balance between the musicians, the audi-
ence 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 musi-
Provided by Kim min
cal selections; and four, always think about
your future, and once you learn from a
past mistake, let it go.  By Susan Yoon
November 2009 korea 49
 Sports

Out of the Park, home runs when he knocked one out of

Fenway Park on Oct. 4 over Boston’s
“Green Monster.” Choo’s towering two-

Times Twenty run homer in the top of the seventh

inning smashed a 138-kilometer-per-
hour (86-mile-per-hour) outside fast-
ball from Paul Byrd of the Red Sox.
Choo is the first Asian in the MLB to reach 20 “As I got closer to reaching 20 home
runs, I became fixated on reaching the
home runs, 20 steals and a .300 average. 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

[YONHAP]
five days earlier, on Sept. 29 against the
Chicago White Sox. In reaching the
20-20 mark in his first season as a start- 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.
er, 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.
U-20 Team Hits Quarterfinals,
The Busan native signed with the
Seattle Mariners after leading Korea to a But Can’t Top African Champs

title and earning the Most Valuable
Player and Best Pitcher awards at the
2000 World Junior Baseball Champion-
ship in Edmonton, Canada. He was con-
verted to an outfielder, and although he
made his MLB debut on April 21, 2005,
[AP]
T
hey may have come up one game short of tying their
all-time record, but they had an impressive run none-
theless.
Before Korea’s explosive soar to the final four of the
2002 World Cup, the standard of excellence was set by the squad
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

he spent much of the 2005 and 2006 sea- at the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico. Clad in red, the Korean shortest player on the squad and was left off the starting roster in
Choo Shin-soo hit his 20th home run of the season on Oct. 4 off Paul Byrd of the Red Sox. son in the minor leagues until being team made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Brazil. The the first game.
feisty play of the young squad earned it the nickname “Red Dev- Korea was able to tie Germany 1-1 in their second game, with

C
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 sea-
son, recording 20-20 might not seem
like much to some. However, only 11
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
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
lucrative deal.  By Jason Kim
ils,” 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. Mean-
while, the team’s biggest star, FC Seoul’s Ki Sung-yeung, couldn’t
join due to obligations to the senior team. Considering Ki recent-
ly 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
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 tourna-
ment 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 inter-
view following the game against Ghana.  By Jason Kim

50 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 51


[JoongAng Ilbo]
Click
Korea
Right: First lady’s own
cooking show — First Lady
Kim Yoon-ok, left, the wife
of President Lee Myung-
bak, 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
[NEWSIS]
the globalization of Korean
cuisine.
Korea through the Lens
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 over-
seeing the invention of the alphabet.
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.
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 kilo-
meters 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
[YONHAP]
the Year” by Euromoney magazine.
 Travel

Pampas grass in Mindung-

san in southern Jeongseon-
gun,Gangwon-do Province waves
and crackles in the wind.
[JoongAng Ilbo]

The Majesty of Autumn in the Waving Pampas Grass

54 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 55
 Travel

Hikers walk along a path near Mount Mind-

ungsan in late autumn, surrounded by tall
pampas grass.

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 chal-
lenging for beginners. The local Pampas
Grass Festival continues throughout the
month until Nov. 1.
What to enjoy - Four-wheel rail-
bikes run on 7.2 kilometers of the now-
abandoned 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
[JoongAng Ilbo]
nose after a particularly enthusiastic
slurp. The soup is boiled with anchovies,
cabbage, pumpkin and potato in soy-
bean paste. Donggwang Sikdang (033-
563-3100) 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 short-
lived Korean kingdom who died while
fighting to protect his state from crum-
bling. 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

visit include Kangwon Land (1588- 901 and named his state Later Gogu-
7789), a leisure center built to revive the ryeo. But Wang Geon, the founder of
old mining town. The facility includes a Goryeo, tracked him to this mountain
casino, hotel, golf course, the High 1 ski after he lost a major battle. Legend has it

I
n these late days of fall, tall pam-
pas 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 beau-
tiful color.
Meanwhile, under the crisp clear
sky, the pampas grass shines and sways
“Mindungsan” literally to the music of the wind, like nature’s
means “bald mountain,” orchestra playing a symphony.
Mount Mindungsan (1,120 meters,
but this is no Mussorgsky 3,675 feet) in Jeongseon-gun, Gang-
won-do Province and Mount Myeong-
nightmare — the pampas seongsan (992 meters) in Pocheon,
grass provides a tranquil Gyeonggi-do Province are two popular
sites to visit in the autumn for their mag-
escape from urban life. nificent pampas grass.
Mount Mindungsan
There are two mountains named
Mindungsan in Korea. One is in south-
ern Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do Prov-
ince, and the other is in Pocheon,
Gyeonggi-do Province. The name liter-
ally means “bald mountain,” and it suits
these peaks well, since they’re complete-
ly bare, with no tree in sight. The crown
of Mount Mindungsan in Jeongseon-
gun 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 Novem-
ber is the best time to climb Mount
Mindungsan, but a hike to the peak dur-
ing snow season can also be very reward-
ing. The climb is not too difficult, start-
ing 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 Dongnam-
cheon 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 your-
self 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
slopes and a theme park.
One local specialty is gondeure na-
mulbap (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), Daraed-
deul (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 Buckwheat noodles in cold soup boiled with
the noodles are very elastic and some- anchovies, pumpkin and potato in soybean
times spring up and hits the diner in the paste is a specialty of the Mindungsan area.

56 korea November 2009 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.
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 vis-
ited 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
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 Samgak-
bong Peak, then start your descent. The
entire journey is 6.5 kilometers and Join Top Chef at His
takes about 3 hours.
Mount Myeongseongsan is just two
hours away from Seoul, making it the
‘Zen Hideaway’
perfect site for a family climb.
Walkerhill’s Hans-Werner Vogt values
What to enjoy - A theme park near
Sanjeong Lake boasts a pirate ship
simple tastes, passionate cooking
amusement ride and bumper cars,
along with other rides.

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.
[JoongAng Ilbo]
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 leg-
end 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.
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, Sun-
dam Valley and Sambuyeon Falls. The
Sanjeong Lake Hanwha Condominium
(031-534-5500) there offers spa baths
for 8,000 won and a 30-minute tradi-
tional Chinese foot massage for 30,000
won.
Galbi, marinated barbecued ribs, is
a Korean delicacy, and about 30 min-
utes from Sanjeong Lake, the village of
Yidong-myeon in Pocheon-gun is
packed full of about 60 restaurants
serving the sumptuous dish, concen-
trated 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 vegeta-
bles are served together with the bar-
beque. One serving costs 24,000 won.
Songsine Galbi also serves cold noodles
C
ooking isn’t all that difficult, according to
Hans-Werner Vogt, the executive chef at
the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in east-
ern 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 spe-
cialty, 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 tradi-
tions as well as the four seasons.”
There is one more
reason: He enjoys the
many fine restaurants in
town, especially Zen
Hideaway, an Asian din-
ing and wine bar in Sinsa-
dong, southern Seoul.
“Whenever I take my Hans-Werner Vogt
friends to Zen Hideaway Executive Chef
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 sanc-
tuary.”
The ethnic interior design gives him a feeling of com-
fort and relaxation, and he likes the artificial pond out-
side 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 veg-
etable 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 Univer-
sity, 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 in-
cluding the garlic salad pizza and the zen seafood cream pasta.

in chopped pickled radishes for 3,000 [JoongAng Ilbo]

won.  By Kim Sei-jun

58 korea November 2009 November

November 2009
2009 korea
korea 59 59
 Travel

W
ith 2010 just two months away, Korea’s tour-
ism 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 signifi-
cant 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 confer-
ence.
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 momen-
tum 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 Jae-
min, 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 tour-
ism 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 readi-
ness to host such a huge event.
The Nanta show, now an “Korea has diverse experience hosting large-scale glob-
internationally-known tourist al meetings and conferences. Korean cities like Seoul,
attraction, blends traditional Busan and Jeju have the capabilities to host the assembly
Korean culture with modern even right now,” Shin told reporters.
[YONHAP]
[NEWSIS]
Top, the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly
serves as the forum for tourism policy issues and sharing travel know-
how 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

showmanship. In the meantime, Korea’s tourism officials have high tourists.

hopes for the upcoming 2010-2012 Visit Korea cam- Officials played videos promoting Korean tourism and
paign. gave a showcase on Nanta, the famous nonverbal perfor-
Incentives for foreign travelers who visit during the mance mixing traditional samulnori percussion with
campaign and special marketing events are among the modern musical forms, among others.

Making Korea No Longer ways Korean officials will use to hit their target — 10 mil-
lion foreign tourists by 2012.
The sector has been struggling this year, hit by the
“We chose Nanta because it shows a good mix of some-
thing traditional and something modern, which in a way
represents Korea now,” said Kwon Do-yeon at the Culture

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
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
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 pro-
mote Korean food abroad.  By Kim Hyung-eun

60 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 61

 People

Korean Design Makes a

Splash in London

C
ell phones and cars aren’t the only Korean planned to participate in the design fair lines do not scan or photocopy.
designs getting attention on the global this year. “A British hotel said they wanted to order the note-
market. “But the judges who were at Milan book as presents for their VIP guests,” Lee said.
That was the message at the London Designersblock asked me to join the fes- Products from Korean design studios and compa-
Design Festival last month, attended by young Koreans tival in London [as well],” Chung said. nies are also gaining wider popularity. The company
with cutting-edge, mind-warping work, such as a lamp Some of the Korean products exhib- Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standing
made to look like a porcelain tea set. ited during 100% Design London sold Companies and lamps made of porcelain. Saturn Bath also received
One of the events at the festival, 100% Design Lon- quickly. high praise from other designers for its exquisite TV
don, is recognized as one of the three major design Kim Hyun-been, also chosen as a
individuals win Tub, a bathtub with a television attached on the end.
exhibitions in the world and is held at Earls Court. Next Generation Design Leader by the praise for their “A foreigner told me that his preconception of
Another, Designersblock, displays more experimental Korea Institute of Design Promotion for unique products Korea, as a country that only copies other people’s
designs. her “DrinKlip” cup holder, was able to designs, had been broken,” said Lee Gyu-seon, who is
Kim Eun-young A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designers, sell all 200 of the products she brought at 100% Design currently studying textiles at the British Royal Acade-
including eight to receive support from the Ministry of on the first day of the festival. London, part of my of Arts.
Knowledge Economy, participated in 100% Design Lee Seung-ho, who works in Fin- “I’m really glad that Korean designers are partici-
London this year. The London design exhibition is land, sold over 1,000 of his about:Blank the London pating more than they did a year ago, and their abilities
known for its tough reviews of its applicants. notebooks, lined in white so that the Design Festival are being recognized.”  By Lee Ho-jeong
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 Mag-
azine, 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 com-
puter 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 Pro-
motion.
In recognition of these awards, Cha’s products will
be displayed at the main booth for free during next
year’s exhibition.

Provided by designer, Another Ceramic

“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].”
Provided by designer

There was even a Korean designer invited by the

Kim Hyun-been event organizers. Chung Myeong-yong, a furniture 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
designer working in Milan, Italy, said that he hadn’t and right. 

62 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 63

 People

The Gift of Communication

“[Thanh] is always extremely hard-
working and enthusiastic toward his
students. I am very thankful that he is a
part of our program. I think he pos-
sesses a strong will to look after people
from his native country,” says Lee Mi-
ryeong, public relations head at the cen-
ter.
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 wait-
ing for me. How can a teacher not go?
Although I have to sacrifice a weekend
day every week, when I see that the Viet-
namese workers and immigrants I teach
have improved on their Korean lan-
guage skills, it all feels worth it,” Thanh
says.
“Every language has its own charac-
teristics 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
Dang Ngoc Thanh attended the Korean ways, and depending on how you use
Language Institute at Yonsei University in the word, sentences become totally dif-
ferent in meaning.”
It takes Thanh brought Korean culture closer to Vietnam and other
Asian countries, for Vietnamese immigrants and
two hours to workers in Korea, it is a difficult task to learn the lan-
reach Ansan to guage from scratch.
“Popularizing the Korean language will really help
teach, but he Korea’s efforts to globalize,” Thanh says. “Many people
says the success from all over the world want to come to Korea. How-
of his students is ever, Korea is not too English-friendly even though
there are a lot of foreigners here. To work or live here,
all the thanks he learning Korean is essential because communication
needs. 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

[JoongAng Ilbo]
Seoul, and is now completely fluent in the
Korean language. Thanh points out that “maeum” can
mean relief, determination or love by
simply pairing it with different verbs.

E
very Sunday, 22-year-old uni-
versity student Dang Ngoc
Thanh heads to Ansan, Gyeo-
nggi-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 flu-
ent in Korean.
Thanh’s sister now attends Yonsei
University’s Korean Language Institute,
the same place Dang Ngoc started his
Korean language learning a few years
ago.
Thanh now attends Hanyang Uni-
versity 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 inter-
national driver’s license exam. Especial-
ly for workers, passing this test was cru-
cial,” he said.
Thanh was introduced to the job
through the language interpreting cen-
ter 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 remem-
ber 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.
“In Vietnam, we also use Chinese char-
acters, but the pronunciation and gram-
mar are rather tricky. That’s why I make
my own instructional materials, so that
my Vietnamese students can differenti-
ate between Korean and Vietnamese in
a clearer way.”
One of Thanh’s proudest moments
came in July, when one of his Vietnam-
ese students at the center, a 31-year-old
factory worker at Ansan, went back to
Vietnam to take a job at a Korean com-
pany there — thanks to his Korean lan-
guage skills. Thanh says reading the
thank you e-mail from him brought him
great satisfaction. Every Sunday for three hours, Dang Ngoc Thanh, 22, teaches the Korean language to Viet-
Even though the Korean Wave has namese migrant workers in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do Province.

64 korea November 2009 November 2009 korea 65

Foreign Viewpoints
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 Univer-
sity and wrote the recently published The
Korean Way of Tea. He has translated many
volumes of Korean literature.
66 korea November 2009
I
f you have never tasted Korean
green tea, you might be wonder-
ing what is so special about it. The
best way to explain would be to
go together to a house on the south-
ern slopes of Mount Jirisan in late
April or early May. Sitting with doors
and windows open to the early morn-
ing 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 accus-
tomed 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 Shang-
hai, or to Taiwan, large tea plantations
can easily be found. Tea, drunk in vari-
ous ways, is the staple form of refresh-
ment 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 dis-
covered 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 com-
pletely absent from their lists. Many
books about tea have been published,
often beautifully illustrated. Yet quite
often there is not one mention of Ko-
rea, even in a book entitled “Tea in the
East.” Another called “The True His-
tory of Tea” does not mention Korean
tea until nearly the end, and then just
briefly.
More important, the Korean authori-
ties should be encouraging the plant-
ing 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 un-
realistic to expect the producers to
bear such a financial burden. Yet un-
less there is more tea being grown in
Korea, there will not be enough leaves
to provide the quantities required for
commercial exploitation on an interna-
tional 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 begin-
ning to promote Korean food. Deli-
cious 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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