Sept. 19, 2015 / Issue No. 701
Andong Mask Dance Festival
Tradition lives on in Korea’s spiritual capital



One of Korea’s top autumn festivals, the Andong Mask Dance Festival celebrates the unique cultural heritage of the Andong region – the “spiritual capital of Korea.” Designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property by the Korean government, the mask dance of Andong’s Hahoe Village is, at its heart, a shamanist rite performed in tribute to the village spirits; during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), however, it also served as a humorous but powerful way for commoners to poke fun at the excesses of the aristocracy. The festival will also feature local mask dances from other communities throughout Korea, as well as mask dances from international teams. Known for its conservative and deeply Confucian spirit, the Andong area is rich in tangible and intangible cultural treasures. The venue of the festival, Hahoe Village, is a remarkably preserved Joseon Dynasty village that was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 2010.

VENUE: Hahoe Folk Village
PERIOD: Sept. 25-Oct. 4
MORE INFO: T. 054-841-6398
ADMISSION: Free
GETTING THERE: Buses to Andong depart from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal. From Andong, take bus No. 46 to Hahoe Folk Village.


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AROUND THE WEB

A miscellany of high-quality hyperlinks from the week, courtesy of SEOUL editor-in-chief Robert Koehler

 


 

EVENTS

Seoul Graphers

The city of Seoul and Olympus are putting together an interesting photo project involving 30 photographers, including 10 foreigners. The project will be accepting applicants thru Oct. 4. Click here for more info.

Bon Jovi Returns to Seoul

New Jersey rock legends Bon Jovi return to Korean shores for the first time since 1995. “I’m really pleased to come to meet my Korean fans for the first time in 20 years,” says front man and band namesake Jon Bon Jovi. The group is one of the best-selling of all time, selling over 100 million records worldwide since their debut in 1983. This latest concert is part of their ongoing Bon Jovi Live! world tour and will feature songs from their recent albums “Burning Bridges” and “What About Now.”

VENUE: Jamsil Stadium
DATE: Sept. 22
MORE INFO: T. 02-6022-2447
ADMISSION: KRW 223,178-459,108
GETTING THERE: Sports Complex Station (Line 2), Exit 6 or 7

Masterpieces of Early Buddhist Sculpture, 100 BCE-700 CE

To mark the 10th anniversary of its relocation to the Yongsan site, the National Museum of Korea has organized the special exhibition “Masterpieces of Early Buddhist Sculpture, 100BCE-700CE,” featuring 220 works from 25 museums and institutions at home and abroad. Buddhism and its images have been a powerful component of Asian culture, facilitating an ongoing exchange between cultures. The exhibition casts new light on the history of Buddhist sculpture and its role in binding heterogeneous traditions together. The creation of the religion and the first anthropomorphic images of the Buddha are introduced in the first section of the exhibition through powerful statues made in the Gandhara and Mathura regions of India. The second section covers the spread of Buddhism into China, which had a very different linguistic, religious and philosophical background to that of India, and subsequent Sinicization of the religion. The third section sheds light on the Buddhist statues from both the Korean Peninsula and Japan. In the final section, the major pensive bodhisattva statues from India, China, Korea and Japan are presented to invite comparative contemplation. The exhibition will be a unique opportunity to appreciate some of the finest examples of Buddhist sculpture in the world.

VENUE: National Museum of Korea
PERIOD: Sept. 25-Nov. 15
MORE INFO: T. 02-2077-9284
ADMISSION: TBA
GETTING THERE: Take the underpass at Ichon Station (Jungang Line, Line 4).

Sheraton Grande Walkerhill’s Beautifruit

Sheraton Grande Walkerhill’s lobby lounge cafe “The Pavilion” features a new seasonal dessert buffet promotion entitled “Beautifruit” from September 5 to November 29 on every Saturday and Sunday except September 26,27 and October 10,11. “Beautifruit” is a compound word of “beautify” and “fruit.” In other words, it means to beautify oneself with pome fruits as an array of dainty desserts mainly made with pomegranates and blueberries will be featured during the period.

VENUE: Sheraton Grande Walkerhill
PERIOD: Thru Nov. 29
MORE INFO: T. 02-455-5000
COST: KRW 48,000
GETTING THERE: Click here.

All About Chocolate at Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel

Lobby Lounge. Bar presents “All About Chocolate” where guests can indulge in an array of chocolate delights. Enjoy various kinds of desserts all made of chocolate and experience the most amazing chocolate desserts that one can ever imagine. “All About Chocolate” is available every Saturday and Sunday until November 15, 2pm to 5pm. A variety of dessert menus made with chocolate are prepared in a buffet style at the 41st floor Lobby Lounge. Bar, where guests can enjoy chocolate and fruit desserts while spending a relaxing afternoon enjoying the view of Seoul. Price is KRW 34,200 per person, including 10% VAT.

MORE INFO: T. 02-2211-1740

A+ Dental Clinic

A dental clinic international residents in Korea can trust, A+ Dental Clinic has the highest level of satisfaction among foreign residents in Seoul. For more information, see this link or call T. 010-4903-2875.

RASKB Excursion: Chuseok Holiday Excursion: Inner Seoraksan & South Seoraksan

Spend the weekend in the countryside with the RAS, enjoying the fantastic, unspoiled natural scenery of Inner and South Seoraksan. Most tourists visiting Seoraksan National Park go only to the more frequently visited sights of Outer Seoraksan, and are unaware of the beautiful and remote Inner Seoraksan range. Inner Seoraksan is wilder, more natural, and little touched by man – truly an undiscovered natural paradise.

VENUE: Seoraksan
DATE: Sept. 27-28
MORE INFO: See this link.
COST: KRW 258,000-298,000
GETTING THERE: See link above.


 

EVERYDAY KOREANS

Moon Robot welcomes you to Mullae-dong. Photo by Robert Koehler, editor-in-chief, SEOUL.

NOTIFICATIONS

Seoul Selection’s Free Book Giveaway – Our free book give-away continues! Check out the list in last week’s newsletter here.

Seoul Selection Offline Bookshop Sale  One of the greatest repositories of Korea-related English-language books anywhere, Seoul Selection is offering a 10% sale on any and all books published by Seoul Selection purchased from our OFFLINE bookshop next to Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Looking for Translators – Seoul Selection is looking for a few good translators (Korean to English) for general translation work. Those interested should send a resume and cover letter to Kyehyun at atoz@seoulselection.com. Experienced translators only.

Seoul Selection eBooks – You can purchase some Seoul Selection titles in ebook format via Amazon.com (for Kindle) and Apple’s iBookstore. Titles include Ask a Korean Dude, Moon Tides, Doing Business in Korea, Once Around the Sun, and seven volumes of our Korean Film Directors series: BONG Joon-ho, IM Kwon-taek, KIM Jee-woon, LEE Chang-dong, LEE Man-hee, PARK Chan-wook, and SHIN Sang-ok.

Send Your Event Info – If you would like to advertise any upcoming events you are organizing, please send us the press release material at pubco@seoulselection.com by the preceding Friday in order for it to appear in the following Tuesday’s issue.

Freelance Contributors Wanted – SEOUL Magazine needs writers who are fluent in both Korean and English. Writers should have a strong interest in Korean culture and be able to interview Koreans. Send your resume and writing samples to english@seoulselection.com.

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