The video begins with the host whispering an apology for the camera settings — in particular, how the sharpness makes her nose seem super shiny. For the next hour, she says almost nothing else besides barely audible introductions. Instead, she takes her audience through a series of eight sounds selected to help listeners sleep, from the surprisingly soothing crinkle of latex gloves to the relaxing rubbing of a small cotton pillow. If you weren’t feeling sleepy before the video, you certainly are by its end — not from boredom, but from the pure pleasure of it all, the experience amounting to an auditory massage of the mind.

Dana ASMR is one of the most popular Korean producers of ASMR videos on YouTube. Her “8 Triggers to Help you Sleep” has garnered over 6 million views and over 4,700 comments at the time of writing. Her videos, mostly in Korean, but with some in English, share with audiences the ambient sounds of many of life’s experiences, be it eating, getting your ears cleaned or playing with multicolored slime. All aim to relax the listener, to “trigger” a tangible sense of relaxation and joy, a “tingle” that soothes life’s stresses and unplugs us, if for just a moment, from the pressures of the day.

ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, has taken Korea by storm. ASMR is a sensation described as a pleasurable tingling sensation that begins at the head and moves down to your upper spine, often triggered by particular sounds, though sights and other sensory stimuli sometimes do the trick, too. In a country as overworked, over-connected and chronically sleep deprived as Korea, many see ASMR-related content as an expedient way to relax, to give their brains a much needed break. Though largely a new media phenomenon, it’s not just YouTubers who are riding the ASMR wave. Traditional media such as television and even advertisers are catching on, too, integrating ASMR elements into their productions, too.

The tingle of euphoria

Cybersecurity expert Jennifer Allen coined the term ASMR back in 2010, giving an official — or official-sounding — name to an experience observers had previously called “head orgasms,” “head tingles” and “attention-induced euphoria,” among other terms. The Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response Group, founded by Allen in 2010, defines ASMR as “a pleasant, often intense tingling sensation that begins in the head and travels down the body to varying extents. It is often accompanied by a euphoric feeling, and can overwhelm the experiencer of a particularly strong ASMR event.”

Though you can experience this sensation through uncontrolled external stimulus, you can also initiate it through conscious thought triggers, the most common being ASMR-inducing videos on YouTube.

Not everyone experiences ASMR, and what sets it off in those who do is as diverse as the ocean is wide. As Harry Cheadle writes in VICE, “It’s not usually sexual — everyone who talked to me about ASMR mentioned that right off the bat — but like sexual turn-ons, different people have different things that set them off: the sound of lips smacking together, a cashier’s fake nails tapping on the register, your friend drawing on your hand with a marker.”

Though scientific research on this pop culture phenomenon is but in its infancy, early research is turning up some interesting possibilities. “Neuroscientists are now experimenting with fMRIs and electroencephalography to see if the brains of ‘tingleheads,’ as they are called, are any different than those who don’t tremble at the sight of napkin-folding,” writes Libby Copeland at Smithsonian.com. “So far there are intriguing — if limited — findings suggesting that ASMR may relieve some people’s symptoms of stress and insomnia, and that the brains of those who experience it may be organized a little differently.”

In fact, some researchers posit that ASMR may be related to, or at least similar to, synesthesia, a condition in which people process sensory information in an unusual way, seeing colors in letters or numbers or tasting shapes. A University of Winnipeg study suggested those who experience ASMR are more likely to be creative, though also more prone to anxiety and mood swings.

From ear cleaning to mukbang

Video maker Miniyu helped pioneer ASMR in Korea when she opened up the country’s first ASMR-related YouTube channel in 2013. She now operates three channels with over 800 videos, some of which have been subtitled into English or Japanese. Her most popular channel, “Miniyu ASMR,” has over 460,000 subscribers. She has something for just about everyone, her videos running the gamut from tapping and scratching sounds to eating and “role play” videos. Her most popular video, a role play video in which she pretends to give the listener an ear cleaning, has been viewed nearly 4 million times.

ASMR has been especially big in the world of mukbang, videos in which the host or hosts binge eat to the audience’s delight. ASMR-focused mukbang videos contain very little talking. Instead, they focus on “eating sounds,” i.e., the sounds of biting, chewing and swallowing. For many people, this apparently gets the ASMR engines revving. Check out the YouTube channel of ASMR Suna, one of Korea’s hottest mukbang producers, to get a feel for the genre. Suna’s most popular video features her pet mini pig eating its way through, among other things, a watermelon slice. It’s been watched over 8.7 million times.

©Miniyu ASMR

©Miniyu ASMR

As ASMR catches on in YouTube and social media, more traditional media are integrating it into their programming, too. In the third season of tvN’s popular mukbang-themed program “Let’s Eat,” the characters spend an inordinate amount of on-screen time just eating with nary a word said. Channel A’s talent show “I’ll Give You the Universe” splices in relaxing, minimally shot scenes of the contestants enjoying the sounds of nature. In another example, tvN’s reality show “Little House In The Forest,” which features two celebrities living a off-grid in a cabin in the forest, is light on conversation and heavy on ambient sound, so much so that the show is seen as an extended mediation on ASMR itself.

Even advertisers are getting in on the act. Cosmetic brand Innisfree’s “I Use Hallan” campaign, a pair of commercials staring entertainer Hong Jin-kyung and Girl’s Generation member Yoona, focus on the relaxing sounds of the winter’s wind, a scribbling pencil, chirping birds, writing notes on a frosted window and, of course, makeup being applied. Foodstuff maker Pulmuone has also released an ASMR video of its own featuring webtoon illustrator Kim Sung preparing and eating a steaming bowl of yukgaejang kalguksu.

A remedy for a stressed-out, sleep-deprived society?

Observers say the interest in and demand for ASMR-related content is driven by the desire for less stimulation. In a world where social media, the 24-hour news cycle, Netflix and thousands of cable channels keep us perpetually stressed and stimulated, people are growing ever more desperate for ways to unplug. A 2016 survey by the OECD revealed that Koreans sleep just seven hours and 41 minutes a day on average, the fewest hours in the organization. It’s unsurprising, then, that poll after poll reveals that an overwhelming majority of Korean workers either suffer from or have experienced burnout syndrome, a condition characterized by exhaustion, job alienation and reduced performance.

Kim Heon-sik, a cultural critic, told the Herald Gyeongje daily, “Many phenomena arise from exhaustion.” He added, “I think there’s a lot of demand for ASMR-related content because people are exhausted from information. People are too tired. Isn’t there too much information and too much to do? This being the case, I wonder if it doesn’t create motivation to consume content that transmits no information and requires no analysis.”

Relatedly, you can also link ASMR to the so-called sohwakhaeng trend. The portmanteau, first coined by Japanese writer Murakami Haruki, means “small but certain happiness.” It points to the tiny pleasures that brighten your day, such as a refreshing summer breeze or a good cup of coffee. By giving sleep-deprived, “time-poor” people a chance to unwind, if but just for a few moments, ASMR brings a bit of simple happiness.

Written by Robert Koehler

James Park’s Muoki brings a sense of joy to fine dining

Mu-hyeon James Park has a mingled air of focus and friendliness as the kitchen behind him hums with focused activity. While open kitchens in restaurants have become common at high-end restaurants, Muoki is especially inviting. Instead of just being a display for the chef’s talents, Park designed the open kitchen to give people a real look at how restaurants actually work and encourages interaction between diners and the kitchen. “I wanted to give people a look at real kitchen culture. I don’t ask my staff to be quiet like in some places because I want them to be able to have more communication, to just show the reality of a real kitchen. When people come to the restaurant, we want to be able to introduce everything.”

Finding his voice by traveling the world

The chef and owner of the new restaurant Muoki, Park brings an openness and youthfulness to the high-end scene in the trendy Cheongdam-dong area. Many restaurants have taken an experimental approach to their food, incorporating local ideas and ingredients into the burgeoning international food scene in Seoul, but few manage it with as much joie de vivre as Park brings. He also brings an unusually wide range of global knowledge and experience to the job, having lived everywhere from England to Iraq.

“I decided to go live and work overseas because I wanted to improve my English. I’d studied food for a year in Korea, then headed abroad,” says Park to explain how in just a few years, he had a career that spanned interning at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, cooking for the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., and then as demi chef at Quay in Sydney, Australia, and the chief sous chef at The Test Kitchen in Cape Town, South Africa, before returning to Korea.

“At first, I just wanted to return home and cook. Then, after two years of working in Jeju, it was time to come up to Seoul. Seoul is the most important culinary city in Korea in many ways, but I went to Jeju first to concentrate just on the food and prepare myself,” Park says, explaining how he came to open Muoki. The name comes from the South African name for the oak tree, a nod to the two years he spent in Cape Town and a style inspiration for the space, which combines warm industrial elements and sleek wood.

How many ways to taste a tomato?

The time he spent outside the pressure cooker of Seoul to concentrate just on food and his own style has paid off. His geniality infuses the food, and Chef Park’s sense of fun shines through with the playful dishes. White tablecloth restaurants often act as temples of food, subdued and suffused with seriousness, but Muoki’s dishes often include winsome elements and ideas even as they bring spectacular, exacting flavors.

“People don’t come to these kinds of restaurants just for a la carte food, so I want to give them a real experience. Usually at French international or contemporary restaurants, you send out a diverse set of ingredients on a single plate, but I often try to instead give them a diverse set of flavors. For example, I’ll try to cook a tomato eight different ways for one plate. I want to show the original taste of the ingredient but also how techniques can change and bring new possibilities to a single food. I’ll cook a new ingredient ten different ways to figure out how to use it best.”

“‘Is this a tomato? Can tomatoes really taste like that?’ That’s what I want people to experience. I want to look for new flavors within and think about the details in a dish. How can I change things? It can be dangerous if it doesn’t work, though. There’s no meaning if it doesn’t taste good.”

Deep flavors, beautiful scenes

And taste good they do, even as they bend the rules. A sous vide pork dish stands out for its meltingly soft but incredibly porky morsels, but also for the flowers charmingly peaking around Parmesan and prosciutto chips. An almost cheeky carrot dessert plate brings out the sweetness of carrot in a cream, ice cream, cake and even marinated carrots, each with their own unique, distinct but intensely carrot-y essence. Other dishes treat the plate like a painter’s canvas, creating landscapes out of food.

“It needs to be more than just delicious,” Park says through a boyish smile. “It also has to be a beautiful experience.”

More info.

Muoki 무오키
2F, 12-12, Hakdong-ro 55-gil, Gangnam-gu
010-2948-4171 | www.muoki.kr

Written by Jennifer Flinn

Photographed by Romain John

Bae Suah’s ‘Nowhere to Be Found’ is a study in ennui and social tension

How a reader reacts to Bae Suah’s novelette “Nowhere to Be Found” can likely be guessed by how they react to passages like, “Cheolsu, I will eat your chicken when that day comes. I will gladly become your toilet. When I can, for once in my life, for a brief moment, become ardently pure.” (p. 80; All citations are from the Kindle Edition.) The passage is representative of Bae writing “hot,” something she does to insert comments, comparisons and contrasts to the longer “cold” passages she uses to portray the bleakness of modern Korean life, particularly for young women. By using long, slow, chilly buildups to painful explosions, Bae draws a picture of unbearable social strain suffered by those who feel set adrift by Korean society. Long periods of ennui or low level discomfort are punctuated by sudden, violent outbursts that seldom bring a real climax or conclusion to anything; instead they are merely mile-markers on the way to the next cycle.
Bae makes this endless oscillation fascinating by a form of repetition in which words and symbols do not always hold meaning across instances. In the chicken/toilet outburst, for instance, Bae reimagines a previous scene by altering the meanings of its words and re-casting a previous physical incarnation of a cooked chicken and a latrine into a bitter and sudden symbolic lament of her position. Bae’s narrator, who is predictably nameless, fits neatly into a recent category of female narrator, the alienated observer who can only break through to deeper feeling through violence, be it psychic, physical or sexual. These narrators feel trapped in modern Korean society – bounded on all sides by expectations, but seeing no advantage, and perhaps no way, to fulfilling them.  While these themes have also been explored in Bae’s “Highway With Green Apples,” Kim Aeran’s “Christmas Specials,” and Kim Mi-Wol’s “Guide to Seoul Cave,” in this work they are imbued with a particular tension that is ensnaring.
Aside from ennui, a repeating motif is the cold. In the epic scene that leads up to the narrator’s outburst to Cheolsu, her “boyfriend” in the military about whom she is predictably chilly, she suffers through an epic journey featuring a frigid landscape, a freezing latrine and a chicken cooked by Cheolsu’s mother that slowly transforms into a “chicken carcass looking like the body of a woman frozen to death in Siberia.” (p. 63).
This cycle of grayness and eruption is not the worst fate that Bae can conjure up. The unnamed narrator’s final comment is her bleakest as, in a moment of self-erasure, she claims to have escaped the wheel, concluding, “And that is how I became an absolutely meaningless thing and survived time” (p. 103).
Nowhere to Be Found is translated by Sora Kim-Russell, who does a fine job. As a writer, she naturally writes graceful prose. When Kim-Russell translates,  “Time pushes away that which is intended, rejects that which is rejected, forgets that which is sung about, and is filled with that which it turns its eyes from” (p. 93), the rhythm and parallel structure may well be determined from the original text, but they also sparkle in English.
“Nowhere to Be Found” can be found in paperback and on Kindle. If a reader likes this work, “Highway with Green Apples,” “A Greater Music” and “Recitation” are currently available, with “North Station” hitting bookstores at the end of this year.

Written by Charles Montgomery

Steven Park’s Amazing Brewing Company makes craft brews for a crafty neighborhood

Nearly all of Steven Park’s stories have two versions: There’s a clear, official story he tells with the confident air of a master brewer and successful businessman, and the follow up “real” version, delivered with a rakish grin and a good-natured chuckle. Relaxing into a lounge chair outside the converted factory that houses the brewery and bar, the stories flow out of the head brewer like beer from one of the Amazing Brewing Company’s wall of taps.

How did Park become one of Korea’s foremost brewmasters in the first place? “Ok, so here’s the official story: I like to make stuff. I wanted to make something,” he begins earnestly, then cracks a smile. “Honestly, there was this girl. There’s always a girl, and she wanted a particular beer that wasn’t available here in Korea, so I decided to make it for her.” Park’s enthusiasm for beer making outlasted the relationship, taking him from home brewing in the dorms at KAIST while working on his MBA to winning nationwide competitions in the span of just a few months, and eventually to a partnership at the head of one of Seoul’s most celebrated brew pubs. He’s collected accolades for his stouts, admiration for his sours and prizes since he first started throwing his home brews in the ring.

The Amazing Brewing Company is barely more than a year old, but already has become a center for beer aficionados despite being the smallest commercial brewery in Korea. Founded by Park and certified cicerone “TK” Kim, the brewery started in a converted factory from 1959 in the up-and-coming Seongsu-dong area, a warren of factories and workshops interspersed with hip coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques.

“Officially, we decided to open in Seongsu-dong because it’s such a crafty area. Everyone makes stuff here,” says Park. “But the real story is we started here because were were brewing in TK’s garage. He lives nearby and it makes it easy to manage, and we have good memories of being here.”

Handcrafted beers, handcrafted space

The brewery and the neighborhood certainly suit each other, combining a quirky, easy-going vibe with a little grit. Park is especially proud to have designed virtually everything himself, and the hands-on ethos carries over into everything on hand. “All the equipment and design is made by us.”

This handcrafting of the space and equipment has an added, secret benefit. The entire operation can be broken down in a few hours and moved, with equipment built for mobility. “We can move everything in eight hours — that’s how long it took to set up the brewery equipment when we moved in,” Park adds. The whole process of getting the brewery up and running took only a few months. It’s a key part of their approach to being a “nanobrewery” where the small scale rules the day, and where every bit of equipment, every ingredient and every bit of labor matters. The love carries over into a hands-on approach for the crafting of beer that larger operations can’t manage.

“We’re more like a big home-brewing set-up than a normal brewery, so we have to be innovative. Most breweries don’t, but here, everything is done by hand,” Park gestures to the gleaming equipment. “We don’t even have any agitators, so we do all our mixing by hand.”

The handcrafting and attention pays off in an astonishingly huge range of beers for such a small operation. Stouts with a seductive coffee nose, bright and fruity yuja ale, clean and refreshing lagers, and the bracing tang of sours can be called forth from the dozens of taps in the pub and matched with bar foods ranging from traditional favorites like onion rings and steaks to more gourmet fare like hazelnut crostini with maple cream cheese and bacon or even corn ice cream.

Park’s not above taking a little time in the kitchen, either, or rolling out the barbecue in the courtyard. As the weather gets hot, he has some solid advice for finding the right drink to cool off with: “Something like an ale with light alcohol, low hops and some fruit is good for summer. You want something easy to keep drinking with your friends, a kind of ‘table beer.’ But Korean food is more spicy, saltier, so a lager works. For summer, I suggest a sour — they’re good for thirst quenching. Saisons are good, too.” But Park emphasizes that the most important elements of a good summer drink are the company you keep and the atmosphere.

Park’s philosophy toward brewing is simple and straightforward. “Making beer is making a recipe. If you can cook, if you can wash dishes, you can make it, but you have to understand the ingredients and techniques. You have to be able to expect the outcome.” The payoff is in interesting, exciting beer, but also the simple pleasure of a job well done.

“I just want to do what I’m good at and brew a lot of different beers.”

More Info

Amazing Brewing Company 어메이징브루잉컴퍼니

4, Seongsuil-ro 4-gil, Seongdong-gu   02-465-5208

Written by Jennifer Flinn
Photographed by Henry Kim

Despite having no prior experience in the fashion industry, Sam Lee took a chance two years ago when he opened lifestyle boutique Successful Pyrates (SU:PY) in Seongsu-dong. Embracing the industrial feel of the surrounding neighborhood, Lee – who had dreamed of owning his own clothes store – included urban elements in the shop interior to create the ultimate “hip” shopping experience. “Pyrates are outlaws. We want to be successful, while breaking the rules.” Lee explains, gesturing to the spray-paint tags, neon signage and vintage televisions adorning the walls.
Carrying over 100 brands, SU:PY aims to push the fashion envelope and expose the Korean market to styles and designers never seen domestically before. At the boutique, customers can find Korean names, such as Rocket x Lunch and Love Me Back, as well as international brands. In addition, the store carries its own SU:PY line, designed by Lee and his wife, Anne Heeyoung Hwang. “We design everything together. It’s a collaborative effort for both the menswear and womenswear collections.” Lee states.
Despite gaining a steady cult following, which includes a slew of Korean celebrity shoppers, Lee and Hwang’s journey into the heart of Korea’s fashion industry has not been entirely easy. Hwang gave birth last year – twice – to two beautiful daughters.
“My wife was under a lot of stress and wanted to keep working on the business,” says Lee. I also wanted to be more hands-on with the family side, but I had to focus on SU:PY. It was a difficult time.”
Things are better now, continues Lee. “We have found that compromise and balance makes us the best team.”

Customers arriving at SU:PY will notice the influence that growing up in the U.S. has had on the young entrepreneur. “I came back to Korea in 2014, and I was looking for the perfect location for the shop. We went everywhere! Itaewon, Hongdae, Garosugil. Those neighborhoods were already commercial, and I couldn’t see myself opening a shop there. We wanted SU:PY to grow into something meaningful and not just be one shop amongst many.” Lee explains. The couple found Seongsu to be a little rough around the edges, but they were up for the challenge. “I often frequented Brooklyn, Dumbo and the East Village.” Says Lee, “I’m definitely comfortable with exploring new turf.”
It is Lee’s experience abroad which has helped him curate such a unique selection of goods at SU:PY. Lee describes himself as “heavily influenced by hip-hop culture and street style,”which he came to love while studying in LA.
While SU:PY is undeniably a fashion hot spot, Lee and Hwang hope to expand their projects this year to diversify customers’ experience at the store. The couple have recently opened Karmers, a vintage cafe, next door, so customers can relax with a coffee after their shopping spree. A second SU:PY cafe-cum-bar is expected to launch on the same block next month, making the ever-growing SU:PY brand a must-visit when in Seongsu.

Online Shop: www.supyrocks.com
Shop Address: 2F, 71 Seongsui-ro, Seongdong-Gu

Written and photographed by Samila Liamani

Slunch Factory

Slunch Factory is the brainchild of five women designers who wanted to introduce healthy food based on low-salt, low-calorie and low-fat ingredients. A combination of the words slow and lunch, Slunch first started out as a take-out and delivery lunch or dosirak service. The dosirak catering service is still available for group meals or company functions. The restaurant-cafe also features an exhibition space, “Elephant Art Gallery,” for emerging artists and curators.
The menu at Slunch is not wholly vegetarian or vegan. There are meat dishes like the popular spinach chicken curry or shrimp rice noodle salad. All ingredients are carefully described to help various types of vegetarians and vegans choose the right dish. There’s a selection of soups and salads, rice and noodle dishes and even a few vegetarian and vegan pizzas. There are also fresh juices and desserts to round out the meal.

Sangsu-dong 상수동
1 fl., 38 3-gil, Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu
02-6324-9870
www.slunch.co.kr

Plant

Plant’s story began from a popular vegan blog, An Alien’s Day Out, which chronicled the dining tribulations and delights of its vegan writer, Mipa Lee. Lee began selling vegan baked items online and opened Plant vegan cafe in Itaewon in 2013. Plant is a cozy cafe, chock-full of delicious vegan baked goods and munchies. Behind the counter is a large glass window into the open kitchen, where Mipa and her colleagues work hard to bring the menu to life.
In addition to the ever-popular vegan chocolate cakes, banana muffins and oreo brownies, there’s a daily menu that offers two mains and a salad based on rotating list of pastas, wraps and rice bowls. The spicy and hearty West African Peanut Stew, for instance, reflects Lee’s time living in the region. And the menu incorporates local, seasonal and organic ingredients according to Plant’s motto of “Tasty + Compassionate + Healthy Food!”

Itaewon 이태원
63-15 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu
070-4115-8388
www.plantcafeseoul.com

Wei BAO

Owner George Wei is a third generation Chinese-Korean whose grandparents opened a Chinese restaurant over 50 years ago. Spending most of his career at a major corporation and working abroad, Wei didn’t intend to pick up the family business until a couple of years ago, when he started Wei BAO in Sangsu-dong. Developing a vegetarian menu wasn’t part of the original plan either. A vegan customer in the neighborhood convinced him to give it a go, and now vegetarians from across the city visit Wei BAO for its shiitake mushroom tangsuyuk and vegetarian jjajangmyeon and jjamppong.
The vegetarian menu is available to walk-in customers on Saturdays only. On weekdays, folks can call ahead to reserve items on the vegetarian menu. Wei says that it’s difficult to maintain a vegetarian menu for walk-in customers all week because ingredients can be expensive and have a short shelf-life. He discovered that most vegetarian customers come during the weekend through word of mouth. It’s not easy to customize various sauces and ingredients according to individual preferences. It’s a strain on the kitchen, but Wei says they’re a small and flexible operation that will try to keep the vegetarian menu available for customers.

Hapjeong-dong 합정동
56 3-gil, World Cup-ro, Mapo-gu
02-322-4508

SATTBAR

Owner-chef Wendell Kim’s passion for nutrition began early. Kim says he was a “fat kid” who lost over 20 kilograms through a supervised diet. Fast-forward to his twenties, Kim became a super-fit bodybuilder who was shocked to find out that his kidneys and liver were doing badly because of his severe diet and supplements. It motivated Kim into learning more about Ayurvedic medicine and veganism. Kim opened SATTBAR in 2014 because he saw a future for veganism in Korea. “Veganism is a lifestyle and philosophy. It’s not just about salad bars,” says Kim.
But there are delicious salads at SATTBAR, a play on the Sanskrit word Sattva, meaning “balance, goodness and purity.” The salads and Buddha bowls are prepared with naturally fermented ingredients; there’s no dairy, yeast or artificial ingredients. Even the ketchup on the popular vegan burger is made with raw ingredients. Kim says his menu is all about improving digestion, so that diners would leave SATTBAR energized rather than feeling heavy and dull. One interesting factoid is that SATTBAR is located behind the new Shake Shack in Cheongdam-dong, making its vegan burger a great alternative to the franchise burger.

Itaewon 이태원
10-6 49-gil, Dosan-daero, Gangnam-gu
070-4193-9144
Instagram: @sattbar

Written by Cynthia Yoo
Photographed by Romain John

Popular variety show ‘Three Meals a Day’ goes fishing again as farming spin-off ends

The variety TV show “Three Meals a Day: In Gochang” aired its last episode of the series a few weeks ago. The show, which followed four celebrities who had to work in the countryside so they could eat three meals a day, became a hit by being unique and picking the right celebrities to lure in a big audience.

An original member returns

So, what is next for “Three Meals a Day?” If you thought you’d have to wait six months for another season, guess again. “Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village” Series 3 is due to start airing next month. This season will feature an original member of the first two series of “Fishing Village,” actor Lee Seo-jin. He will be joined by actor Yoon Kyun-sang and singer/actor Eric Mun of popular boy band Shinhwa. A preview of the new season was revealed during the last episode of season two.

Producer and director Na Young-seok recently sat down with local media to discuss the new members of the show and how the new series is being approached. Commenting on Shinhwa member Eric, he said, “Eric hasn’t done a variety show by himself before. He was shy at first. But we cast him because everyone knows he fishes regularly. He was happy to learn Lee Seo Jin was appearing, because they had been friendly in the past.”

An honest day’s work

“Three Meals a Day: in Gochang” was a spin-off of “Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village,” which itself was a spin-off of the original series, which was set in the mountain town of Jeongseon.

The variety show aired every Friday. Audiences saw the members doing odd-jobs such as planting rice fields, picking and packaging grapes and picking watermelons.

The original series saw the cast having to find their own food in the little rural village of Jeongseon, Gangwon-do three days a week. The cast were joined by a number of celebrities for dinner. The show was extended due to popular request from viewers.

With new members joining an original cast member, the next series is going to be a treat for viewers. Be sure to watch the first episode which will be aired on the Oct. 14 on tvN.

Written by Dina Abubakr

Photos courtesy of tvN

Korea’s traditional clothing has gone from forgotten to trendy. But will its popularity last? 

A young twenty-something couple walk past Gyeongbukgung Palace in hanbok, traditional Korean dress. His silky, purple baji, or traditional Korean pants, bands together at the waist and meets at the ankles – unlike the form-fitting denim jeans that are the mode of today.

Once upon a time, it was easier to draw conclusions from this scene. It could have been the filming of a historical drama set in the Joseon Dynasty, or more likely, a Korean holiday such as Chuseok or Seollal, when traditional customs long dictated time-honored dress.

However, the past few years have seen a revival of hanbok. Trendsetting young designers are changing the game and making hanbok more accessible as they play with lines and patterns. Thanks to hanbok rental made easy, the hanbok hashtag on social media reveals thousands of tourists, Korean and otherwise, posing in rented costume whilst visiting famous sites such as the palaces of Seoul, Bukchon Hanok Village and Jeonju Hanok Village. It’s caught the attention of fashion designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Carolina Herrera, Giorgio Armani and Miuccia Prada.

Style magazines around the world are investigating hanbok’s significance in the modern world and pondering its future. What does this trend mean and is it here to stay?

The hanbok through history

Although many associate the hanbok with the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the origins of the costume can be traced back to the 4th century BC. Despite these minute changes over time, the basic concept has remained remarkably consistent.

Trademarked by its simple, clean-cut lines and often noted for its vibrant colors made with natural dyes, the two-piece attire made most commonly with silk, satin or hemp is different for each sex. Literally meaning “the Korean clothing,” the hanbok was the daily outfit less than just a century ago. The men’s outfit usually consists of a slightly oversized jeogori and loose trousers tightened at the ankles with a string called a daenim. A woman’s outfit has a form-fitting jeogori and a bell-shaped skirt called a chima. A woman’s jeogori has a lined collar that often spotlights her neckline.

Common accessories include overcoats, petticoats, vests, hats for men and hair pieces for women. Embroidery was reserved for royalty. As with many different cultures, the color and quality of one’s hanbok long distinguished his or her place in society.

© Tchai Kim

Harmonizing beauty with meaning

The pulchritude of the traditional dress lies in its movement and symbolism rather than its straightforward aesthetics. A careful dance of complexity with simplicity, flatness with volume and curved lines bowing to straight edges, the hanbok points to Koreans’ desire to be close to nature and keep life in balance.

Although contemporary variations of the hanbok have added floral prints and monotone palates into the mix, traditional primary colors commonly found in nature such as red, blue, green and yellow as well as black and white were used in the color scheme. Each shade conveyed a different meaning and the complements between the tones expressed the harmony of yin and yang. Compatible with any body type and designed for maximum mobility, the subtle shadows created by a hanbok’s movements highlight one’s naturally flowing silhouette.

Social media and the hanbok revival

In an attempt to speed up modernization, King Gojong, the penultimate monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, mandated fashion changes as part of the Gabo Reforms of 1895. Later, as ready-made clothing became increasingly available in the second half of the 20th century, fewer and fewer people wore the hanbok on a daily basis.

Over the last couple of years, however, that trend has reversed in a major way.

A simple hashtag search on Instagram for hanbok (written in Korean) produced over 400,000 public hits. A study conducted by SK Planet shows that between the years of 2014 and 2015 alone, Internet searches for hanbok more than doubled, from 960,000 to 2.1 million. Many of the photos you’ll find online are of young women in their teens or twenties wearing hanbok paired with walking shoes or sneakers. Choi Jung-chul of the Hanbok Advancement Center comments that while hanbok rentals steadily grew over the last four years thanks to efforts by Jeonju Hanok Village and elsewhere, interest in the costume really boomed last year, when the number of hanbok rental shops skyrocketed tenfold.

Is Hallyu playing a role?

Since foreign tourists account for a great percentage of those taking part in the hanbok craze, how much of the trend is related with Hallyu? Are K-pop celebrities who pose in hanbok or attend events in hanbok playing a part? Could the peaking interest be related to the costume’s appearance in dramas ?

Or is this a sudden wave of nationalism and nostalgia for tradition from today’s youth?

Many fashion analysts say it is likely the result of a combination of these factors, and also point to the fashion cycle. Kwon Mi-ru, blogger and instagrammer known to have traveled the world in her hanbok, cites another reason for the clothing’s sudden popularity. A May article in the Joongang Ilbo newspaper entitled “Hanbok is Preferable No Matter What” credits her with sparking the so-called “hanbokstagram” craze on Instagram. She told the paper the hanbok is in vogue again because it’s pleasing to the eye. “If wearing hanbok were a sudden display of nationalism or a marketing scheme, it would have faded out over time,” she says. “Today’s youth aren’t going back to tradition; they’re just trying to have fun.”

© LEESLE

Today’s trends and industry big names

Korean fashion designers who have been working closely with hanbok for years might not chalk up the trend to just fun, however. Not only are some of the biggest names in Korean fashion well versed in traditional hanbok, but many designers are also passionate about finding a new place for the costume in the modern world, or creating modern variations that are less intimidating for everyday use. Up-and-coming contemporary hanbok designer Lee Yebom says that modern hanbok are trending “very feminine and flowery.” The modern chima flares a lot less and often stops short a few inches above the knee. In contrast to the traditional hanbok’s vibrant color scheme, modern hanbok popularly use light pink and baby blue in spring and summer and muted tones of beige, navy and mustard yellow in autumn and winter. Straying away from convention, the jeogori often has a steeper necklace and floral prints. Yebom’s line, which you can browse on her Instagram account (@yebom_yangpum), reflects this contemporary hanbok style aimed at a younger market.

Luckily for Yebom, there are a handful of designers to look up to. Designer Lee Young-hee has been a doyen in the field for over forty years. She introduced her hanbok collection in Paris as far back as 1993 and brought  the costume to the runway of the French Haute Couture show in 2010. She’s paved the way for younger designers who continue to bring fresh material.

One such designer is Kim Young-Jin, who owns the brand Tchai Kim. Among Tchai Kim’s best known products is the chullik one-piece, a revamped version of military uniforms from the Joseon Dynasty. Hwang Lee-sle, CEO of the brand Leesle, is best known for her practical additions to hanbok. She has worked to incorporate hanbok into daily life by adding zippers instead of strings and making the fabric easier to throw in the wash. Another name working to make hanbok more mainstream is In Oh-kyung, who runs a hanbok company called Inohjudan. Trademarked by her hanbok featuring prints of the American cartoon character Spongebob, she was one of five Korean designers in Hollywood last year for a pre-Oscars fashion show that introduced the hanbok to an international audience.

Claiming international fame

The current push to promote hanbok traces back to 1996, when Hanbok Day was established. There were rather unfruitful campaigns to have people wear hanbok on the first Saturday of every month.

Years later in 2010, a biannual fashion show project called Concept Korea was launched by the Ministry of Culture in order to bring attention to Korean fashion. Though not limited to the hanbok, it put Korea in the spotlight. Just a year later, hanbok-inspired pieces were seen in the spring collections of both Chanel and Dior, further rousing the fashion world.

Amongst Koreans, and thanks in part to Kwon Mi-ru, the hashtag “hanbok travel” is trending on Instagram, and there are many young Korean women who are packing their hanbok on international trips. Student Lee Su-bin, who recently sat for an interview with Cosmopolitian Korea, said she wanted to combine her dream of becoming a designer with her dream of traveling the world. By wearing her hanbok on her travels, she believes she is able to customize her experience.

© SONJJANG Inc.

Wear hanbok and get free stuff

The boom of Korean tourism in 2013, along with the rise of Hallyu, also saw an increase in interest in traditional Korea.

There are several publicly run programs for those who are interested in hanbok and want to incorporate the clothing into their experience of the the city. The Seoul Global Tourism Center set up booths for a hands-on hanbok program, inviting visitors to try on the costume. Visitors wearing hanbok get free admission to all five of Seoul’s palaces. Recently, the fee waiver has gone so far as to include sought-after night palace tours as well.

The Jongno Ward Office announced just this past July that they would be starting an initiative named “Hanbok Love in Action” with restaurants in the district to offer a 10 percent discount for those who come to their restaurants dressed in hanbok.

While many professionals in the hanbok field welcome the heightened interest and social media activity, there is also concern that the immediate increase may be ephemeral. Hanbok designer In Oh-kyung, for instance, thinks the hanbok still has a long way to go. “Yes, hanbok culture is changing, but I hope that one day, it can become one part of fashion the same way that hip-hop or gothic have,” she says. “It’s yet to achieve that status, and in order for us to get there, we’ve got to find ways to integrate the clothing better into one natural part of society.”

Written by Hahna Yoon

Just Ordinary Clothes

Leesle Hwang strives to make the hanbok a piece of everyday life

Written by SEOUL staff

Hanbok designer Leesle Hwang wants to see more people in hanbok. It’s not a nationalist thing, however. “You shouldn’t wear them just because you’re Korean,” she explains. “I want to make the hanbok an outfit anybody can where every day, regardless of nationality, because it looks good.”

Hwang certainly puts her proverbial money where her mouth is. Check out her blog or her social media accounts, and you’ll find photos of her at cafés, at the movie theater, on the bus or even in clubs decked out in her hanbok. Its her “1,000 Actions in a Hanbok Challenge,” she calls it, and she hopes it will help make the outfit an ordinary presence in Korea’s street fashion ecosystem. “It’s my job to make it so that you can buy the hanbok in an ordinary clothing store, that it become a piece of clothing like blue jeans, something you can wear on a date.”

From cosplay to Vogue

The founder and CEO of casual hanbok brand Leesle and party hanbok brand Sonjjang, Hwang got her start 10 years ago when she was a college freshman studying to become a forest ranger. As part of a college comic book club, she designed a hanbok based on the designs in the Korean comic “Gung” for a springtime cosplay event. The outfit was a hit, and when she put it up for sale online, it quickly sold for KRW 80,000. “It was then that I realized I wasn’t the only person who wanted to wear the hanbok,” she recalls.

With just a computer, camera and KRW 45,000 registration fee, she founded an online shopping mall. Now she employs eight people and makes over KRW 1.5 billion in sales a year. She fields several orders a day from overseas buyers in Asia, Europe and America and elsewhere. She was even quoted in a recent issue of Vogue. And she’s still in her 20s.

Opening minds

Hwang’s designs add a very young, modern sensibility to Korea’s national dress. Her clothing is easy to wear, making use of zippers and other modern elements. They are machine washable. Hems are raised, skirts flare less, and traditional motifs are turned into one-piece dresses, slacks and even T-shirts.

Some of her designs are so innovative, in fact, that a few critics refuse to call them hanbok. Hwang takes a broad view, however. She says, “I think if a piece of clothing incorporates Korea’s naturalistic beauty, its philosophy or its materials, we can call it a hanbok.”

© LEESLE

www.sonjjang.com

Festival season is almost upon us! Planning an outdoor weekend of music and madness? Save yourself a whole lot of hassle and kit yourself out properly with this list of ten festival essentials.

Portable Speaker

Pulse2 LED Speaker | KRW 299,000 | JBL Korea

A portable speaker is a must for when the main stages get a bit too hectic, but you still want to chill out on a blanket with some tunes. Speakers with built-in LED lights are a great way to chill out post-sunset, and double as a handy lamp to help prevent trip ups on those pesky tent strings.

Portable Charger

800mAh Portable Charger | KRW 24,900 | Allo

We may not be able to predict the weather, or which artists that year will disappoint, but if there is one music festival certainty, it is that your phone will run out of battery at some point. Probably when you’re lost on your own in a sea of inebriated dubstep fans. Remembering to pack a portable charger is bound to save you complications, and also allows you to update Instagram with blurry mid-crowd selfies as often as you please.

Comfortable Sandals

Terra-Float Nova Sandal | USD 80 | Teva

Velcro shoes might not be the most aesthetically pleasing footwear on the planet, but it’s best to consider form before fashion when you’re planning on spending the best part of 48 hours on your feet. Luckily, some brands have launched festival-friendly sandals that aren’t too bad to look at. Pack a pair. Your toes will thank you later.

Sleeping Bag

Goose and Duck-down Sleeping Bag | KRW 53,900 | Flowing(available on GMarket)

You may wish to believe you’re hardcore enough to sleep with your arms folded into your t-shirt, but, let’s face it, you’re most likely going to regret not preparing something more comfortable come 5 AM. Bring a sleeping bag and pop it into your tent before you go off to party. It doesn’t mean you’re old; you’re just being prepared.

Sun Protection

Waterful Sun Essence | KRW 23,000 | Too Cool For School

Unless you plan on rocking the “I forgot to apply sunscreen” look for three weeks post-party, a bit of sun protection is vital for those long festival afternoons outdoors. Try choosing a sunscreen that also doubles as a light moisturizer; it’ll definitely help save your skin during three days of too much alcohol and little sleep.

Fanny Pack

Trekbag | KRW 9,800 | Contz (Available on GMarket)

No one wants to be bouncing around to a beat with a string bag strapped to their back. Phones and wallets in pockets are also a terrible idea if you’re planning on dancing the night away. Embrace looking like an early ’90’s reject, and invest in a cross-body fanny pack to keep your valuables safe.

Kaleidoscope Glasses

Kaleidocope Glasses | USD 60 | Future Eyes

Not necessarily an “essential,” but hugely fun all the same, kaleidoscope glasses take your musical experience to a new level with rainbow colored, multi-spectrum vision. Offering up these glasses to a nearby festival goer is also the perfect way to make new friends. But beware – these are addictive, so be sure to ask for them back.

Dry Shampoo

Dry Shampoo | KRW 8,000 | Innisfree

Part of the fun of a festival might be the feeling of “roughing it” outdoors, but that’s not to say one can’t invest in a few things to help take off the edge. A spritz of dry shampoo in the morning will tie you over till you’re back in the land of hot running water and fluffy bath towels.

Hand Sanitizer

Hand Sanitizer Gel | KRW 2,000 | Nature Republic

For when the inevitable grubby-festival-feeling sets in, but you can’t face twenty minutes in a line for the toilets just to wash your hands. Slap on some hand sanitizer before you dig into your fried chicken and avoid ingesting the germs of 10,000 people who also haven’t showered for a while.

Rain Poncho

Rain Poncho | KRW 1,000 | Daiso

No veteran festivalgoer ever let a little rain get in the way of a party! Stick a couple of disposable rain macs into your fanny pack to whip out in case of a downpour. These are especially necessary during Korea’s monsoon season; Mother Nature doesn’t care how much you paid for those tickets, unfortunately.

Written by Rhiannon Shepherd