June 12, 2013 / Issue No. 584

Around the Web

Korean culture classes are apparently popular in Kitakyushu grade schools.

Four unused posters for Spike Lee’s remake of “Oldboy.”

Should Korea introduce substitute holidays?

Foreign students are finding Korean universities are not everything they’d hoped.

The North Korean spy in Korean film.

If you’re a fan of night photography, check out the upcoming Nightscape exhibit at the art gallery in Gyeongbokgung Station on June 14—16.

The QiRanger explores Gyeongju’s Mt. Namsan.

What to do around Yangcheon Hyanggyo Station.

The Black Eagles above Haeundae Beach.

Just wandering a bit around Seochon.

Events

Ultra Korea 2013, an Asian version of the Miami-based Ultra Music Festival, will open June 14–15 at the Olympic Stadium Complex, promising to offer a site for a mammoth electronic dance get-together. Armin van Buuren, Avicii, Carl Cox, and Afrojack are only some of the A-list acts who will headline the event with their fist-pumping and electrifying house music. Eight new teams have recently been recruited from leading clubs based in Korea, Japan, China, and Indonesia, adding more of an Asian flavor to the show. The premiere of Kryoman’s robotic DJ set in Korea is set to steal the limelight.

VENUE: Seoul Olympic Stadium Complex

PERIOD: Jun 14–15

ADMISSION: KRW 110,000–200,000

MORE INFO: www.umfkorea.com

—Tickets: http://ticket.interpark.com/global

GETTING THERE: Sports Complex Station 종합운동장역 (Line 2), Exit 6, 7

Globally celebrated avant-garde modern dancer Hong Sin-cha will unveil a retrospective dance production that will revisit her artistic philosophy in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of her debut. The dance show, titled Ariadne’s Thread, will be staged on June 20 at the Seoul Arts Center. The title, based on the Greek legend of Ariadne, signifies the solving of a problem through all available means, an allusion to Hong’s lifelong journey toward artistic perfection. Joining as collaborators are Japanese pianist Tada Masami, Japanese lighting specialist So Masaru, and a number of classical vocalists and stage designers from Korea and India.

VENUE: Jayu Theater, Seoul Arts Center

DATES: Jun 20–21, 8pm / Jun 22–23, 5pm

ADMISSION: R: KRW 50,000, S: KRW 30,000

MORE INFO: T. 02-2272-2152, www.sinchahong.com

GETTING THERE: Nambu Terminal Station 남부터미널역 (Line 3), Exit 5

Celebrated career painter Kim Jong-hak is holding a solo retrospective exhibition that will dramatically present the gist of his artistic vision. The exhibition, prepared to time with his 77th birthday, will take place at Gallery Hyundai from June 12 through July 7. A total of 50 works will go on display, including his signature oil canvases of Mt. Seoraksan and woodprints that he created in the early stage of his career. As a resident artist of the mountain, he deals with its scenery, earning him the endearing title “Painter of Seorak.”

VENUE: Gallery Hyundai, Gallery Hyundai New Space & Dugahun Gallery

PERIOD: Jun 12–Jul 7

ADMISSION: TBA

MORE INFO: T. 02-2287-3500, www.galleryhyundai.com

GETTING THERE: 12 minute walk from Exit 1, Anguk Station, Line 3

The Paris-based museum Le Petit Palais’s digital collection of 40 masterpieces will be exhibited in Seoul from June 13. The original Revelations collection has been dubbed Secret Museum on its Korea tour. Great masters, including Veronese, Rembrandt, David, Delacroix, Courbet, and Van Gogh, are brought together in a digital pantheon. The exhibition of digital videos is designed as a real journey, where each of the forty works tells its own story. In addition, spectators are led to rediscover painting through the seven themes structuring the event: materials, perspectives, shadow, light, drawing, emotion, and color.

VENUE: Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul Arts Center

PERIOD: Jun 12–Sep 22

ADMISSION: KRW 12,000

MORE INFO: T. 02-580-1300, www.secretmuseum.co.kr

GETTING THERE: Nambu Terminal Station 남부터미널역 (Line 3), Exit 5

During this excursion of old Incheon, the RASKB will explore the many layers of Korean history since 1876 when the Treaty of Ganghwa with Japan forced Korea to open three ports to trade, one of which was Incheon. Incheon, or Chemulpo as it was called at the time, developed soon after to serve the needs of foreign traders. Trade brought Western missionaries, who built churches and schools; Chinese traders established a community that became Korea’s largest Chinatown. Many of the buildings and other landmarks of this early “international history” still remain.

DATE: June 16

COST: KRW 20,000 for members and KRW 25,000 for non-members

MORE INFO: See this link.

GETTING THERE: See link above.

Everyday Koreans

The historic Daeo Bookshop in Seoul’s Seochon district. The bookshop first opened in 1951. Photo by Robert Koehler.

Notifications

Seoul Selection via Ingram – Seoul Selection now has a direct wholesale distribution agreement with Ingram Book Group, the world’s largest wholesale distributor of publisher content. By choosing to allow Ingram to represent our material, we have opened our titles to a wider audience. Our titles will be available for order through Ingram at more than 35,000 distribution channels worldwide. Ask your local bookstore to have Seoul Selection titles available!

Send Your Event Info – If you would like to advertise any upcoming events you are organizing, please send us the press release material at book@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 book@seoulselection.com.

We Buy & Sell Used Books – Seoul Selection buys and sells used books in English. Unlike our regular selection of publications that specialize in Korea-related topics, our Used Book section carries books on all subjects. It’s all part of our effort to make life easier for the English-speaking community.

SEOUL (June 2013)

Buy Books at Seoul Selection’s ONLINE Bookshop!

Korean Food : The Originality, The Impression

Man on the Edge

A Tour of Changdeokgung Palace Explained by Cultural Heritage Commentators

4cut Cartoon Korean: Onomatopoeia, Mimetic word

Translation Talks

Understanding Interpretation & Translation

The World of Alleys (photo collection)

Asako In Ruby Shoes

Family Mart

Marrying the Mafia 5 – Return of the Family

The Etudes of Love

Night and Day