March 20, 2013 / Issue No. 572

We are looking for writers to pen the Korea Essential 2013 series, a cooperative project between the Korea Foundation and Seoul Selection. We’ve published 12 volumes so far, which you can find on Seoul Selection’s online bookshop. This year, we plan to release four volumes: Hanbok and Korean Fashion, Taekwondo, Korean Traditional Medicine, and Korean Dance. Each volume is about 20,000 words; manuscripts should focus on providing readers fun, easy explanations rather than excessively technical content.

If you are interested in writing, please send a resume and writing sample to the appropriate supervisor below:

Hanbok and Korean Fashion: Hye Young Park pubco@seoulselection.com

Taekwondo: Hwa-pyeong Kim word@seoulselection.com

Korean Traditional Medicine: Eugene Kim planner@seoulselection.com

Korean Dance: Jin Lee publisher@seoulselection.com

Around the Web

Experiencing Korean culture at Incheon International Airport.

Yonhap interviews the head of Harvard’s Korea Institute.

A Korean photographer examines cross dressing through history.

A North Korean taunt spotlights
gender issues in inter-Korean relations.

Plastic surgery baffles inbound tourists.

Seoul from Mt. Achasan.

Dale visits the ruins of Gulbulsa in Gyeongju.

Fun times in Wolmido with Steve.

Let’s explore the Sangdo Station area.

The Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival is coming soon!

Events

This month the annual Tongyeong International Music Festival kicks off its 10th year as the premier western classical music showcase in Korea. If you’re headed to Tongyeong for the music fest or just looking for a good getaway anytime of year, we’ve got some tips on where to go and what to do.

VENUE: Tongyeong Citizens’ Center and other venues of Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do

PERIOD: Mar 23–28

ADMISSION: Depends on program

MORE INFO: T. 02-3474-8315, www.timf.org

GETTING THERE: Express buses to Tongyeong depart from Seoul Express Bus Terminal (travel time: 4 hours).

The biggest Irish band since U2 comes to Korea for the first time ever. So much has changed for the Script since they released their first album four years ago. First they broke into Ireland and Britain; then the States; then everywhere from Asia to South Africa. Along the way, they toured with U2, Take That, and Paul McCartney, sailed through the second-album syndrome that sinks so many bands, played to a 55,000-strong crowd at an historic hometown show in Dublin, amassed almost four million followers on Facebook and 1.5 million on Twitter, and saw their singer star on TV talent show The Voice. Their music has been featured in popular television programs such as 90210, Ghost Whisperer, The Hills, Waterloo Road, East Enders, Made in Chelsea, and The Vampire Diaries.

VENUE: Uniqlo AX

DATE: Mar 27

ADMISSION: KRW 110,000

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

MORE INFO: T. 02-332-3277

GETTING THERE: Gwangnaru Station 광나루역 (Line 5), Exit 2

English actress and singer Jane Birkin will dedicate her upcoming Seoul concert to her lifelong music partner and composer Serge Gainsbourg. In 1969, she and Serge Gainsbourg released the song “Je t’aime… moi non plus” (“I love you… me neither”), written by Gainsbourg and featuring both of them on vocals, which caused a scandal for its sexual explicitness. Some 20-plus years after his death, Birkin’s devotion to spreading his work around the world has raised his profile. Currently, Birkin is working with a jazzy quartet of European-based Japanese musicians.

VENUE: Universal Art Center

DATE: Mar 30, 7pm

ADMISSION: R: KRW 132,000, S: KRW 110,000, A: KRW 88,000

MORE INFO: T. 02-6339-1232

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

GETTING THERE: Achasan Station 아차산역 (Line 5), Exit 3

In English, the maehwa is called the “ume flower,” and Gwangyang-si was the first place in Korea where ume flowers were cultivated in bulk. This flower festival was the earliest of its kind and started in 1997 to publicize the ume flower, its fruit (a form of plum), and products made from them. The festival site is noted for its scenic beauty, filled with ume blossoms, and a famous Korean movie, “Chihwaseon,” and TV show, “Damo,” were filmed on this location.

VENUE: Gwangyang Maehwa Village, Jeollanam-do

PERIOD: Mar 23–31

ADMISSION: Free

MORE INFO: T. 061-797-3714, www.gwangyang.go.kr/gymaehwa

GETTING THERE: It takes more than three hours to get from Seoul to Gwangju Gwangcheon by express bus.

VENUE: Novotel Ambassador Gangnam

DATE: Mar 21, 4pm–9:30pm

MORE INFO: www.accessmba.com

GETTING THERE: Sinnonhyeon Station 신논현역 (Line 9), Exit 4

Located in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province, Sewang Brewery is one of Korea’s oldest continuously functioning breweries. Built in 1930, and run by the same family for three generations, the beautiful wooden brewery—built of pine cut from the forests of Mt. Baekdusan—was so perfectly designed for its task, that when repair work was done in 2006, it was discovered its framework hadn’t rotted at all. The clay jars in the fermentation room are from the 1930s, too. The brewery even got featured in cartoonist Huh Young-man‘s serial in the Dong-A Ilbo, “Sikgaek.” If you’re a fan of makgeolli, you won’t want to miss this excursion—Sewang Brewery produces some of the finest makgeolli in the Republic of Korea, along with a wide variety of other interesting yakju (medicinal liquors). We’ll be trying some of its firewater at the brewery’s recently built tasting center and gallery.

PS: I’ll be leading this tour.

DATE: March 30

COST: 65,000 won for members and 78,000 won for non-members

MORE INFO: See this link.

GETTING THERE: See link above.

The blog Seoul Village is collecting recordings of the voices of the criers hawking services in Seoul’s various neighborhoods. Got a recording device? Why not help Seoul Village out. See this link for more information.

Everyday Koreans

Amseojae, a scenic pavilion used by 17th century scholar Song Si-yeol during his time in exile in the Hwayang Valley, Goesan. Photo by Robert Koehler.

Notifications

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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.