April 10, 2013 / Issue No. 575

Goodreads will be giving away 20 copies of Maija Rhee Devine’s The Voices of Heaven through May 5. Only residents of Korea or the United States can participate.

Psy—yes, one of TIME’s most influential people—is releasing his next single “Gentleman” at a concert at World Cup Stadium. Even if you can’t make the concert, he’ll be streaming it live via YouTube. Reflecting Psy’s newly won status as a global superstar, the world media is already focusing its attention on the event.

VENUE: Sangam Seoul World Cup Stadium

DATE: Apr 13, 6:30pm

ADMISSION: SR: KRW 110,000, R: KRW 99,000, S: KRW 88,000, A: KRW 77,000, B: KRW 55,000

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

MORE INFO: T. 1544-1555

GETTING THERE: World Cup Stadium 월드컵경기장역 (Line 5), Exit 1

The annual Yeouido Spring Flower Festival is set to return Apr 12–18 when 1,700 cherry trees erupt into magnificent clouds of pink. The spring’s spectacular show gets under way along the 1.7-kilometer-long street behind the National Assembly building. At night, the cherry blossoms are lit up with various colored lights. A wide range of street performances such as mime and modern dance as well as art exhibitions also take place.

VENUE: Yeouido

PERIOD: Apr 12–18

ADMISSION: Free

MORE INFO: www.ydp.go.kr

GETTING THERE: National Assembly Station 국회의사당역 (Line 9), Exit 1

We are looking for writers to pen the Korea Essentials 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

North Korean BBQ diplomacy in New Jersey.

Korean-language broadcasts are a hit in Nepal.

Two adopted Korean twin sisters have found each other via Facebook.

“Gangnam Style” has been a boon for Korean fashion designers.

An editor worries about the future of the coffee industry.

Misty mountains and a lone highway in the Suritijae Pass.

Spring comes to Bongeunsa Temple.

The QiRanger does Korean street food.

Dale goes to Unsusa Temple.

Yellow flowers and snowcapped peaks of Mt. Jirisan.

Events

Korean hanbok design brand Jilkyungyee will be marking the Inter-Pacific Bar Association’s annual meeting in Seoul with a fashion show at the MBC historical drama set in Yongin on April 18 (8pm). Featuring the participation of 35 lawyers and their families from 13 nations, the show will help participants better understand the characteristics of Korean traditional clothing and how to wear them. The next day (11am, 2pm), Jilkyungyee will host a cultural experience program at its new hanok cultural hall, Mubongheon, in Samcheong-dong.

For more information, call (02) 744-5606.

Professor Liazzat Bonate will discuss her ongoing research on Islam in Mozambique, which she has been conducting for more than fifteen years. She argues that the unwarranted perceived marginality of Muslims in this region has stemmed from 1) history, especially of the Indian Ocean region of which Mozambique was not only an integral part but also a center of for more than seven centuries, and 2) Islam, which has been dominated by the Orientalist and Islamist search for the “true essence” and authority in Islam, resulting in the marginalization in the public sphere of the religious conceptions and practices that continued to be central to local life of the most global Muslim communities, including Mozambique.

VENUE: Seoul National University Yeongeon Campus College of Medicine Education Building, Room 117

DATE: Apr 17, 7pm

ADMISSION: Free

GETTING THERE: Hyehwa Station, Line 4, Exit 3

English boys choir Libera comes to Korea. With 40 members between the ages of seven and sixteen recruited from the London area, the group blends a variety of musical forms, including classical, Gregorian chant, and pop.

VENUE: Sejong Center for the Performing Arts

DATE: Apr 13, 5pm

ADMISSION: R: KRW 99,000, S: KRW 77,000, A: KRW 55,000, B: KRW 33,000

MORE INFO: T. 02-548-4480, www.sejongpac.or.kr

GETTING THERE: Gwanghwamun Station, Line 5, Exits 1 & 8.

A world-renowned installation artist and photographer,
Georges Rousse creates pieces whose beauty come from the crossover between the second and third dimensions. Hangaram Art Museum invites spectators to observe and feel “the flat and the cubic” and “reality and apparition” simultaneously, allowing for an interesting and peculiar experience.

VENUE: Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul Arts Center

PERIOD: Apr 15–May 25

ADMISSION: Adults: KRW 5,000, Students: KRW 3,000

MORE INFO: T. 02-580-1300, www.sac.or.kr

GETTING THERE: Nambu Bus Terminal Station 남부터미널역 (Line 3), Exit 5. Transfer to shuttle bus, or green bus No. 4429.

The Olleh International Smartphone Film Festival will open in Seoul on April 17, helping explore a new avenue for filmmaking in an era of media revolution.

The three-day event is an annual film competition that brings together 10-minute shorts produced solely by the use of smartphones. The festival aims to encourage work from aspiring filmmakers and amateurs who don’t have access to the more expensive production equipment. Some candidates will use smartphone video editing apps, while others choose to use PC tools.

This year’s opener, titled Drawing Paper, was produced by a group of children living on remote islands under the guidance of filmmaker Bong Man-dae.

There are three competition sections: local moviemakers, teen filmmakers, and a newly added group for international contestants. The festival has also introduced a section for children; last year, judges gave out special prizes to middle schoolers.

VENUE: COEX Millennium Square & Megabox

PERIOD: Apr 17–20

MORE INFO: www.ollehfilmfestival.com

GETTING THERE: Samseong Station (Line 2)

During this excursion of Daehangno and Hyehwa-dong, the RAS-KB will look at a variety of styles of Korean architecture in the 20th century. The excursion will begin around Marronnier Park, which is where Seoul National University and its Japanese colonial forerunner, Gyeongseong Imperial University, were located. Several university buildings built during the colonial period still stand, including the former headquarters building, which was designed by Park Kil-yong (1898–1943), a noted Korean architect during the colonial period. The tour will then move through Hyehwa-dong and Seongbuk-dong, stopping by fascinating pieces of historical architecture along the way.

DATE: April 13

COST: KRW 20,000 for members and KRW 25,000 for nonmembers

MORE INFO: See this link.

GETTING THERE: See link above.

Everyday Koreans

Wando Harbour in the far south of Korea. Photo by Arnab Sen.

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.