Opening a communicative space

between Korea and the world

Manhwa!
The colorful world
of Korean comics
4
APRIL
ISSN: 2005-2162

2009
  April 2009
CONTENTS  VOL. 8 / NO. 4

06 10 22 28 54 62
Publisher
Yoo Jin-hwan
Korean Culture and
Information Service
06 News in Focus
• Magic! Romance! Drama!
Manhwa Takes on the World

• S eoul Classical Concerts Celebrate
Three Illustrious Anniversaries
• Opera Astride the River Han in 2014
51
Hidden Champions
• Research and Creativity Keys to
HJC’s Success
Chief Editor • Capturing the Great in Spirit

10 Diplomacy • An Italian Beloved in Korea:

52 Sports
Ko Hye-ryun

Editing & Printing • Lee Turns Eyes Toward Asia Giovanni Mirabassi • Surprise Wins for Two Golfers
JoongAng Daily • Iraq and Korea Sign Oil Development Memo • Into the Wild Blue Yonder • A sad ending to a great story
Cover Photo E-mail • Sweden Brings Seoul Photos, Music for 50th

The Busan International
Kite Festival took place
March 7 and 8.
34 54
webmaster@korea.net
• Celebrating Six Decades of Joint Struggle and Joy Korean Literature Travel
Design • Eun Hee-gyeong: Life as a Lyrical Cynic • Wisdom of the Mountains

14
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form without permission from Korea
and the Korean Culture and Information Service.
• Computerizing Egyptian Culture
• Innovation Index Places Korea at No. 2 38 Korea through the Lens
• Maori Greetings, Flammingos dancing... 60
Fashion
• Bridal Trends for Spring 2009
’Tis the Season for Married Bliss
• New Support for Local Expatriates

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• A Phone That Can Scream • 27 Years Inside ‘Unknown’ Korea
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4 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 5


T
his year marks the 100th
anniversary of the manhwa,
or Korean comic book. And
like its American cousin,
the history of manhwa is one of ups and
downs. In the 1970s schools nationwide
saw comic book burnings, as manhwa
were seen by most Korean parents as an
evil distraction from schoolwork.
But this wasn’t enough to keep the
Korean comic book industry from
thriving.
The late ’70s and ’80s were a golden
age for Korean comics, with many series
vaulting to great success, and some even
making the leap to animated films.
With the advent of book rental shops
in the 1990s, however, the comic book
industry lost its momentum as people
began to rent comics instead of buying
them. The spread of high-speed Inter-
net throughout Korea further damaged
the manhwa industry as readers scanned
their favorite comics page by page and
made them available for free over the
Web.
But in every crisis there is also
opportunity, and Korean comics pub-
lishers have found new ways to survive
— by expanding into overseas markets.
Participating in international con-
ventions such as the Frankfurt Book
Fair and Festival International de la
Bande Desinée in Angouleme first
brought the colorful Korean books
overseas in the late 1990s.
“Before 2003, only a handful of
a !
Korean comics were
D r a m l d
exported to
nc e ! Wo r
m a t h e
e
So-he
R o
©Park
! n
tory”
o
lace S
i c
“Pa
M a g a k e s
a T
h w
Man Her Majesty...
the Queen...?
6 korea April 2009
some Southeast Asian nations, and car-
toonists thought it was not a big deal,”
said Park Si-hyung, an official at the
Korea Culture and Content Agency.
“But the decisive moment came at
the 2003 Angouleme FIBD as Korea
became the guest of honor at the inter-
national comic book fair. After that,
Korea’s comic book industry started to
witness remarkable export growth,”
added Park.
According to the KCCA, $1.9 mil-
lion worth of comic book licenses and
exports were recorded in 2004. It
reached $4 million in 2007. Between
2004 and 2007, the comic book industry
reported average annual growth of 27.8
percent compared to 18.3 percent aver-
age growth for other cultural exports.
From 2005 to 2007, revenues were
highest in European countries, which
accounted for 38.3 percent. North
America came in next at 21.5 percent,
Japan at 16 percent and Southeast Asian
nations at 12.5 percent.
With this evidence of the potential
of Korean comics, the central govern-
ment recently announced that it will
spend 142.5 billion won ($96.9 million)
over the next five years to nurture the
industry.
And Seoul expects a hefty return on
its investment: 7 trillion won in sales, $2
billion in exports and 10,000 new job
opportunities.
News in Focus
A special booth was set up at the
Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy
last month, and the Korean Culture
Center in Paris, France — certainly the
most comic-obsessed European coun-
try — hosted a special exhibition for
Korean comics earlier this year.
Manhwa’s even expanding into the
former colonies of the home of beloved
comic characters Tintin and Asterix.
Daewon Culture Industry Inc., one of
the largest local comic book publishers,
said in January that its title “Witch
Hunter” by Cho Jung-man will be pub-
lished in Algeria.
Korean comic books have been
exported to Asia, Europe, North Amer-
ica, Latin America and Oceania. But
Witch Hunter, the story of a group of
warriors who fight against witches, will
be the first manhwa to be exported to an
African country.
Many other Korean comic books are
getting rave reviews from foreign read-
ers.
“Priest” by Hyung Min-woo and
“Ragnarok” by Lee Myung-jin were
among the first Korean comic books to
attract attention from foreign readers
and publishers.
Both Priest and Ragnarok are based
in fictional worlds, and the
characters’
Provided by Seoul Cultural Publishers, Inc
April 2009 korea 7
News in Focus
nationalities are unclear. Priest has been translated
into 15 languages including English, French, German
and Spanish.
“The first export contract was made back in 2001,
and Priest was exported to more than 20 countries
because one language could cover a couple of coun-
tries. For example, once Priest is translated into Eng-
lish, it can be sold in the U.S., Canada, Britain and
Australia,” said Roh Ji-young, an official at Daewon
C&I.
The film rights to Priest were even sold in Holly-
wood and a film adaptation of the comic book direct-
ed by Scott Charles Stewart, who worked on visual
effects in “Sin City” and “Iron Man,” is now in produc-
tion according to U.S. entertainment news reports.
“Priest is the first Korean comic book to be made
into a film by Hollywood, which is a great achievement
for the Korean cartoon industry,” said Roh.
Ragnarok has also been exported to as many as 30
countries.
So what makes Korean comic books so appealing
to foreign readers and publishers?
“There are two different preferences among for-
eign buyers. Some prefer the universal topics and char-
acters that are found in Priest and Ragnarok,” said Jang
Sun-young, an official at the Seoul Animation Cen-
ter.
“But others prefer to purchase comic books that are
heavily accented with Korean sentiments such as Kim
Dong-hwa’s ‘Story of Gisaeng’ or Lee Do-ho’s
‘Suhoji.’”
Gisaeng were female entertainers in the Joseon
Dynasty (1392-1910) who served the nobility, while
Suhoji is a fictional story about men who fight against
corrupt government authorities in Ming Dynasty Chi-
na.
Romance comics are also best sellers. “Gung” or
“Palace Story” by Park So-hee went on sale in 13 coun-
tries including Japan and Taiwan after the Korean TV
drama series based on the manhwa proved an immense
hit in Asian nations.
Riding this wave of popularity, some Korean car-
toonists have teamed up with local publishers or other
industries for new creative projects.
Cartoonist Byun Byung-joon joined with a French
publisher to work on a comic titled “First Snow” last
year.
The characters in “The Thousand and One Nights”
by Han Seung-hee are used on stationery goods such
8 korea April 2009
News in Focus
The govern-
Provided by Ani Books
as notepads and pencil cases in Ger- “And the Korean educational comic book market
many, and “P.K” by Park Chul-ho was is huge. That specific genre might open a new era for ment’s investing
made into an online game in France. the Korean comic book industry,” added Park. almost $100
Provided by Seoul Animation Center
Despite positive feedback from Educational manhwa address historical events, sci- million in me
overseas markets, industry experts say entific principles or even math formulas. This genre is
and my friends!
the Korean comic industry faces several especially popular in Asian nations where parents put
problems in cementing its position. pressure on their children to perform academically.
“Almost every foreign buyer says The “Why?” manhwa deals with all kinds of ques-
Korea has run out of resources, meaning tions, from how the brain functions to how stars are
more new comic books should come created, and it’s sold a total of 750,000 copies in France,
out,” said Jang Sun-young at the Seoul China and Taiwan, according to Yerimdang, the pub-
Animation Center. lisher of the series. “Luna Park” ©Hong In-hye, Aui Books
Park of the Korea Culture and Con- A similar comic titled “Survival Series” has sold recession-proof.
tent Agency agrees. “Korea needs to more than 1 million copies in Taiwan and China, says “I expect surging demand for rela-
develop new content, because we’ve I-Seum, the publisher. tively cheap leisure activities this year,
exported almost all our comic books in The Korean Literature Translation Institute says a such as watching films, playing games
recent years. But Korean copyright law total of 1,103 types of books were exported to 23 coun- or reading comic books. As a good
Provided by Ani Books
and market saturation make it difficult tries last year. Among them, one-third were educa- example of this, the U.S. saw an 18 per-
for cartoonists and publishers to embark tional comics. cent increase in movie ticket sales dur-
on new projects.” “Whether traditional or educational comics, the ing January and February from a year
In order to cope with these issues, world’s comic industry shows more than 40 percent ago, which is the biggest sales increase
the Seoul Animation Center launched a annual growth, and Korea could become a beneficiary in two decades,” said Han Seung-ho, an
program last year to support Korean of this booming industry,” Ko Suck-man, head of the analyst at Shinyoung Securities.
cartoonists and allow them to work on Korea Culture and Content Agency, told reporters ear- “When the economy hits bottom,
new comics aimed at export. lier this year. people want to entertain themselves
Hyung Min-woo’s “Ghost Face” was Industry experts also forecast a rosy future for the at low cost,” Han said.
Provided by Daewon C. I. Inc
selected for financial support from the entertainment industry, which is usually considered  By Sung So-young
animation center last year.
“Ghost Face enjoys high popularity, From left, “I.N.V.U.”
almost like Hyung’s previous hit, Priest, ©Kim Kang-won, “La
in many countries and some want to Mosca” ©Kang Hyung-
purchase the film rights for it,” said Jang. kyu, “Chunchu” ©Kim
“When comics are adapted into other
Provided by Haksan Publishing Co.
Sung-jae, Kim Byung-jin
genres such as online or mobile games
and films, Korea can expect more reve-
nue.”
Despite concerns, the Korean comic
Provided by Daewon C. I. Inc
industry does enjoy competitiveness in
one niche market in particular: online
“webtoons” and educational comics.
“Korea’s high Internet penetration
and great IT infrastructure led it to
develop unique webtoons. I believe this
From gun-slinging priests has potential,” says Park of the Korea
Provided by Haksan Publishing Co.
fighting vampires to Culture and Content Agency.
Webtoons, published on commer-
Provided by Daewon C. I. Inc
sweet tales of young
love in a changing city, cial and personal sites, usually have
there’s a manhwa for faster-paced plots than conventional
every conceivable taste. comics.
April 2009 korea 9
Diplomacy
President Lee Myung-bak, left, and Austra-
lian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Lee Turns Eyes Toward Asia
A
new diplomatic initiative to
engage with Asia-Pacific
nations was announced by
President Lee Myung-bak
on March 8, marking a shift in the focus
of Seoul’s foreign policy from the four
global powers to relations with its
regional neighbors.
From March 2 to 8, Lee traveled to
New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia,
his first overseas trip of the year. At the
end of his three-nation tour, Lee held a
breakfast meeting with Seoul’s top 25
envoys to the region and spoke about his
“New Asia Initiative.”
10 korea April 2009
“Last year, Korean diplomacy was
concentrated on the four global super-
powers that affect Korea the most,” Lee
said at the meeting. Lee said his govern-
ment’s foreign policy concentration on
Washington, Tokyo, Beijing and Mos-
cow last year had been successful and
that the time has come to reach out to
Korea’s neighbors.
“This year, it is urgent that we
improve our relationships with our
Asian neighbors,” Lee said. “That’s why
I visited New Zealand, Australia and
Indonesia, and the tour was successful.
I have accomplished substantial results
[Joint press corps]
in economic and security cooperation.”
Under President Lee’s “New Asia
Initiative,” Seoul’s goal is to speak for
Asian nations in the international com-
munity. According to the Blue House,
Korea seeks to cooperate with its Asia-
Pacific neighbors while playing a lead-
ing role in resolving transnational tasks
such as the financial crisis and climate
change. Seoul will focus on diplomacy
to encourage free trade and investment
within the region.
The initiative includes signing free
trade agreements with all Asian nations,
creating a pan-Asian economic and
trade network of which Korea would be the hub, pres-
idential aides said.
During Lee’s visits to New Zealand and Australia,
Korea declared the official start of bilateral free trade
negotiations with the two nations.
Seoul will also seek to form “tailored economic
cooperation relationships” with each of its Asian
neighbors. “To this end, Korea needs a strategy to
effectively use its technology in information, telecom-
munications and defense in return for energy and
natural resources,” Lee said.
The aim of Lee’s ongoing presidential diplomacy
will be the success of his New Asia Initiative. He will
attend the G20 financial summit in London and the
Asean Plus Three conference in Thailand this month
with an eye to that goal.
Lee is also scheduled to attend a series of multilat-
eral summits around the world. On June 1 and 2, Korea
will host a summit with the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations on Jeju Island to mark the 20th anniver-
sary of Korea-Asean ties. Lee will also tour Central
Asia in May.
The World Economic Forum on East Asia will also
take place here in Seoul in June. There 300 global lead-
ers from business, government and academia will
gather to help shape Asia’s political, industrial and eco-
nomic agenda.
Lee also said Korea will try to form cooperative
relationships with like-minded groups on different
topics such as climate change, the financial crisis and
development through an “Asia Caucus.” A trilateral
summit with Australia and Indonesia during the G20
summit in London will be a trial run for that idea.
Despite the global economic downturn, Korea will
not decrease its official development assistance to
developing economies in Asia. Lee said his govern-
ment will also share local expertise about industrial
development and overcoming financial crises with
Korea’s neighbors.
During his tours of New Zealand, Australia and
Indonesia, Lee held bilateral summits with each
nation’s leaders and discussed in-depth cooperation in
various issues ranging from North Korea’s nuclear
weapons to the global financial crisis. Climate change
and green growth were also important topics.
During the summit between Lee and New Zealand
Prime Minister John Key on March 3, the two leaders
agreed to enhance their cooperation in science, tech-
nology and education. New Zealand also promised to
support Korean agricultural reform.
Lee held a summit with Australian Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd on March 5 and agreed to strengthen
cooperation on security issues in the region and around
the globe, establishing a bilateral framework for joint
efforts on combating terrorism, proliferation of weap-
ons of mass destruction and other global threats. Lee
Diplomacy
and Rudd issued a document titled
“Joint Statement on Enhanced Global
and Security Cooperation.”
The two leaders also declared that
2011 will be South Korea-Australia
friendship year, marking the 50th anni-
versary of the establishment of diplo-
matic relations between the two coun-
tries.
During his time in Indonesia, Lee
met with Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono on March 6. The
two leaders agreed to broaden their
cooperation from trade and investment
to green technology, clean energy and
information technology.
Lee and Yudhoyono agreed on a
joint recycled energy project to take
place on 700,000 hectares of Indonesian
forest. Lee also expressed his desire to
extend the contract on Korea’s first over-
seas oil field development program in
Indonesia’s West Madura, and Yud-
hoyono responded positively.
The two countries agreed that Korea
will export defense technology to help
the Indonesian Air Force replace its
aging F-5 fighter jets.
Blue House spokesman Lee Dong-
kwan also said South Korea, Australia
[Yonhap]
and Indonesia agreed to work together
to draft a proposal to dispose of toxic
Top, New Zealand Prime assets on the financial market and will
Minister John Key, bottom, present it at the G20 summit in London
Indonesian President Susilo in April. Korea’s experience in the after-
Bambang Yudhoyono math of the 1997 financial crisis will
serve as the basis of the proposal, the
presidential spokesman said.
During his bilateral summits with
leaders of New Zealand, Australia and
Indonesia, President Lee explained to
the leaders in detail Korea’s vision of
low-carbon green growth. All the lead-
ers showed enthusiastic support for the
Lee administration’s plan, the Foreign
Ministry in Seoul said.
“Lee’s tour of the three Asia-Pacific
‘This year, it is nations took place ahead of his sched-
uled trip to Central Asia and Korea’s
urgent that we hosting of the special summit of 10 Ase-
improve our an member nations,” the Foreign Minis-
try said. “The trip was Korea’s first step
relationships to broaden its diplomatic horizons in
with our Asian the Asia-Pacific region under the ‘New
Asia Initiative’.”
neighbors.’  By Ser Myo-ja
April 2009 korea 11
Diplomacy
Iraq and Korea Sign Oil Development Memo
S outh Korea and Iraq agreed on Feb.
24 on a $3.55 billion oil-for-develop-
ment deal.
After their summit, President Lee
Myung-bak and Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani signed a memorandum of
understanding on the project, the Blue
House said. South Korea will provide
Iraq $3.55 billion in social overhead
capital, including construction of power
generation facilities, in return for a stake
in oil fields in Iraq’s southern region of
Basra.
Basra is the port area near the Per-
sian Gulf that produces most of Iraq’s
crude. The region’s main oil field, West
Qurnah, is believed to hold reserves of
15 billion barrels, with 17 billion in
Rumaylah and another 11 billion in
Majnun.
“The deal will allow Korea to secure
about 2 billion barrels of crude oil,” said
Lee Dong-kwan, spokesman for Presi-
dent Lee. “Korea imports about 870 mil-
lion barrels of oil annually, so that
amount is enough to cover roughly
three years of oil consumption.”
A press release from the Blue House
added, “The deal is significant because
Korean companies have secured a way
into Iraq’s reconstruction market. In
addition to the Korea National Oil Cor-
poration’s ongoing oil-for-development
project in the northern Kurdish region,
it is important to see such economic
Sweden Brings Photos, Music for 50th Anniversary
The Swedish Embassy in Seoul also
has reason to celebrate this year, mark-
ing the 50th anniversary of the estab-
lishment of diplomatic relations
between Sweden and Korea.
To commemorate the occasion, the
Swedish Embassy has opened a new
office near Namdaemun in downtown
Seoul.
Meanwhile, the Swedish Embassy
12 korea April 2009
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak shakes hands with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani dur-
ing the latter’s visit to Seoul.
cooperation spread to Iraq’s south.”
The Blue House said, “We import
about 80 percent of our oil from the
Middle East, but have no stake in oil
fields in the region. The Basra area oil
fields are a stable source, and we will ask
the state-run energy firms as well as pri-
vate energy and construction compa-
nies to join.”
According to the Knowledge Econ-
omy Ministry, the Seoul and local com-
panies will invest $1 billion to build
power plants in Iraq. About $500 mil-
lion worth of water tankers and $500
million worth of garbage trucks will also
in Seoul is gearing up to celebrate the
anniversary. According to Swedish
Ambassador to Seoul Lars Vargo, vari-
ous cultural events are being planned,
including exhibitions and performanc-
es to be presented in Seoul throughout
the year.
The first was a photo exhibition
held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Trade on Feb. 27 and 28 consisting
[Yonhap]
be supplied.
Seoul also assigned diplomatic
meaning to the deal. When the Korea
National Oil Corporation signed a deal
to develop oil fields with the Kurdish
autonomous government, it created
tension with the Iraqi central govern-
ment, but this new deal between Seoul
and Baghdad helped resolve those
issues.
Talabani is the first Iraqi leader to
visit South Korea since the two countries
established diplomatic ties in 1989. South
Korea ended its non-combat deployment
in Iraq last year.  By Ser Myo-ja
of more than 30 pieces documenting
relations between Seoul and Stock-
holm. The Swedish a cappella ensemble
the Real Group will also perform in
Korea in May and will return to par-
ticipate in a major event planned for
Aug. 31 commemorating the 50th
anniversary of relations between Swe-
den and Korea. 
 By Park Sun-young
Celebrating Six Decades
of Joint Struggle and Joy
A
t the end of May a Manila fiesta comes to
the heart of Seoul, as part of the 60-year
anniversary of diplomatic relations between
Korea and the Philippines.
And the jubilant occasion is being celebrated with
special events all year round both here and in the island
nation.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
earlier designated March 3, 2009 as Philippines-Korea
Friendship Day and the year 2009 as Philip-
pines-Korea Friendship Year to com-
memorate the 60th anniversary of bilat-
eral diplomatic relations. The announce-
ment was made by Luis T. Cruz, the Phil-
ippine ambassador to Korea, at a com-
memorative ceremony on March 3 at the
Westin Chosun Hotel in downtown Seoul.
“Philippines-Korea Friendship Day has been des-
ignated in honor of our last 60 years and the mainte-
nance of friendly relations between our two countries
through increased cooperation and exchange,” Cruz
said. “Milestones like today’s 60th anniversary offer us
an occasion to revisit our past, take stock of our accom-
plishments and define a clearer path for our future.”
Events will be organized by the Philippine Embas-
sy in Seoul throughout the year, including the exhibit
“One Philippines” at the end of May and a showing of
“The Forgotten War,” a documentary about Filipino
soldiers who participated in the Korean War
(1950-1953).
As part of the celebration, Korea Post and the Phil-
ippine Postal Cooperation have printed two com-
memorative stamps. One features Korea’s “Sonori in
Hangawi,” a comic play featuring cows performed at
Chuseok, Korea’s Thanksgiving, and the other, the
Philippine Panagbenga Flower Festival.
The most notable of the events to be organized by
the Philippine Embassy in Seoul this year is likely to be
the One Philippines exhibit to take place in the plaza
in front of Seoul City Hall on May 30-31.
For the occasion, the plaza will be transformed into
a grand, open exhibition area showcasing the history,
culture, tradition and business environment of the
Philippines. Performances by Filipino artists, includ-
ing some lively street dances, will spice up the two-day
Diplomacy
Provided by Korea Post
These anniversary stamps celebrate tradi-
tional festivals in Korea and the Philippines.
event. The exhibition will be preceded
by a fashion show featuring Philippine
and Korean designs at the Lotte Hotel in
downtown Seoul on May 29.
The documentary “The Forgotten
War” recreates important battle scenes
and throws a spotlight on Filipino sol-
diers who served during the Korean War.
At the outbreak of the war, the Philip-
pines deployed more than 7,000 soldiers
as part of the United Nations Command
to help South Korea defend itself from
the invasion of the communist North.
The 90-minute film will be released at the
National Theater of Korea on April 14,
but there is a special screening for the
Filipino community in Korea at the
Dongsoong Art Center on April 12.
‘Milestones In addition, the Philippine Marker
paying tribute to Filipino soldiers who
like today... participated in the Korean War will be
unveiled at the UN Memorial Cemetery
offer us an in Busan on May 28.
occasion to The past six decades have brought
many advances to the relationship
revisit our between Korea and the Philippines.
past, take By the end of 2008, trade volume
between the two nations had topped $8
stock of our billion. The number of travelers between
them reached 720,000 last year. In addi-
accomplish- tion, the Korean community in the Phil-
ments and ippines is larger than any other in the
region, while the number of Filipinos in
define a clear- Korea is also significant, nearly 50,000
er path for our in number, according to Korea’s Minis-
try of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 
future.’  By Park Sun-young
April 2009 korea 13
 Global Korea

Innovation Index Places

Korea at No. 2, U.S. at 8th
Singapore tops poll of American manufacturing executives

K
orea ranks second among
110 countries in “innova-
tion leadership,” accord-
ing to a report released by
impact of innovation on the coun-
try’s economic growth.
John Engler, president of the
National Association of Manufac-

provided by Koica
Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass (third the Boston Consulting Group yes-
from right) stands with Ambassador to terday.
Cairo Chung Dal-ho to his right. The comprehensive report,
called the International Innovation
Index, attempts to measure levels of
business innovation and govern-
turers, said America’s eighth-place
finish shows that the country’s man-
ufacturing innovation leadership is
at risk, and that the government
may be able to help raise America’s
ranking through more competitive

Computerizing Egyptian Culture ment action to support innovation

through national policy. The study
was conducted jointly by the U.S.-
tax, trade and workforce policies.
The report’s co-author, Emily
DeRocco, also the president of the

K
orea, known as one of the most
wired countries in the world,
has earned the gratitude of
renowned Egyptian archaeol-
ogist Zahi Hawass, the secretary general
of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiqui-
ties (SCA), for its efforts to improve the
efficiency of the system used to manage
and protect Egypt’s cultural heritage.
Dubbed “the Egyptian Indiana
Jones” for his trademark hat and named
one of the 100 most influential figures in
the world in 2005 by Time magazine, the
archaeologist thanked returning Korean
Ambassador to Cairo Chung Dal-ho for
the Korea International Cooperation
Agency(KOICA) project, aimed at
developing a computerized system for
the documentation and preservation of
cultural property records at the SCA.
This documentation is mostly done
on paper, by hand. This hampers SCA
officials in searching for specific docu-
ments efficiently, which sometimes
results in long work delays, according to
a KOICA official.
Though Egypt is steadily developing
its information and communication
based consulting firm, the Manu-
developed ICT infrastructure,” Koica’s Media Rela- facturing Institute and the National
International
tions Officer Kim Jung-hoon said. Transferring such a innovation index Association of Manufacturers, based
large collection of documents into a computerized on a survey of more than 1,000 exec-
1 Singapore
database was a big challenge for the SCA’s Information utives of the latter’s member compa-
Center, since many of its officials have trouble using 2 Korea nies.
the few computers the council has. 3 Switzerland “Korea’s results in the report are
So, at the request of Egyptian authorities, KOICA 4 Iceland a reflection of continuous efforts by
sprang to action, launching a development project at 5 Ireland local companies to raise the level of
the SCA with a grant of $2 million in 2007. Kim said 6 Hongkong innovation. To keep this momen-
KOICA is now creating a central information manage- 7 Finland tum, the government needs to keep
ment system to allow officials to create and retrieve 8 U.S.A on supporting these companies
records of cultural properties anytime and anywhere 9 Japan through public policies,” said Lee
they please over an intranet or the Internet. It has 10 Sweden
Byeong-nam, head of the Seoul
installed 34 different machines in the council’s infor- office of the consulting group.
11 Denmark
mation center, including a network server, a projector, Singapore was No. 1 on the list.
12 Netherlands
computers, printers, scanners, cameras, and computer Switzerland came in third, following
13 Luxemburg
software including Photoshop and Microsoft Office. It Korea. The United States ranked
has also dispatched Korean IT specialists to the site to 14 Canada eighth, while Iceland and Ireland
Since the SCA transfer the offline database to the online system. 15 England ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
Last summer, KOICA gave SCA IT specialists and 16 Israel The study measured innovation in
has always other officials several weeks of training on the new 17 Austria two categories: inputs and outputs.
kept records system. About 90 percent of the project is now com-
plete, and beginning in June SCA officials will have a
18 Norway Input factors included government
policy and the environment for
19 Germany
by hand, its completely operational database of local artifacts. 20 France innovation in each country. Outputs
“KOICA hopes that the project will spur on the included R&D efforts, patents,
staff has improvement of Egyptian cultural heritage manage- September to October 2008 advanced technology, labor produc-
trouble using ment and preservation and as a result will contribute
to expanding cultural and technological exchanges
Source: BCG tivity, shareholder returns and the
Manufacturing Institute, said in a
statement on the manufacturers’
association Web site, “A skilled, edu-
cated workforce is the most critical
element of innovation success and
the hardest asset to acquire.”
Meanwhile, on the Economist
Intelligence Unit’s worldwide cost of
living index, Seoul’s ranking fell
from 35th most expensive to 66th,
due to the won’s depreciation against
other currencies around the globe.
The bi-annual survey compares
prices of a select number of repre-
sentative products and services
from 132 cities around the world to
measure the cost of living there.
The world’s two most expensive
cities were both in Japan — Tokyo
and Osaka — mainly due to the yen’s
strong performance. Paris ranked
third, while Copenhagen and Oslo
followed at fourth and fifth, respec-
tively. The cheapest city to live in
among the ones surveyed was Kara-
chi in Pakistan, followed by Tehran,
Mumbai and New Delhi.
 By Cho Jae-eun

technology, “The country has an under- computers. between the two nations,” Kim said.  By Kim Mi-ju
14 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 15

New Support for Local Expatriates
W
ith the number of for-
eigners living in Korea
increasing by the day,
in the last three months
the government has added new policies
to help them feel comfortable in their
new home.
The most notable of these is a mea-
sure that will support foreign communi-
ties planning to hold cultural events in
Seoul this year, sponsored by the city
government.
The city pledged to provide a subsidy
of up to 6 million won ($4,300) for
events organized by foreign embassies,
chambers of commerce or other groups.
The goal is to boost cultural activities by
foreigners and provide residents with an
opportunity to experience other cultures
firsthand.
The subsidy will range from 4 to 6
million won and will be limited to 80
percent or less of the total budget.
Local civic groups holding foreign-
er-centered events can also apply for the
subsidy this year, the Seoul city govern-
ment said. Last year Korean groups
could not receive the funds.
Seoul city has also selected real estate
agents to help foreigners find housing in
the city.
“It is not just about finding a house,
but ensuring an agreeable living envi-
16 korea April 2009
Global Korea
City, Central Government
Helping Foreigner Wives
T
Government efforts to help expa- he number of foreign women married to Korean men has
[joongAng Ilbo], [NEWSIS]
triates living in Seoul include grant been exploding recently. At the end of last year the number
money to help foreigners’ groups of such female immigrants stood at 104,290, or 88 percent
hold events and a list of real estate of total immigrants for marriage, and each year has seen
agents certified to provide trustwor- double-digit growth in that number.
thy service in English. With international marriages come multicultural households,
and so central and local governments have launched a variety of
programs to help them get accustomed to life in Korea, providing
language lessons, cooking classes and job opportunities.
The government of Cheonan, South Chungcheong has pub-
lished a guidebook on living in Korea in three languages — Chi-
nese, Vietnamese and Filipino — jointly with Sang Myung Uni-
versity. Those three nationalities account for a major portion of
the new spouses, and it was the first time a local government had
produced a guidebook specifically for female immigrants.
ronment for foreign nationals in Korea” said a city offi- FEZ. The books have various sections dealing with topics in simple
cial. Foreign investors in the FEZs and Korean with translations in each language, along with illustra-
Based on recommendations from a local real estate their families already qualify for multi- tions. These include greeting etiquette, important anniversaries in
association, the Seoul Metropolitan Government cer- ple-entry visas, which are valid for up to Korea and simple Korean recipes as well as the locations of tourist
tified 20 agencies to offer service in English to expats two years. By mid-2009, revisions to visa attractions, important public institutions and banks. The Korean
as part of a real estate service improvement project, regulations will expedite the visa issu- Language Culture Center at Sang Myung University produced the
according to officials. Among these, 10 are located in ance process for other foreign profes- books with funds provided by the city government. The books are
Yongsan District, which has a large foreigner popula- sionals such as professors, researchers, distributed free.
tion. The 20 agencies have all been in business for three lawyers, doctors, interpreters, and teach- According to Cheonan, the city had 330 households with for-
years or more, and they offer contracts in English and ers who work in international schools. eign wives at the end of 2007, when the guidebook project was
‘It is not just realtors fluent in English. The selected agencies are Migrant workers will now be able to launched. Research conducted by South Chungcheong Province
listed on the Web sites of Seoul Global Center (http:// read their medical examination results in February showed that foreign wives found language the biggest
about finding global.seoul.go.kr) and the Korea Trade-Investment in their own language, the Ministry of barrier to adjusting to life in Korea, with 26.7 percent expressing
a house, but Promotion Agency (http://investkorea.org).
To promote Korea’s Free Economic Zones (FEZs),
Labor said recently. It has started pro-
viding workers with medical check-up
that opinion, followed by cultural differences at 18.6 percent and
loneliness at 12.8 percent. Vietnamese made up the largest group
ensuring an the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Ministry forms and results in 10 languages, of immigrant wives at 33.3 percent, while Chinese and Filipinas
of Justice are also committed to creating an environ- including English, Chinese, Indonesian accounted for 32.4 percent and 14.4 percent, respectively.
agreeable... ment friendly to foreign investors by eliminating cum- and Vietnamese. The Sang Myung center is one of 14 institutions officially des-
environment bersome regulations.
Foreign businesspeople will enjoy greater conve-
According to the ministry, a total of
470,000 migrant workers are working in
ignated by the Culture Ministry for language training. The center
provides free Korean classes for married immigrants year round.
[for expats.]’ nience when traveling to and from Korea, thanks to Korea as of November 2008. Cheonan also dispatches Korean teachers to households in
simplified visa and immigration procedures instituted The multilingual medical forms rural areas with married immigrants so that mothers and their
by the two ministries. These policies include a new have been distributed to major health children can learn the Korean language.  By Seo Ji-eun
“Investor Express” card introduced last September, care organizations in charge of occupa-
which will soon be available to an even wider range of tion-related medical complaints, the
investors. The cards confer access to exclusive immi- National Health Insurance Corporation
gration checkpoints at international airports to reduce and migrant worker centers. To assist
waiting time. workers with following up on their
Until now, only those who had previously invested check-ups, the Korea Occupational
in Korea were eligible for the card. But now this privi- Safety and Health Agency will dispatch
Provided by Kotra
lege is extended to any foreign businessperson who has medical staff to the migrant worker cen-
signed a contract, memorandum of understanding, or ters once or twice a month. 
letter of intent pledging significant investment in an  By Sunny Kim
April 2009 korea 17

S
outh Korea has no oil or natural gas
reserves on its native soil. But by
the end of next year, it will have the
world’s largest tidal power plant
along its west coast.
As part of the government’s initiative for
environmentally-friendly green growth,
Seoul has supported a variety of alternative
energy projects. One of these is the Sihwa
Lake Tidal Power Plant, under construction
in Ansan, Gyeonggi. Now 70 percent com-
plete, according to the Korea Water Resourc-
es Corporation, the generator is expected to
be online by the end of next year.
When construction ends, the tidal pow-
er plant will generate electricity using the
difference in water levels between the sea
and a nearby artificial lake.
The lake was created in 1994 when a
group of engineers built a 12.7-kilometer
embankment to close a bay. The dam was
Provided by the Korea Water Resources Corporation
meant to create a freshwater reservoir and
56 square kilometers of rice paddies, but it
ended up an environmental disaster.
There wasn’t enough fresh water flowing
in, and the lake soon blackened with the
waste from two industrial complexes located
nearby. The embankment began to stink
and the surface was covered with dead birds
and fish.
After several years, the government
decided to punch holes in the dam to let
seawater in and out, hoping to clear out the
Harnessing the Ocean
This artist’s rendering shows muck and help wildlife survive. Currently,
what the Sihwa Lake Tidal the lake is only half as clean as the sea.
Power Plant will look like “Installing a tidal power plant would
when it’s finished next year. solve the problem,” says Park Chang-joon
from the Korea Water Resources Corpora-
Korea is building the world’s largest tidal power plant in Ansan — tion. Each day, the power plant would circu-
late 150 million tons of water.
and is using the opportunity to clean up an environmental disaster area Here is how it works.
When the tide comes in, it lifts the water
level on the sea side of the barrier several
meters higher than on the lake side. Then
18 korea April 2009
Green Growth
the plant’s 10 turbines, to be installed in the
middle of the seawall, will open. The water
will flow into the lake and spin the turbines,
which will eventually drive generators.
When the tide retreats, the plant’s eight
sluice gates will open to empty out the lake.
This process will occur twice a day, as the sea
rises and falls.
Experts expect that the tidal power plant,
which began construction in 2004, will also
improve the local environment.
Sihwa’s turbines would generate one-
fourth of the electricity produced by a nor-
mal nuclear power plant, and will save
862,000 barrels of oil and prevent 315,000
tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
“Tidal waves are a source of renewable
energy,” says Park from the Korea Water
Resources Corporation. “They improve the
quality of the lake water and generate clean
energy. It’s important to diversify energy
sources by increasing the share of renewable
energy.”
According to industry figures, the coun-
try currently depends on imported oil for 44
percent of its energy needs. With the tidal
wave power plant and other new sources,
however, the government hopes to reduce
that ratio to 35 percent by 2030. The flow of
seawater into Sihwa Lake should generate a
maximum of 254 megawatts of electricity
per hour, enough to supply everyone living
in the nearby Ansan area in Gyeonggi.
When the 355.1 billion won project is
completed at the end of next year, it will be
the world’s largest tidal wave plant, bigger
than the La Rance plant in northwestern
France, which has a capacity of 240 mega-
watts.
Several other tidal power plants are cur-
rently operating across the globe, including
Canada’s Annapolice, which was built in
1984, and China’s Jiangzia, which was built
in 1986.  By Lee Eun-joo
April 2009 korea 19

Ahead of the ‘Green’ Curve
Korea is in a prime position to capitalize on its technological prowess
and jumpstart the eco-friendly industries of the future, experts say
I
n the future, the world’s new growth engine will be ener-
gy technology, and Korea has already staked out high
ground in that field, experts said at the Global Korea 2009
forum, held in Seoul in February.
The forum delegates urged countries to continue to
expand investments in eco-friendly renewable energy devel-
opment despite the falling price of oil and the global financial
crisis.
At the forum, held at the Lotte Hotel Seoul and jointly
sponsored by the Presidential Council for the National Future
President Lee Myung-bak, left, at the
Global Korea 2009 forum in Seoul
20 korea April 2009
and Vision and the National Research Council for Econom- Accordingly, the countries that con-
ics, Humanities and Social Science, Thomas L. Friedman, a trol cheap and clean energy technolo-
columnist at The New York Times and author of “The World gies will become the most secure and
is Flat,” said that the world needs a “green revolution.” the most advanced economically, Fried-
He made the remark during session three of the forum, man said. He said major countries have
titled “Climate Change: New Development Strategy and already begun to compete for new ener-
Green Growth.” gy technologies and to achieve green
Friedman said the major challenges facing the world growth.
today are climate change, energy poverty, falling biodiversity Friedman believes that Korea has
and demand for resources. already secured advantages in this field,
with talented scientists and workers and
solid industrial competitiveness. Devel-
oping new energy sources requires
advanced manufacturing and informa-
tion technology, and Korea already has
strong points in both, he said.
Korea also has a resource imperative
to lead the green revolution, because the
country has no fossil fuels such as crude
oil or coal, he pointed out.
According to the Ministry of Knowl-
edge Economy, Korea imports nearly all
of its oil, and 83 percent of its energy still
comes from fossil fuels.
Friedman said that global warming,
rapidly growing populations and the
astonishing expansion of the world’s
middle class through globalization have
produced a planet that is “hot, flat, and
crowded.”
Also at the session was Nobuo Tana-
ka, executive director of the Interna-
tional Energy Agency, who said that
countries should not stop trying to
develop eco-friendly energy because of
the current economic crisis.
“The present economic crises could
have two important mid- to long-term
implications on the energy sector: a
serious shortage of supply capacity
[NEWSIS]
when the economy recovers and lower
investment in clean energy technolo-
Pascal Lamy Robert Rubin
gies,” Tanaka said.
“However, to avoid ‘abrupt and irre-
versible’ climate change we need a major
decarbonization of the world’s energy
system through significant emission
reductions in all regions and techno-
logical breakthroughs,” he continued.
“We can change crisis into opportunity
with a clean energy New Deal. Econom-
ic stimulus packages provide an excel-
lent opportunity for a cleaner and more
secure energy future.”
Regarding the details of green
growth policies, Tanaka recommended
passive-energy houses and zero-energy
buildings and policy packages to pro-
mote energy efficiency in existing build-
ings.
He emphasized the necessity of
phasing out incandescent bulbs and
inefficient fuel-powered lighting, and of
ensuring least-cost lighting is provided
in nonresidential buildings. In trans-
portation, he said fuel-efficient tires and
mandatory fuel efficiency standards for
light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles are
vital.
Tanaka said he thinks highly of the
Korean government’s Green New Deal.
The Green New Deal, the practical
application of the “low-carbon, green
growth” agenda that President Lee
unveiled on the Aug. 15 Liberation Day
holiday last year, includes 36 projects
intended to create more than 956,000
jobs. The government will spend 50 tril-
lion won ($33.1 billion) on the projects
over the next four years.
Major projects include the construc-
tion of bicycle paths across the entire
nation, the development of eco-friendly
vehicles and renewable energy and the
Green Growth
[NEWSIS], [Yonhap]
Thomas Friedman
construction of 2 million environmen-
tally friendly, energy-conserving hous-
es.
Meanwhile, President Lee Myung-
bak, in his opening speech, proposed a
“global deal,” in which every country
expands its fiscal spending policies
simultaneously in a bid to overcome
recent global economic woes.
He added that the world should not
accept protectionism under any cir-
cumstances and that it was Korea’s pri-
ority to stimulate the global economy by
actively trading and investing.
Pascal Lamy, director general of the
World Trade Organization, also stressed
the need to avoid protectionism. “Beg-
gar-thy-neighbor policies bear the risk
of prompting retaliation by other coun-
tries and driving down the overall level
of trade, thus destroying output and
jobs around the world,” he said.
Also agreeing with that view was
former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert
Rubin: “Relationships between the
economies of Asia and the United States
will be critically important on trade,
capital flows, exchange rate disequilib-
ria, financial imbalances, financial
architecture reform and many other
matters. Korea, with its long history of
effective domestic policy leadership and
as a major global economy, should be
strongly engaged in all of this activity.”
At a news conference, he said Korea
is unlikely to face a financial crisis of the
kind that hit Asia in the late 1990s. “I
think that at least the probability of
something we experienced in 1998 is
very low,” he said. “Fundamentally, there
are differences in circumstances.”
By Koh So-young
April 2009 korea 21
 Culture

Sohn Ye-jin walks the red carpet

at the Baeksang Arts Awards.

The fairest of them all

The 45th annual Baeksang Arts Awards is Seoul’s chance to enjoy
a night of glitz and glamour, celebrating its favorite entertainers.

W
hich Korean television and film celebrities Sohn Ye-jin, often perceived as an innocent waif in her
were the most beloved in 2008? past roles, starred in “My Wife Got Married,” in which she
For the answers you had to watch the transforms into a quirky and exuberant married woman in
45th annual Baeksang Arts Awards, held her 20s. The story centers on a wife who begs her husband
Feb. 27 at Olympic Park in Songpa District, Seoul. The lead- (who worships the ground she walks on) to let her marry
ing Korean weekly Ilgan Sports has hosted this event for the another man, leading to bigamy or perhaps a menage-a-trois.
past 44 years. The awards are the only ones of their kind in Despite the sheer absurdity of the storyline, Sohn displays a
Korea — up for judging are actors and dramas from all three lovable attraction that dispels any revulsion the public may
major public television stations, plus the casts of all the domes- feel toward this wacky character.
tic films released in the past year. Kim Myeong-min starred in “Beethoven Virus” on MBC
And Korea’s favorite actor and actress — winners of the TV, in which he played the role of an eccentric genius conduc-
awards for best male and female leads — were Ju Jin-mo and
Sohn Ye-jin. Best picture went to director Kang Woo-seok’s
“Public Enemy.”
The highest honor in the television acting category was
given to Kim Hae-ja, who has played the traditional role of
“Korean mother” in countless dramas for years. Best lead
actor on television went to Kim Myeong-min, while the
youthful Moon Geun-yeong won best lead actress.
With his exotic looks and penetrating eyes, Ju Jin-mo has
accumulated a large female fanbase. Ju starred in “Ssanghwa-
jeom,” a historical movie that touched upon the subject of
homosexuality, in which he played the King of Goryeo who

[JES]
falls for his chief general, which eventually leads to the down-
fall of his kingdom. The winners pose at the 45th annual Baeksang Arts Awards in Seoul.

22 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 23


The Baeksang Arts
Awards honors the
best in Korean film and
TV — and of course the
dresses on its red carpet
tor with such profound intensity it launched his career
help set trends for to a new high. A former child star who has success-
months to come. fully blossomed into a sophisticated adult actress,
Moon Geun-yeong won best actress in a television
series for her role as a crossdressing painter from the
Joseon period, Shin Yun-bok, in the SBS TV drama
“Garden of the Wind.”
The best new actor award was given to Lee Min-
ho, who starred in the popular KBS 2 TV drama “Boys
Over Flowers,” while the best new actress was Yuna, a
singer turned actress who starred in the KBS 1 TV
Shin Ae drama, “You Are My Destiny.” The awards for most
popular were given to Ju Jee-hoon and Park Bo-
yeong.
Of course, one can’t have a glitzy awards ceremony
without a red carpet, and the dresses and suits on
display were a spectacle to wow any fan. Korean
designers engaged in intense competition to outfit
these performers, whose choices have trendsetting
power for the rest of the year. Actresses Sohn Ye-jin
[NEWSIS], [JoongAng Ilbo], [JES]
Park Si-yeon
Han Ji-hye
Ju Jin-mo
Choi Yeo-jin
Han Ye-seul
24 korea April 2009
and Moon Geun-yeong both pulled their hair back
and wore strapless gowns to highlight their features.
Sohn wore an elegant long navy blue dress with a cor-
sage while Moon opted for a white mini-dress that
displayed her characteristic liveliness. Actress Han
Ji-hye also grabbed the spotlight with her Barbie-like
hairstyle and light purple dress.
Choi Yeo-jin, a model turned actress, wore a col-
orful dress with a gold neck piece and a ponytail. Lee
Tae-ran, known for her somewhat tomboyish image,
wore an apricot-colored dress that was short in the
front and long in the back, with a wavy hairstyle that
exhibited her mature beauty. This year actresses pur-
sued a notably minimalist approach to makeup and
accessories.
Most male celebrities, including Ju Jin-mo and
Kim Myeong-min, wore black suits, typical male attire
at awards ceremonies.
Naturally fans flocked to the ceremony site to see
their favorite stars in their stunning outfits. The box
Moon Geun-yeong
Culture
office was jammed with fans trying to get tickets. Sev-
eral even came from Japan and Southeast Asia to see
celebrities they knew from Hallyu dramas (Korean
programs famous across Asia). Scalpers sold tickets
(illegally) at up to 200,000 won.
The awards ceremony was aired live on SBS TV,
which recorded a 15-percent jump in ratings for the
night. Audience members taped celebrities with their
phones and cameras, and dozens of videos were
instantly posted on the Internet. Actor Ju Jin-woo, 35,
met with reporters on the day of the awards and
expressed his happiness at his win by calling it his
“second birthday.” Ju said, “In my 11 years in the film
industry, my mother cried for the first time when she
heard I won.”
As the winners celebrate their gongs, the fans are
left wondering: Who will star in the new television
dramas and films of 2009, and who will be the next
big movers and shakers of Korean pop culture?
By Sunny Kim
Kim Myung-min
Park Bo-young
April 2009 korea 25
 Culture

hree major classical music milestones fall this International Chamber Music a significant event for other reasons — it commemorated
George Frideric Handel year, and Korea is celebrating with a series of Competition and Festa, becoming the reopening of the Opera Theater at Seoul Arts Center,
concerts. the first Korean group to win an which had to be closed after a fire in December 2007.
Those milestones: the 200th anniversary of award at the competition. David McVicar in the Marriage of Figaro and Michael
the birth of the Romantic period composer Felix Mendelssohn; Takeshi Kiriyama on the Ashman in The Magic Flute gave each classic a modern
the 200th year since the death of the Classical composer Joseph Baroque violin, Shigeru Sakurai twist.
Haydn, and the 250th year since the death of Baroque compos- on the viola da gamba and Oh Ju- Some familiar faces appeared on stage at both shows.
ter George Frideric Handel. hee on the cembalo performed In The Marriage of Figaro, baritone Yoon Hyung played
Seoul will host performances of music by all three compos- Handel’s seven sonatas on March Count Almaviva, and soprano Shin Young-ok was
ers with pipe organ accompaniment. 27, a once-in-a-lifetime opportu- Susanna. As Countess Almaviva soprano Sara Jakubiak
The Seoul Metropolitan Junior Chorus will get the ball roll- nity for aficionados of Baroque took the stage, and baritone Giorgio Caoduro starred as
ing on April 11 at the commemorative concert for Mendelssohn music. Figaro.
and Haydn at 5 p.m. at the Sejong Center for the Performing Meanwhile, a few elaborate In The Magic Flute, staged by the National Opera
Arts in central Seoul. The group will sing Haydn’s Missa in works by Wolfgang Amadeus Company of Korea, sopranos Kim Seong-hye and
Tempore Belli (Kettledrum Mass) and a series of Mendelssohn Mozart were also staged here. Two This year Katarzyna Dondalska shared the role as Queen of the
choruses. The junior chorus will be joined for part of the night of his most famous operas, “The Night; basses Ahn Gyun-hyung and Choi Joon-young
by the senior Seoul Metropolitan Chorus. Tickets are 20,000 Marriage of Figaro” and “The we remember took turns as Sarastro; and Park Seong-geun and Lee
won each. Magic Flute,” were produced in Handel, Seung-mook did the same as Tamino. Of seven shows,
Later in the year, on June 27, the same venue will stage a pipe March in Seoul at the Seoul Arts four were performed in German to render the show in a
organ recital by British organist David Sanger. Sanger will play Center and LG Arts Center, Haydn and more authentic, “singspiel” (a blend of singing and dia-
the Hallelujah chorus and the organ score from the Messiah respectively. And the former was Mendelssohn . logue) style.  By Yoo Jee-ho
oratorio, among other pieces. Sanger, an acclaimed concert
Joseph Haydn organist and also an influential teacher of the instrument, will
be accompanied on stage by the Seoul Metropolitan Youth
Orchestra and the Project Choir. Tickets range from 10,000
won to 50,000 won.
These shows come on the heels of a series of shows in
March.
The first such show featured fortepianist Park Su-hyeon,
Korea’s first player of the early version of the piano, along with
violinist Yang Go-un and cellist Lee Hyeon-jeong as they played
trios by Haydn on March 5 at the Kumho Arts Hall in Jongno
District, Seoul.
Haydn was the featured composer at the Kumho hall on

Provided by the organizer

March 19, when the Novus Quartet, a group of award-winning
musicians from the Korea National University of Arts, per-
[JoongAng Ilbo]

formed Haydn’s String Quartet No. 50 in B-flat Major, among

Felix Mendelssohn others. Takeshi Kiriyam Hidemi Suzuki Yang Go-un
Last May, the Novus Quartet won third prize at the Osaka
26 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 27

T
he year 2014 will bring a new phenomenon to Seoul:
an opera house as unique and iconic as that of Sydney,
Australia, right in the middle of the Han River.
Early last month the Seoul Metropolitan Govern-
ment unveiled the final blueprint for the world-class inte-
grated art complex, dubbed the Han River Art Island, that it
plans to build on Nodeul Island, a small island in the Han.
According to the city government plan, about 450 billion
Park Seung-hong based the design for the
Han River Art Island on the elegant move-
ments of a traditional Korean dancer.
Opera Astride the
28 korea April 2009
won ($303 million) will be spent to build two concert halls,
an art museum and a variety of outdoor facilities on 53,000
square meters on the island. The linchpin of the new project
will be a 1,500-seat opera house guaranteed to conjure up a
vastly different atmosphere from the existing opera house in
southern Seoul.
Six prominent architects from Korea and abroad com-
peted to handle the island’s transformation into a grand cul-
tural site, and judges ultimately selected a design by Korean
architect Park Seung-hong called “Dance,” inspired by the
image of a traditional Korean dancer.
In order to improve the accessibility of Nodeul Island, the
Seoul city government plans to build a 550-meter overpass for
pedestrians and bike riders and expand the sidewalks on the
Hangang Bridge, which currently connects the island to the
riverside. Visitors will also be able to take a special ferry, now
River Han in 2014
Culture
in the planning stages, to the island.
“The Han River Art Island will make Seoul a hub of cul-
ture and arts in Northeast Asia while serving as a haven for
Seoul residents seeking peace during a busy day and as a place
where they can savor cultural activities,” said Seoul Mayor Oh
Se-hoon. “I hope it will also be a Seoul landmark that will
draw attention worldwide with its cultural prowess and aes-
thetic appeal.”  By Park Sun-young
Provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government
April 2009 korea 29
 Culture

Capturing the Great in Spirit

I
n some great art there’s an element
of luck. But not for Armenian-born
Canadian portrait photographer
Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002). He
always understood what he wanted to
achieve. Karsh captured moments in
the lives of 20th-century figures includ-
ing Audrey Hepburn, Winston
Churchill, Helen Keller, Pablo Picasso
and Albert Einstein.
He once said that his chief joy was
in photographing the great in heart, in
mind and in spirit. During his six-
His portraits convey not only his
famous subjects but also their living
environments. This aesthetic can also
been seen in the works of photogra-
phers August Sander and Arnold New-
man.
“Within every man and woman, a
secret is hidden, and as a photographer,
it is my task to reveal it if I can,” Karsh
wrote in “Karsh Portfolio” in 1976.
“The revelation, if it comes at all,
will come in a small fraction of a sec-
ond with an unconscious gesture, a
lar among people who are now in their
40s and 50s, since they grew up watch-
ing the figures in his photographs,
according to Cho Kook-hee from the
exhibition’s PR department. “Also,
since they grew up reading biographies
of the influential figures in Karsh’s
works like Helen Keller, the exhibition
is a sentimental journey for them.”
The exhibition is divided into three
sections: “Portraits,” a collection of
records of the men and women who
shaped the 20th century; “On Assign-

Provided by the organizer

decade career, Karsh took photographs
of 15,312 accomplished men and wom-
en and developed 150,000 negatives.
Of these, around 70 are now on dis-
play at the Hangaram Art Museum at
the Seoul Arts Center until May 8, the
first exhibition of Karsh’s works here.
gleam of the eye, a brief lifting of the
mask that all humans wear to conceal
their innermost selves from the world.
In that fleeting interval of opportunity
the photographer must act or lose his
prize.”
Karsh’s works are especially popu-
ment,” a collection of works that docu-
ment Canada’s postwar life; and “The
Early Years,” a display of his early
experimental and improvisational
works from the early 20th century. All
the photos on display are original From left to right, Yousuf Karsh’s photographs of: Albert Einstein (1957), Sophia Loren (1957), Jacqueline Kennedy (1957), Mother Teresa
prints.  By Lee Eun-joo (1957) and Audrey Hepburn (1956).

His solo piano work he European jazz musi-
first made Giovanni cian Giovanni Mirabassi
Mirabassi famous left a deep impression
in Korea. when he played with
drummer Leon Parker and bassist Gian-
luca Renzi at the LG Arts Center in Seoul
March 22.
Mirabassi has a large following here,
partly because Koreans prefer European
jazz, which emphasizes melody more
strongly than its American ancestor.
All of Mirabassi’s albums have been
steady sellers in Korea, and this was his
third appearance here. Mirabassi has been
compared to other famous artists from
the continent, such as Enrico Rava and
Enrico Pieranunzi of Italy and Jan Gar-
barek of Norway.
In the first part of the concert, he
played songs from his two solo albums,
“Avanti” and “Cantopiano.” In the second,
he was joined by Parker and Renzi on
pieces such as “Dear Old Stockholm” and
Provided by the organizer
bassi now lives in Paris. His local fame
dates to 2002, when his solo piano album
Avanti was released here. Several other
albums followed soon after, and he’s been
a hit ever since.
Mirabassi’s popularity rose even more
after the Korean release of “Howl’s Mov-
ing Castle,” a 2004 Japanese animated fan-
tasy film written and directed by Oscar-
winning anime auteur Hayao Miyazaki.
The Italian jazz artist performed part of
the soundtrack for the film. That piece
was also included on his album “Prima O
Poi,” which he released at the end of
2005.
In 2007, Mirabassi took part in the 4th
Jarasum International Jazz Festival, per-
forming in Korea for the first time.
As a boy Mirabassi studied classical
music, but he taught himself to play jazz
after being introduced to the genre by his
father. Mirabassi’s influences include Ital-
ian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi.
group led by saxophonist Steve Grossman
in 1988. In 1992, he settled in Paris. That
was when he met other Italian jazz musi-
cians based in the city.
In 1996, he played bass on a Pierre-
Stephane Michel album. He was also on a
Flavio Boltro album on the trumpet. Then
came his first taste of acclaim: He took the
Grand Prix and the best soloist prize at the
Concours International de Jazz d’Avignon,
presided over by Daniel Humair. In 1998,
Mirabassi recorded his first album,
“Architectures,” with drummer Louis
Moutin and bassist Daniel Mencarreli.
In 2001, he published Avanti, an
important milestone in his career. For this
album, he received the Django d’Or for
best young talent and a Victoires du Jazz
award in 2002.
Speaking of Mirabassi’s style, Alain
Gerber of Diapason magazine wrote,
“Giovanni Mirabassi had nerve and
showed a lot of panache in tackling, so

“Alone Together” from his new album, Mirabassi played with artists such as young as he is, such a repertoire... of revo-
“Out of Tracks,” which was released in Chet Baker as early as 1987, when he was lutionary and patriotic songs, songs of
Korea last month. 17, before becoming fully active as a jazz resistance, struggle and refusal.”
Born in Perugia, Italy, in 1970, Mira- musician. He toured Italy as part of a By Limb Jae-un

30 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 31

 Culture

T
he 39th Busan International Kite Flying Con-
test took place on March 7 and 8 at Dadaepo
A huge kite soars above Dadaepo Beach, Beach, sponsored by the city government of
Busan at the 39th International Busan this southern port city.
Kite Flying Contest last month. The “international” is a new addition for 2009.
Until last year, the contest had been held as a small part
of the Jeongwol Daeboreum, a celebration of the first
lunar full moon at Haeundae Beach.
But this year the city transformed the event into a
massive, worldwide affair.
The Busan-based civic organization that preserves
historic Korean folk kites and runs the festival invited
over 2,000 participants, including kite lovers from 10
countries: Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong, the Phil-
ippines, India, the United States, France, Belgium and
the Netherlands.
This year’s contest consisted of preliminary rounds
and finals in numerous categories, including kite fight-
ing, creative kite flying, kite flying by children and
flying for altitude.
On the sidelines, traditional kites from Korea,
Japan and other countries were exhibited. Professional
kite designers offered visitors presentations of the pro-
cess of making these bits of soaring cultural heritage.
They even had the chance to take part in designing
their own kites.
A number of traditional folk performances includ-
ing dongnaeyaryu (masquerade play), dongnae-
hakchum (crane dance), and samulnori percussion
offered stiff-necked spectators a break. A traditional
samulnori ensemble consists of four instruments: the
large jing gong, the small kkwaenggwari gong, the
hourglass-shaped janggu drum and the buk, a barrel
drum.
Visitors could also play the board game yut, kick a
jaegi (similar to hackysack), jump on a Korean seesaw,
spin tops and throw sticks into a jar in a game of
tuho.

[Press Q]
The festival aimed not only to elevate the status of
Busan as a cultural and tourist destination but also

Into the Wild Blue Yonder

boost interest in traditional Korean crafts and activi-
ties. The city also looks forward to reinvigorating the
regional economy by attracting tourists from inside
and outside Korea.
Treasured local traditions mingle with modern aerodynamic marvels The organizers hope to turn the festival into a sea-
sonal event that will continue far into the future.
at Busan’s newly revamped international kite flying competition By Lee Min-yong

32 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 33

 Korean Literature

T
he novelist Eun Hee-gyeong (born
1959) received her undergraduate
degree in Korean literature from
Sukmyeong Women’s University
at the Clock” is a keenly perceptive tale Major works
that problematizes the institution of mar- “Bird’s Gift”
riage and the modern family. “My Wife’s (Sae-ui seonmul, 1996)
Boxes” focuses on a marriage that breaks “Talking to a Stranger”

Eun Hee-gyeong:
and her graduate degree from Yonsei Uni-
versity. She made her literary debut in
1995 with her novella “Duet;” the follow-
ing year, her first full-length novel “Bird’s
Gift” was awarded the first Fiction Award
given by the quarterly Munhak Dongne.
Eun Hee-gyeong gets at the truth of
life through meticulous and subtle
down when the couple’s pretense of love
can longer hide the loneliness that resides
at the core of their relationship.
Although Eun embraces a feminist
perspective, she also departs from it to
allow herself a broader scope for intro-
spection and inquiry into human nature.
Both entertaining and insightful, Eun’s
(Tainaege malgeolgi, 1997)
“Dance the Last Dance With Me”
(Majimak chumeun nawa hamkke, 1998)
“Was It A Dream”
(Geugeoseun kkumiyeotseulkka, 1999)
“A Happy Person Does Not Look At
the Clock”
(Haengbokhan sarameun sigaereul boji

Life as a Lyrical Cynic descriptions of everyday trivialities.

Combining sophisticated cynicism with
light, humorous prose, Eun illuminates
everyday interactions and conventional
mannerisms that undermine the possibil-
ity for true communication between two
people. “A Happy Person Does Not Look
works have enjoyed great popularity as
well as critical acclaim. Eun has been
anneunda, 1999)
“Minor League”
honored with numerous awards includ- (Maineo ligeu, 2001)
ing the 1997 Dongseo Literature Award,
the 1998 Lee Sang Literature Prize and
the 2000 Korean Literature Novel Source: Korea Literature
Award. Translation Institute

[JoongAng Ilbo]
34 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 35
 Korean Literature

Bird’s Gift Written in just two

months, Eun Hee-gyeong’s
debut novel won the first
Munhakdongne Prize in Lit-
erature and brought her rec-
ognition as a writer of consid-
erable talent. “Bird’s Gift”
exposes the hypocrisy that
guides human relations from
the perspective of a 12-year-
old girl. But Jin-hui, the nar-
rator, is no typical 12-year-
old. The daughter of a woman
who goes insane during the
war and kills herself, Jin-hui
grows up under her grand-
mother’s care and proclaims
at the beginning of the novel,
“I stopped growing in my
twelfth year because I knew
the world was not kindly dis-
posed to me.”
Alert and quick-witted,
Jin-hui takes full advantage of
the freedom and invisibility
permitted to a child to gain
insight into the adult world
around her. Her family and
neighbors, as seen through
the cynical and precocious
eyes of the narrator, seem full
of absurdities and falsehoods
of which they themselves are
not aware: Her aunt harbors a
childishly romantic vision of
love, her cousin is a “model
student” who turns out to be
an ultra-conservative bully, a
draft dodger haunts pool halls
and cafes swaggering with
machismo, and hidden
behind a bar girl’s flirtatious
smile is a dream of climbing
the social ladder through
men. These characters, how-
ever, are far from hateful.
Eun’s perceptive and often
humorous portrayal of the
duplicities inherent in their
lives allows the reader to con-
template the meaning of true
love. Their struggle becomes
a tragicomedy that invites our
sympathy.
A Minor As implied in the title,
the central characters of this
League novel — four high school
friends — are ordinary,
unexceptional people who
can never be “major league”
players in life. In the hands
of a gifted author, however,
these seemingly unremark-
able characters and the ups
and downs they experience
in the course of their friend-
ships are woven into an
immensely engaging narra-
tive filled with both the
comedy and the pathos of
being human.
Through the cold and
analytical eyes of bookworm
Kim Hyeong-jun, the novel
takes us into 1970s and ’80s
youth culture and the events
that shaped recent Korean
history, such as the Vietnam
War, the Korean-Japanese
spy incident, and the May
18th democratic uprising.
Calling themselves “The
Mansusan Gang of Four,”
the mischievous friends —
Kim Hyeong-jun, Jo Guk,
Bae Seung-ju, Jang Du-hwan
— remain inseparable
throughout their high school
years, but eventually their
friendship is tested by the
appearance of a beautiful
girl. The four friends com-
pete for her attention, but in
the end, she elopes with Jang
Du-hwan and disappears
from their lives. After 12
years, Jang Du-hwan re-
enters the lives of the
remaining three friends, but
their friendship is now
beyond repair.
Finally, Kim Hyeong-
jun, Jo Guk and Bae Seung-
ju set up a production com-
pany; but as “minor leagu-
ers” in the field, they are
unable to compete with
more powerful companies.

Inheritance Eun Hee-gyeong’s third

short story collection, “Inheri-
tance,” contains seven short
stories and novellas, including
the title story; “My Wife’s Box,”
which won the Yi Sang Liter-
ary Award; “House Where I
Once Lived,” which won the
Korean Fiction Literary
Award; “Who Set a Trap in the
Pitch Pine Forest On a Blos-
somy Spring Day,” which won
the Hanguk Ilbo Literary
Award; and also “Strawberry
Thief,” “Circus of the Sun,” and
“It No Longer Snows In My
Hometown.”
The title story,
“Inheritance,” which depicts
the subtle conflicts that emerge
in a family as the father is
dying of cancer, is a quietly
moving story about “the per-
manence of life beyond death,”
as symbolized by a pair of run-
ning shoes. Written while the
author witnessed her own
father’s death, the story has
been critically appraised as a
turning point in the author’s
literary career.
The novella “Who Set a
Trap in the Pitch Pine Forest
On a Blossomy Spring Day” is
about an unhappy woman
who lived as a model student
but was ultimately unable to
become the heroine of her
own life. “My Wife’s Box” inti-
mately depicts a young cou-
ple’s infertility against the
bleak backdrop of the suburbs.
Constructed around the alibi
and confession of a woman
who is suspected of a terrible
murder, “Strawberry Thief ”
questions the true meaning of
good and evil.
These stories that ques-
tion the distinction between
life and death, truth and lies,
love and hate, dominance and
recessiveness, good and evil,
Eun Hee Kyung’s cynical view
towards a society overrun
with false consciousness can
be discerned.
Lyrical Age
The effort, common to
everyone, of trying to hide
one’s weaknesses can wreck
one’s life. Eun Hee-gyeong’s
short story “Lyrical Age” is
about such lies and misunder-
standings. Initially published
as an autobiography, this story
can be read as an explanation
of how the author’s tendency
toward “cynicism and feigned
wickedness” came about. At
the same time, the story alerts
readers to the simple “lyri-
cism” latent within those who
lived during the 1980s, com-
monly defined as the era of
the “master narrative.”
The narrator, a novelist is
afflicted with a syndrome that
causes all of the hair on the
top of her head to fall off,
revealing a smooth scalp. She
worries that people will dis-
cover her “shame.” When she
first starts school, her parents
suddenly begin to treat her
like an adult, and she realizes
she will have to grow up.
When she receives an award
for a review of an art exhibi-
tion that she didn’t actually
see, adults praise her for rais-
ing the school’s status rather
than punishing her for lying.
She rationalizes this by say-
ing, “Isn’t all writing lies, after
all?” She leaves her home-
town, where she was treated
like an important person, and
moves to the city. She goes
astray when her family is vis-
ited by sudden misfortune;
but realizes that it’s foolish to
wallow in “loneliness and lit-
erature”. From then on, people
begin to see her as serious and
honest.
At the age of eight her
teacher describes her as “doc-
ile and feminine,” and this
later becomes another syn-
drome for her. Even when she
starts dating in college, the
narrator tells herself she’s
feminine and serious, strug-
gling to appear grown up.
Even at her first kiss, she is still
naïvely “reviewing” the expe-
rience.
As her hair loss worsens,
the narrator tries to have it
covered up at a beauty salon,
but everyone reacts with sym-
pathy. Since she can’t cover it
up, she decides to be brazen,
smiling each time someone
speaks to her. But people start
to think she’s showing off the
bald spot, and her friends
start calling her “cynical and
feigning wickedness.” At that,
all she can do is laugh.

Discovery of Solitude
That’s when I found myself fantasizing again. Let me
explain what I mean.
There are several mes spread out all over the world,
living in different places and at different times.
They’re all very different. There’s a me who gets an-
gry easily, a me who is very shy, a me who is very
good with words, a me who is foolish. There’s a me
who is beautiful and a me who is abominable. They
all exist separately, but if at one point they all think
the same thought, we suddenly become visible to
others. If all the mes feel lonely, for example. Then
I start hearing about them from people. “I saw a
shallow you cursing up a storm in the market yes-
terday trying to haggle over the price.” “I saw an
elegant you at the opera, totally absorbed in the
performance, shedding tears up there in the bal-
cony.” “I saw an old you in a greenhouse picking up
a cucumber, hunched over at the waist.” “I saw a
serene you wearing a wide-brimmed hat, reading a
book on a park bench.” “I saw a crazy you covered
in blood and chasing after your man after be-
ing beaten by him.” But people forget such
incidents soon enough. Lots of people in this
world look alike, and people believe it’s abso-
lutely impossible for one person to appear in
several places at once.
-So you mean this isn’t just you fantasizing?
-Yes, everything I’ve just told you is my fan-
tasy. If you let me use many rooms, I think I’ll
be able to settle each of my many selves in a
room of her own and fall asleep feeling very
light.
-This is absurd.
-Because it’s a fantasy. Since that incident, I’ve
been wondering off and on, if in a person’s
life, the childhood game of divvying yourself
up into many selves ever stops. New Writing from Korea 1 (2008, Korea
After finishing her long story, the woman Literature Translation Institute)
lowered her eyes and raised the glass of beer ISSN : 2005-3258
slowly to her lips. Discovery of Solitude」by Eun Hee-gyeong

36 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 37


[YONHAP]
Click
Korea
Right: Caps to save
babies — At an auditorium
at the Yangcheon District
Office in Seoul March 11,
volunteers hold up woolen
caps woven to prevent
infants in under-developed
countries from suffering
from poor temperature
regulation. Some 900
volunteers knitted 8,500
woolen caps over three
months starting in Decem-
ber. The caps will be deliv-
ered to children through
the Korean branch of Save
the Children, a Unesco-rec-
ognized non-governmental
[YONHAP]
organization with branches
in 27 countries.
Korea through the Lens
[YONHAP]
Above: A fair trade — Farmers transplant
rice seedlings in an outdoor paddy in Icheon,
Gyeonggi, on March 12, the first planting of
this year. It is possible to plant rice seedlings
outdoors in March here because a Hynix
Semiconductor power plant nearby provides
the farmers with warm water that was used
to cool its generators.
Above right: Maori Greetings — First
lady Kim yoon-ok (right) exchanges tradi-
tional Maori greetings with locals during a
welcoming ceremony at the residence of the
New Zealand governor general in Auckland
on March 4.
Right: Northward flight — Girls wave to
a flock of migratory seagulls on March 2 at
[JoongAng Ilbo]
Gwangalli Beach in the southern port city of
Busan. The birds usually fly north this time
of year.
 Korea through the Lens
Pledging to help — Around 500 students
at the Methodist Theological University
submit pledges to donate their corneas
and other organs after death on March 10
at the college’s auditorium in Seodaemun
District, Seoul. The pledges followed the
example set by the late Cardinal Stephen
Kim Sou-hwan.
[YONHAP]

Above: Is it a train? Or is it a car? — President Lee Myung-bak, second from right, takes a
look at a new concept electric car developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology on the campus of the state-run university in Daejeon on Feb. 27. The car is remotely
powered by a high-frequency electrical current generated by cables buried underground. The
car does not need to have rechargeable batteries onboard, as it gets its power while running.

Below: A goodwill fashion show — A fashion show directed by Andre Kim, the 76-year-
old Korean designer, took place in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 7. Kim received praise for his

[JoongAng Ilbo]
dresses decorated with arabesque appliqué, his signature. The fashion show was organized by
the Korean Embassy in Bangkok and specially sponsored by the Thai royal family to commemo-
rate the 50th anniversary of formal diplomatic ties between South Korea and Thailand.

[YONHAP]
[YONHAP]

Dancing flamingos — Visitors to Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi watch a flock of flamingos as the weather warms up.

Morning Calm Meets
T
he Korean design industry show-
cased 75 products designed by
Korean artists at the Museum of
Modern Art’s Design Store in
New York City in February. The design
shop, a retail and tourist destination that
sells assorted products ranging from
books to furniture and accessories, was
the perfect place for cutting-edge local
designs. The Design Store is often cited
as the biggest attraction at MoMA, the
epicenter of modern art in New York.
Many designers dream of having their
work displayed at the store.
The exhibit is part of MoMA’s “Des-
tination: Seoul” project. The Destina-
42 korea April 2009
tion series, launched in 2005, selects a
country or a city twice a year and dis-
plays products that show the distinctive
aesthetic sensibilities of each place with
a modern spin. Destination products, all
designed by artists in their respective
cities and countries, are sold through the
design store. Finland, Denmark, Buenos
Aires, Berlin and Tokyo have previously
been featured.
“It was a chance to show off Korea’s
design to a world audience,” said Hong
Ji-yeon, a spokeswoman at Hyundai
Card, a sponsor of the New York event,
along with the Seoul city government
and the Korea Institute of Design Pro-
[JoongAng Ilbo]
motion. “The event attracted the biggest
crowd ever of all of the ‘Destination’
projects.”
Seoul was selected for the series in
November 2007. Five months later, the
Destination Seoul Committee was
founded to prepare for the MoMA
exhibit. A total of 75 products offering a
glimpse into Korean culture made the
final cut. The focus of the selection was
on the stories behind the designs, the
products’ practicality and their Korean
identity. The products are being sold
online as well as at the store, and some
even sold out and had to be restocked.
“Many Americans were unsure of
Modern Design in NYC
the concepts behind the designs, but
they were something Koreans could
understand right away,” said Guk Jong-
hun, a designer at the design firm Sec-
ond Hotel.
Take the Spooner Bottle Opener, for
instance. It’s a spoon with a twist - it has
an opening in the spoon section to let it
work like a bottle opener. Credited to
Second Hotel, this was inspired by Kore-
ans’ use of regular spoons to open beer
bottles when an actual opener isn’t with-
in reach.
The Carp Keychain, another design,
was selected because the carp symbol-
izes career advancement and success in
Business & Technology
Korean culture. A white paper napkin A total of 75 locally designed
features drawings of a spoon and chop- products made the cut for the
sticks — when Koreans eat out at restau- MoMA exhibit.
rants, one of the first things they do at
the table is to place those utensils on a
napkin. The judges who selected the
designs said the best examples put mod-
ern twists on traditional ideas.
These products were on display at
Hyundai Card’s Finance Shop in
Gwanghwamun and Myeong-dong,
central Seoul, and Yangjae-dong, south-
ern Seoul, in late February. They are on
sale at the Korean MoMA online store at
www.momaonlinestore.co.kr.
By Limb Jae-un
April 2009 korea 43

Wired K
orea is said to be one of the
most wired countries in
the world, but if the PC
Korea
rooms that pack every
block of Seoul aren’t enough to prove
it to you, here’s something more offi-
cial.
In a survey, Korea’s The International Telecommu-
nication Union, an international
network tech ranked organization that sets standards for
second only to Sweden the global telecommunications
industry, recently issued a report on
the status of the Korean network.
In the report announced in early
March, the ITU measured the level
of information and communication
technologies (ICT) in more than 150
countries worldwide and analyzed
ICT Development Index
progress made between 2002 and
2007.
1 Sweden
The results ranked Korea second
2 Korea
highest in 2007, next only to Swe-
3 Denmark
den. All the other top 10 countries
4 Netherlands
are located in Europe.
5 Iceland
It was an improvement for Korea,
6 Norway
which was ranked third in the 2002
7 Luxembourg
survey. Iceland, the runner-up in
8 Switzerland
2002, fell to 5th in 2007. In the latest
9 Finland
survey, Denmark trailed Korea in
10 U.K.
third, followed by the Netherlands
11 Hong Kong
in fourth, Norway in sixth, Luxem-
12 Japan
bourg in seventh, Switzerland in
13 Germany
eighth, Finland in ninth and Britain
14 Australia
in 10th.
15 Singapore
Japan was the second Asian
16 New Zealand
country mentioned, coming in 12th,
17 U.S.A
followed by Singapore at 15th. The
18 Ireland
U.S. ranked 17th, China 73rd and
19 Canada
India 118th.
20 Austria
The survey attempted to con-
21 Macao
sider every facet of a country’s net-
22 Italy
work environment, including house-
23 France
hold Internet access, telephone lines,
24 Belgium
number of Internet users, fixed
25 Taiwan
broadband subscribers and interna-
26 Estonia
tional Internet bandwidth. House-
27 Spain
holds with computer, literacy, mobile
28 Slovenia
cellular subscriptions and mobile
29 Israel
cellular broadband subscriptions
30 Malta
were also part of the analysis.
*Source: ICT Development Index The report judged that Korea
(IDI) (2002 and 2007 ITU had improved in the area of intensity
44 korea April 2009
Business & Technology
of use, measured by its high-speed
Internet user base. According to the
ITU, in the past few years Korea has
increased its broadband penetration
significantly.
It said Korea ranked No. 1 in
recent years on the digital opportu-
nity index. Korea also comes in sec-
ond globally after Japan in mobile
broadband penetration, it said.
ITU market information head
Susan Teltscher told the AFP, "In
South Korea, the government has
practiced a very IT-focused policy,
making it one of its priorities, result-
Provided by the company
ing in a faster evolution towards an The latest models from Sam-
information society." sung Electronics can produce
The government has indeed a beep as loud as a truck
spent a great deal of money spread- horn and alert friends or rela-
ing Internet access throughout the tives — at the pull of a lever.
country and building specialized
mobile networks, under the "Ubi-
quitous Korea" plan.
A Phone That Can Scream
According to the government
roadmap, Korea will become a fully
connected society within a decade
by developing "U-infrastructure,"
"U-technologies," "U-industries" Korean handsets include new safety features after killer makes the news
and "U-government."
In 2004, Korea’s IT sector con-
K
tributed 14 percent of the country’s
gross domestic product. orea hasn’t been the same since serial killer Kang in an emergency. The phone’s safety functions will be very
Meanwhile, the survey showed Ho-sun came into the media spotlight last month. useful in times like these,” said Samsung Electronics.
that though the world at large has Discussions about personal safety, especially of The company’s new Haptic Pop SCH-W750 phone also
placed a greater focus on informa- women and children, are raging like never before. has SOS features. The touchscreen-equipped handset, tar-
tion technology in recent years, the But even in such a dark subject, local companies can geted at the youth market, will beep at the pull of a lever.
so-called digital divide is still always spot a new market opportunity, and in March, Sam- Samsung Electronics first showcased these safety func-
expanding just as quickly. sung Electronics launched the SPH-W7100 mobile phone, tions back in 2004 with the SCH-X850 phone, which sent SOS
Internet users accounted for 23 which includes new safety functions. Each SPH-W7100 messages during emergencies. That function has been
percent of the population of the phone includes a small safety lever on its back panel. installed in most of the company’s handsets since then.
world in 2008, but in Africa alone When the owner pulls the lever, the phone will let out an Rival LG Electronics plans to launch a similar cell phone
that figure stood at just 5 percent, extremely loud, 100-decibel beep, which can be heard as far with personal safety functions as early as this month.
the survey showed. as 70 meters away. The sound is as loud as the horn on a large Meanwhile, mobile service providers have joined in. SK
The survey also said the number truck. Telecom, Korea’s leading mobile phone operator, has started
of mobile phone users across the At the same time, the phone delivers an emergency mes- offering a special program called “Children’s Safety, Family’s
world reached 4.1 billion won at the sage to registered friends or relatives and sends out a GPS map Safety.”
end of 2008, compared with 1 billion of the area the owner is in at the time. If the phone is turned Parents who subscribe can track where their children are
in 2002. The number of landline off when the lever is pulled, it will send an SOS message to eight times a day using their mobile phones. KTF’s “I Search”
telephone subscribers edged up by anyone whose phone number is programmed into the owner’s service sends the location of their children to parents’ mobile
27 million to 1.27 billion during the phone. phones. Their “Show Care” service allows parents to see where
same period. “There has never been a product like this one, which their children are through a monitoring device attached to
By Moon Gwang-lip includes a beeping function, sends an SOS message and a map their handsets.  By Cho Jae-eun
April 2009 korea 45
 Korean Economy to Run
on New Growth Engines
Special
Series
05
Strategies for Growth
1. What are new growth
engines?
The New Growth Engines Initiative
reported its plan to President Lee
Myung-bak on Sept. 22. After six
months of intensive study, the initia-
tive has selected 22 projects in six
areas — energy and environment,
transportation systems, new infor-
mation technology, new integrated
industries, bio-related industries
and knowledge-based services. The
government plans to invest about 8
trillion won ($5.48 billion) in these
over the next five years, and is expect-
ing private matching funds of 91 tril-
lion won. By the target year of 2018,
companies in the NGE expect to
account for 77 percent of national
exports, creating 2.2 million new
jobs and reducing dependency on
imported oil by 13.4 percent.
2. Why is the NGE necessary?
Korea has achieved astonishing eco-
nomic growth during the last five
decades. Annual per-capita income
has grown from $100 to $20,000, and
Korea is the 13th-largest economy in
the world. Some Korean industries,
46 korea April 2009
such as shipbuilding, memory chips,
displays and mobile phones, are the
best in the world. Some heavy indus-
tries, such as automobiles, steel, and
oil refining, are also very competi-
tive.
However, the growth of the Korean
economy has been relatively slow
during the last decade because it is
facing strong international challeng-
es. Industry leaders are struggling to
spot new “blue ocean” markets in the
years to come. Unemployment
among the younger generation is
serious, and the proportion of retir-
ees has increased. Another challenge
is global warming and the energy
shortage.
If the market can autonomously cre-
ate new business, there is no need for
the government to step in with a
development plan. In this regard,
most developed countries support
only R&D and education. However,
this strategy is not always the best for
developing countries, where the
market is not as capable of innova-
tion. Even the United States is now
experiencing the need for appropri-
ate government control to secure the
As the world transitions into
a new age of clean power
and high technology, Korea
must be able to keep up.
Government R&D initiative designed to cata-
lyze private investment in high-potential
fields
nearly collapsed financial sector and
other deeply depressed industries.
At this stage, the Korean government
has decided to motivate new indus-
tries which have good potential for
growth, but may not grow unless the
government intentionally nurtures
R&D, cultivates initial-stage market
growth, deregulates where necessary
and provides well-prepared human
resources.
3. What are the objectives
and strategies of the NGE?
To solve the major challenges that
Korea is facing, the NGE Initiative
has defined its goals: to develop new
industries that can boost economic
growth, expand exports, and create
new jobs to achieve a per-capita
income of $40,000. The target year is
2018, with the interim target year
2013. To achieve the goals, we will
adopt four strategies: First, upgrade
major industries such as IT, ship-
building and automobiles; second,
create new industries by integrating
new technology and using our
[JoongAng Ilbo]
strength in IT; third, create new
businesses to overcome the chal-
April 2009 korea 47

lenges of the environment and the
energy crisis; and fourth, create high
employment in knowledge-based
Special
Series
service industries, such as health
care and education.
05 The NGE Initiative aims not only to
foster the development of technolo-
Strategies for Growth
gy, but also of world-class new busi-
nesses.
4. How will the NGE begin?
This is not the first time Korea has
established a governmental eco-
nomic development plan. But the
principles of the NGE Initiative are
unique in a few respects. The NGE
Initiative has the participation of 360
non-governmental experts from
various industries, research institu-
tions and universities. The task forc-
es are organized in four divisions
according to the goals defined above:
the Major Industries Upgrade Divi-
sion, the New Industries Creation
Division, the Energy and Environ-
ment Division and the Knowledge
Service Division.
The primary instruments to achieve
the NGE’s goals are technological
advancement and synergistic inte-
gration of component technologies
to create high-value industries. Even
though government spending of 5
percent on R&D would be one of the
highest in the world, the total would
still be less than 10 percent of what
the United States invests. So Korea
has to select and concentrate on
promising industries, considering
what industries it is best at develop-
ing. With these goals in mind, the
four divisions have formed 18 com-
48 korea April 2009
mittees and brainstormed on 400
project topics to help achieve the
goals. The proposals were reviewed,
discussed and then 63 projects were
selected according to these criteria:
potential market size, expected
growth rate, technological feasibility,
Korea’s strength in the area and
industry leaders’ commitment. The
63 candidate projects were reorga-
nized to remove redundancy, and 22
final projects were selected. This task
required a large amount of creative
synthesis of ideas. Finally, the select-
ed projects were grouped in six
areas.
5. The NGE Projects
The six areas and 22 final projects are
below.
Energy and
environment
• Emission-free
clean coal:
World coal reserves
could last about 150
years, while crude oil is expected
to be depleted within 50. So the liq-
uefaction of coal is an important
opportunity.
What is critical for this technology is
the removal of carbon dioxide and
other harmful gases from emissions,
and the transformation of captured
carbon into polymers and other
chemicals.
• Ocean-grown biofuel: Since
Korea has limited farmland, sea
grass such as algae can be grown in
salt water and fermented to create
biofuels such as ethanol and
butanol. Biofuel can be mixed with
gasoline as fuel for automobiles,
thus saving on oil imports.
• Solar cells: Sunlight is the most
promising renewable energy for
generating electric power. Solar
cells are not new technology, but
the challenge is to enhance the con-
version rate of solar cells to 40 per-
cent. Organic and transparent solar
cells are promising next-generation
technologies.
• Carbon sequestration and reuse:
To reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases, carbon dioxide needs to be
separated and stored without evapo-
ration. A more challenging but
promising approach is to photosyn-
thesize polymers and fuels from car-
bon dioxide and water, as plants do.
• Fuel cell power generation: Fuel
cells can generate electricity on
almost any scale, powering automo-
biles, ships, factories, building oper-
ations and even entire cities. The
efficiency of the fuel cell is 47 per-
cent, compared to 35 percent for a
traditional turbine, so fuel cells are
expected to replace traditional
power-generation systems.
• Nuclear power: Korea has well-
established technology and experi-
ence with the construction and
operation of nuclear power plants.
Since safe nuclear energy is regard-
ed as a good substitute for fossil
fuels, exporting nuclear power can
‘Korea has to select and concentrate on
promising industries it is best at developing.’
be a good opportunity for Korea.
Transportation
systems
• Green cars:
The most prom-
ising type of eco-
friendly car is the
plug-in hybrid elec-
tric vehicle, which uses both batter-
ies and a combustion engine and
can be recharged at home from a
wall socket. However, in Korea,
most cars cannot be parked in per-
sonal spaces. Establishing a public
charging infrastructure is an addi-
tional challenge. Electricity for
urban electric vehicles could even
be supplied from underground
wires without physical contact.
• Shipbuilding and ocean systems:
Korean shipbuilders are competing
heavily with Chinese companies.
Since the market size for floating
production, storage and offloading
vessels and platforms is bigger than
that of shipbuilding, the industry
should pursue this new opportuni-
ty. One example is mobile harbor
technology, which is essential in the
shallow harbors around the Yellow
Sea.
New fields in IT
• System semi-
conductors:
Korea is a leader
in memory semi-
conductors. How-
ever, we rely on
imports for system semiconductors
for telecommunication devices,
automobiles, environmental sensors
and solar cells. So developing sys-
tem semiconductors here is a good
opportunity for Korea.
• Displays: Korea is the leader in
producing TV screens and comput-
er monitors. Since consumers
always want larger, thinner and
more versatile displays, AMOLED-
powered screens and flexible
screens are the next generation.
Thin and flexible displays can be
used for mobile phones and e-book
readers.
• Next-generation mobile telecom-
munications: Korea is a leader in
the CDMA and WCDMA industry.
To preserve this competitiveness,
companies participating in WCD-
MA should develop the core tech-
nologies of next-generation mobile
telecommunications, owning the
intellectual property rights, and
lead the global market in 4G and
5G.
• LED lighting: Lighting consumes
30 percent of all electric power. So
more efficient lighting is key to
energy conservation. LED lighting
can save about 70 percent of the
energy used by current lighting
devices. But these lamps are still too
expensive. Developing a mass pro-
duction base is the foundation of
cost reduction.
• RFID/USN: RFID and the Ubiqui-
tous Sensor Network are revolu-
tionary instruments for next-gener-
ation logistics management. How-
ever, chip prices are still too expen-
sive to justify their application. The
government should apply RFID/
USN in the public sector to create a
new standard and allow for mass
production and cost reduction.
New integrat-
ed industries
• Robots: The
robot market is
expected to
grow rapidly in
the next 10 years,
reaching $420 billion by 2020. So
Korea will focus on developing
robots in key applications: service
robots for education and entertain-
ment, security and health care
robots, and manufacturing robots.
• New materials and nanotechnol-
ogy: Materials science is the foun-
dation for advanced products and
parts, and nanotechnology is the
key to these new materials. Devel-
oping the core technologies for new
metals, chemicals, fabrics and
ceramic materials is essential for the
sustainable growth of advanced
products in areas such as social
infrastructure and solar energy.
• IT-enabled products and pro-
cesses: Korea is a leader in IT
infrastructure. To maximize the
benefits of that leadership, we can
use our networks to upgrade prod-
ucts and processes in key industries
such as automobiles, shipbuilding,
April 2009 korea 49

textiles, construction, airplanes,
medical equipment and education.
Special
Series
• Convergence of telecommunica-
tions and broadcasting: The tele-
05 communication and broadcasting
industries are converging in their
Strategies for Growth
platforms and terminals. Internet
TV, mobile TV, and ultra high defi-
nition display technologies and dig-
ital content will converge in next-
generation IPTV-based media.
Bio-related
industries
• New medi-
cine and medi-
cal equipment:
The medical
industry is one no
society can neglect. Gene and stem-
cell therapies and implant develop-
ment are opportunities that will
benefit Korea. Bio-related indus-
tries can also be integrated with our
IT networks to create new medical
diagnosis systems. The strength of
Korea’s IT will help in the pursuit.
Knowledge-
based
services
• Software:
Korea is weak in
the software
package industry.
However, industry-specific solu-
tions can be pursued in the manu-
facturing and service industries.
Software is the key ingredient to
upgrade traditional industries.
Gaining a global competitive busi-
50 korea April 2009
ness position is the challenge.
• Design: Design adds additional
value to products and services. To
create better designs for our prod-
ucts, we need experts who both
have design skills and understand
engineering principles. Design
technology needs to be integrated
with marketing concepts to maxi-
mize the value of creative designs.
• Health care: Medical fees in
Korea are drastically cheaper than
they are in Western countries. So
foreign patients are willing to visit
Korea to enjoy modern medical
services and sightseeing.
Since the quality of medical services
at Korean hospitals is quite competi-
tive, our hospital system could even
be exported to developing coun-
tries.
• Cultural content: The digital
aspects of entertainment are a new
promising industry. Content distri-
bution was proposed by the Minis-
try of Culture, Sports and Tourism,
while the other 21 projects were
proposed by the Ministry of Knowl-
edge Economy.
Other ministries are developing new
growth engines of their own in areas
such as banking, and they will be
integrated with what we have pro-
posed here by the end of this year.
The government is developing a
detailed road map and will announce
the final agenda for new growth
engine projects in 2009. 
By Suh Nam-pyo
Hidden
Champions
Research and Creativity
Keys to HJC’s Success
W
hen HJC first started
out in 1971 it was a
small company that
specialized in small
motorcycle helmet parts. Today HJC
Helmet is one of the world’s leading
manufacturer of motorcycle helmets
with annual revenue of over 300 bil-
Suh Nam-pyo lion won and a global market share of
more than 30 percent.
• Suh Nam-pyo is the president of the It was one of 127 Korean compa-
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and nies that the Ministry of Knowledge
Technology. Economy highlighted as a world lead-
• He was appointed director of the Ko- er, based on data from 2007.
rean Presidential New Growth Engine The company was also one of the
Search Group in 2008. 10 institutions to win a government
• Previously, he had been at MIT since award late last year for contributing to
1970, where he was the Ralph E. & Elo- the local sports industry. At the awards
ise F. Cross Professor, director of the Park ceremony last month, Sports and
Center for Complex Systems (formerly Tourism Minister Yu In-chon called
the Manufacturing Institute), and the HJC a truly patriotic company for pro-
head of the Department of Mechanical moting Korean sports brands to the
Engineering for 10 years from 1991 to world amid such difficult times.
2001. By 1980 the company had won the
• He has received six honorary doctoral largest share of the domestic market.
degrees: doctor of humane letters from But it didn’t stop there. The motorcycle
the University of Massachusetts — Low-
HJC Helmet helmet manufacturer first entered the
ell in 1988; doctor of engineering from U.S. market with its own unique brand
Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1986; HJC has over 30 percent of the in 1984. The firm had to carefully
honorary doctorate (Tekn. Hedersdok- world motorcycle helmet maket. ensure that its products would pass
tor) from the Royal Institute of Technol- U.S. Department of Transportation
ogy (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, in 2000; quality inspections.
doctor of engineering honoris causa, But in just six years the company
University of Queensland in 2007; doc- became the leading supplier of motor-
tor scientiarum honoris causa from the cycle helmets in North America, sur-
[Provided by HJC Helmet]
Technion, Israel Institute of Technology passing Japanese firms such as Arai
in 2007; and doctor of science and tech- and Shoei. HJC now has a market
nology from Carnegie-Mellon University, share of more than 50 percent there,
in 2008. and has never fallen from No. 1.
E-mail: jsong@kier.re.kr HJC’s stunning growth can be
largely credited to its research and
development efforts. Since the com-
pany established its research institute
in 2002 it has invested 10 percent of its
annual revenue in R&D.
HJC Chairman Hong Whan-ki is
known for his business philosophy,
which holds that a company that does
not research cannot survive.
So the company has continued to
use the latest new materials to improve
resistance against outside impact and
the weight of protective gear. HJC has
also applied the latest technologies,
including computer simulation to
push its helmets to the limit.
Not satisfied to be the leading sup-
plier of motorcycle helmets, HJC has
been expanding into other fields. Since
2005 the U.S. branch office has been
selling helmets for automobile racing.
The company recently developed
bicycle helmets and is now moving
onto other athletic fields.
The company has even sold safety
gear for kendo, or Japanese fencing.
HJC’s reinforced plastic gear reduces
impact and is 15 percent lighter than
existing gear. Other kendo gear mak-
ers use metal and cloth. HJC has also
developed helmets for riot police.
Even as a leading motorcycle hel-
met manufacturer, HJC is continu-
ously seeking out new businesses. It
plans to pursuit niche markets includ-
ing helmets tailored for letter carriers
and couriers, who have to travel on
motorcycles for long hours, to secure
its future and protect it against new
competitors.  By Lee Ho-jeong
April 2009 korea
April 2009 korea 51
51
Sports
[YONHAP]
A dramatic end to WBC
A Korean national baseball
team swallows their disap-
pointment and celebrates
a second-place finish at the
The 2009 tournament may have ended with a loss to arch-rival Japan, WBC in Los Angeles.
but Korea’s stunning performance will inspire fans and players for years
52 korea April 2009
I
t was an inspiring run by the young
Korean baseball team led by man-
ager Kim In-sik at the 2009 World
Baseball Classic, capped off by a
final game against Japan that was deter-
mined in the 10th inning.
The team may have come up just
short, but it proved to the world that it
could hold its own against baseball pow-
ers such as Japan, Venezuela and Mexi-
co. What was surprising about the sec-
ond-place finish was the average age of
the team — 26.4 — and that it made it
without veterans Park Chan-ho and Lee
Seung-yeop, the linchpins of the nation-
al baseball team for close to a decade.
After making a lasting impression
on opposing teams, fans and scouts
alike, the team received an IBAF (Inter-
national Baseball Federation) ranking
of second in the world, with four players
making the all-tournament squad of the
WBC, the most from any one team.
Named to the team were first base-
man and cleanup hitter Kim Tae-kyun,
who filled in admirably for Lee Seung-
yeop, with three home runs and 11 RBIs
throughout the tournament, as well as
Hanhwa Eagles teammate and third
baseman Lee Bum-ho, who also hit
three home runs and seven RBIs, plus
Bong Jung-keun and Kim Hyun-soo.
Southpaw Bong Jung-keun, who
played for the Atlanta Braves and the
Cincinnati Reds, came up with solid
starts en route to a 2-0 and 0.51 ERA
record during the tournament. While
Ryu Hyun-jin was designated as the ace
of the pitching rotation heading into the
tournament, Bong got all the call to start
the major games after his impressive 1-0
victory over Japan in the final game of
the Group A.
The young Korean team looked
loose and confident heading into the
final game of the tournament and tied
the game 3-3 with a single by Lee Bum-
ho at the bottom of the ninth inning.
In a fitting end to an exciting tour-
nament with five matches against Japan,
it all came down to the closer Lim
Chang-yong pitching against Ichiro
Suzuki. But Ichiro hit a two-run RBI at
the top of the 10th inning to success-
fully protect its championship.
The game, which was held at Dodg-
Sports
er Stadium in Los Angeles, California,
had over 50,000 spectators in atten-
dance, with people coming into the sta-
dium during the seventh and eighth
innings just to catch a glimpse of the
final game.
As expected, a large Korean number
of Korean fans from the L.A. area
cheered their team on with sky-blue
ThunderStix in hand.
The level of excitement reached fer-
vor pitch in Korea as well. Even though
the game was held on a Tuesday morn-
ing here, 10,000 fans showed up at Jam-
sil Stadium in Seoul to watch their team
on a giant screen, and office workers
gathered together around television sets
to keep tabs on the game, called a once-
in-a-century match by Japanese man-
ager Tatsunori Hara.
While the close finish to an exciting
and inspiring run by the young Korean
team left fans disappointed, they could
take comfort in a stunning overall per-
formance.
The Korean team started off with an
impressive win over Taiwan in the first
game, but got blown out 14-2 by Japan
on March 7 at Tokyo Dome. The game
could have hurt the confidence of the
Korean roster, filled with young players
mostly in their early 20s, but their expe-
rienced manager rallied the troops, and
the game served as a turning point
toward the team’s dramatic finish.
“After losing big to Japan in the first
round, I told my players in a meeting
that whether you lose 1-0 or 10-0, a loss
is a loss. I told them to give it their all in
the next game, and they went out and
defeated Japan 1-0. The players gained
confidence after that game and it played
a crucial role in our team reaching the
finals,” said manager Kim at a press con-
ference upon returning to Korea.
After coming home, the players and
their manager were congratualted by
President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue
House.
With the young players gaining
valuable experience at the 2009 tourna-
ment, the future of Korean baseball
looks bright, and fans are eagerly await-
ing the start of the Korea Baseball Orga-
nization season.
 By Jason Kim
April 2009 korea 53
 Travel
Travel

Wisdom of the Mountains

Spring brings lovely blossoms and fresh tea to South Jeolla.

Provided by Korea Tourism Organization

Royal azaleas in full bloom signal the coming
of spring to Baraebong Peak on Mount Jiri.
Provided by the Korea National Park Service.

54 korea April 2009 April

April 2009korea
2009 korea5555

Above: A worker roasts green tea leaves to prepare them for packaging.
Left: The green tea harvest begins in late April and doesn’t cease until August.
Below: Daehan Plantation is the oldest modern green tea farm in Korea.
[JoongAng Ilbo]
Tourist information
For Mount Jiri National Park,
visit http://jiri.knps.or.kr or
call (061) 783-9100.
For Boseong County,
visit www.boseong.go.kr or
call (061) 852-2181.
For Daehan Plantation,
visit www.dhdawon.com or
call (061) 852-2593.
For Damyang County,
visit www.damyang.go.kr or
call (061) 380-3114.
For Daenamugol Theme Park,
visit www.bamboopark.co.kr or
call (063) 653-4333.
56 korea April 2009
I
f you’re itching to get out of
the city and enjoy the warm
spring air, a trip down to
South Jeolla Province just
might be just what the doctor
ordered. April is the perfect time to
taste the hospitality of Korea’s
southwestern region.
The province sits at the south-
western tip of the Korean Peninsula,
and is home to Mount Jiri and
Boseong and Damyang counties, a
great place to bask in the spring
green and enjoy fresh local food.
One of Korea’s three tallest
mountains, Mount Jiri and its foot-
hills pass through both Jeolla prov-
inces and South Gyeongsang, with
its peak at 1,915 meters (6,283 feet)
above sea level. It was recognized as
the first national park in Korea in
1967.
The name Mount Jiri suppos-
edly derives from a legend that says
a fool will find enlightenment after
enough time on the mountain. Jiri
means wise in Korean. The moun-
tain is full of trails, so today the wise
and foolish alike can give it a try.
Mount Jiri hosts six Buddhist
temples, and one of the most well
known is Hwaeomsa, located near
the middle of Nogodan Peak. Built
in the fifth year of the Silla period,
or 544, the temple was destroyed
and restored in 1630. Hwaeomsa is
home to Gakhwangjoen, a three-
story stone pagoda and National
Treasure No. 67, and several other
lovely buildings.
Mount Jiri is also home to the
endangered Asiatic black bear, dis-
Travel
tinguishable by its black coat and a
white V-shaped crest on its chest.
“There are only five wild Asiatic
black bears left on Mount Jiri. This
is because the Japanese colonial
government deemed them danger-
ous to people and ordered them
hunted. According to contempo-
rary records, about 1,067 Asiatic
black bears were slaughtered in the
colonial period,” said Jeung Seung-
jeun of the national parks’ species
restoration department.
“The effort to preserve and pro-
tect these bears started in 2001. We
adopted 27 bears from North Korea,
and 15 are being groomed to be
released into the wild. We recently
had two cubs born from adopted
bears,” Jeung added.
According to Jeung, Mount Jiri
is an ideal habitat for these bears
due to its size and the abundance of
the wild plants the bears eat.
For those interested in learning
more about Asiatic black bears, an
information and guided course is
available, offering the chance to see
eight of the adopted bears.
Another popular destination
for families and couples in South
Jeolla is Boseong, located near the
southern edge of the province and
home to a number of breathtaking
green tea plantations. The area’s
proximity to the sea and high alti-
tude provide the perfect climate for
growing the prized leaves.
“Green tea has been a part of our
county’s history since well before
the Joseon period [1392-1897]. But
large commercial farming of green
April 2009 korea 57

tea began with the Daehan Plantation in
1939 during the Japanese colonial era,”
said Song Ki-ho of the Boseong culture
and tourism department.
“Today, there are 1,300 green tea
farms here in total, taking up approxi-
mately 1,048 hectares,” Song said.
‘While bitter is better for health, flavor is very
important in grading the quality of green tea.’
Tea leaves sprout in early April, with
the first batch of leaves picked near the
end of the month. The final harvest is
done near the end of August.
No visitor to Boseong should miss
Daehan Plantation. The farm was first
established by a Japanese businessman,
then left to deteriorate during the tur-
bulent postwar years. The current own-
er, Jang Young-seob, purchased it and
The bamboo forest at Daenamugol is the
largest in Korea — for those who take their
relaxing seriously.
58 korea April 2009
the land surrounding it in 1957.
The first thing visitors notice at the
plantation is the row of Japanese cedar
trees and, of course, the roughly 5.8 mil-
lion green tea trees that paint vast swaths
of the hillside a rich green.
“The road with rows of Japanese
cedars stretches for a kilometer (0.62
mile). Our plantation went through
some tough times during the 1970s, but
things began to pick up during the 1990s
as people began to recognize the health
benefits of green tea,” said Ju Yong-ro,
factory manager at Daehan Plantation.
“These days, with the recession, our
sales have slumped somewhat.”
According to Ju, the green tea of the
highest quality is picked near the end of
April, around the 20th.
“The early pickings produce very
soft and mild flavored green tea when
brewed. They lack the bitter flavor of the
later harvests. While bitter is better for
health, flavor is very important in grad-
ing the quality of green tea,” Ju said.
With green tea such a big part of
Boseong’s culture and economy, it only
makes sense that an annual festival is
held in its name. The Boseong Green
Tea Festival, now entering its 35th year,
will be held from May 8 to 12 in 2009.
At the other end of the province sits
Damyang County, sandwiched between
North Jeolla Province to the north and
Gwangju to the south. Like Boseong,
Damyang is verdant during the spring
and summer seasons. But it’s known for
quite different things: bamboo and
strawberries.
Nestled in one of the most north-
erly areas capable of growing bamboo,
Daenamugol Theme Park is a popular
destination for visitors. Billed as the
largest bamboo forest in Korea, the
lush fields and the sound of the leaves
rustling in the wind through the wind-
ing paths is a soothing treat.
At Daenamugol dense bamboo
covers an area large enough to hold
roughly 21 football fields. The park
also boasts a campground complete
with outdoor cooking areas, showers
and leisure facilities. Like Daehan
Plantation, Daenamugol has been a
popular setting for Korean films, tele-
vision series and advertisements.
Damyang County’s PR department
touts bamboo shoots, rich in calcium
and amino acids, believed to lower
blood pressure — that is, if strolling
through the forest hasn’t done that
already.
For history buffs, Mount Geum-
seong Fortress, spanning more than
seven kilometers (4.35 miles) at 603
meters above sea level, is a must. Many
believe it was built near the end of the
Goryeo period (918 to 1392), but a
guide published by the county sug-
gests, since a Mongol invasion took
place in the 43rd year of King Gojeong’s
rule, it was completed before the mid-
13th century. Despite being at the cen-
ter of the Japanese invasion from 1592
to 1598, the peasant rebellion in 1894
known as the Donghak Uprising and
the Korean War, it has remained intact.
All four fortress gates and its imposing
stone walls are in great condition.
Located roughly 6 kilometers (3.7
miles) north of Damyang, Geumseong
is known for its steep incline and cliffs.
It’s a lot of walking, but a trip down to
South Jeolla Province this month will
be well worth the effort.
 By Jason Kim
[JoongAng Ilbo]
Travel
South Jeolla Treats
Since South Jeolla has lots of arable
land and is surrounded by the sea,
it’s unsurprisingly full of farms and
fisheries — and great food.
Some restaurants in Boseong offer
samgyeopsal pork belly strips from
pigs fed nothing but green tea.
“We have ark shell soup and grilled
gizzard shards, but in Boseong visi-
tors should try green tea fed sam-
gyeopsal. Pigs fed green tea are
leaner and their meat not as pun-
gent as ordinary pork belly strips,”
says Song Ki-ho of Boseong’s cul-
ture and tourism department.
No matter what the pigs ate, there’s
nothing like the smell of pork belly
strips sizzling on a hot grill. Simply
grab a strip off the grill, add sauce
and toppings and wrap it in lettuce
— but don’t forget to crack open
a bottle of soju. Speaking from ex-
perience, every pork belly strip con-
sumed should be accompanied by
a shot of chilled soju, or at least a
kettle of makgeolli.
Rice cooked in bamboo shoots is
a delicious Damyang specialty, but
visitors should also give the local
tteok galbi, or grilled minced meat,
a try. It’s a mix of beef and pork
with chopped vegetables in a grilled
patty. In South Jeolla Province,
bibimbap, or rice stirred together
with vegetables, is served after the
grilled minced meat. If there’s any
leftover meat on the grill, mix it up
with your rice and veggies to en-
hance the flavor.
April 2009 korea 59
Fashion
New wedding dress designs
feature luxurious decoration
and a focus on the figure.
Bridal Trends for Spring 2009
’Tis the Season for Married Bliss
S
pring is the season of life, of
flowers in bloom, which makes
it a favorite for weddings. And
this spring Korean wedding
dresses look to be more luxuriant and
brilliant than ever.
New bridal collections unveiled this
spring try for a romantic flair, a far cry
from once-popular slim-lined designs.
And the hundreds of companies crowd-
ing local wedding shows are eager to set
new trends for 2009.
The collections at the recent ’09 New
Classic Wedding Show and Korea Wed-
ding Expo introduced mermaid-shaped
wedding dresses, and piled on the acces-
sories, decorated with luxurious satins,
brilliant crystal beads and stone jewelry.
As romanticism comes back into vogue,
more luxuriant lines go for that perfect
silhouette. Limitations on materials
and colors have evaporated with the
new romantic trend.
The bridal shops in Cheongdam-
dong in southern Seoul and “Wedding
Choosing a dress is a more complicated task than ever, with the proliferation of styles.
[yonhap]
60 korea April 2009
Town” in Sinchon have already updated
their store windows. But as designs pro-
liferate, brides’ choices become more
difficult. This is because most wedding
dresses are designed to fit best on West-
ern bodies, not Asian brides, who are
not as tall. When Korean brides-to-be
choose their wedding dresses, they tend
to select ones that look prettier by sim-
ply browsing through magazines. But
wedding designers advise brides to
select styles that highlight their figures
and downplay their weak points.
Tall and slim women should try
dresses with short necklines and more
mixed designs. A dress with a low waist
and shirring is also recommended for
tall and slim brides who don’t want to
tower over their future hubbies.
Those who are small and slim should
avoid a long dress with a long veil.
Instead, choose a simply designed dress
with romantic decorations to highlight
your cute image. A high waistline is also
recommended to make shorter brides
Fashion
look taller.
Tall and less slim brides ought to try
simply designed dresses. You’ll cut a
cool figure with tight tailoring at the top
of the dress and a neckline that accentu-
ates the shoulders. Shorter and less slim
women are advised to go with a dress
with a long neckline and shoulders. A
slightly high waistline and slipped down
dress is also a good idea. Fluttery fabrics
like silk can also make brides look slim-
mer and taller. But what’s a wedding
without a ring? Recent ring designs fea-
ture classic and traditional settings.
Solitaire diamond wedding rings are
popular yet again, according to Golden
Dew, a Seoul-based diamond jewelry
maker. In addition, an eternity ring, or
a line of diamonds or gems, attached to
the main diamond wedding ring is also
coming into vogue worldwide. Wearing
a main wedding diamond ring together
with an eternity ring of colored stones
will make for a brilliant sight on the big
day. By Sunny Kim
Provided by the Lee Seung Jin Wedding
April 2009 korea 61
People People
People

T 27 Years Inside
o David Mason, Korea was one
of those exotic, unknown Asian
countries perfect for an Ameri-

‘Unknown’ Korea
can fresh out of college and ach-
ing to explore the world — but he didn’t
discover that right away.
Mason first went to Thailand, then
Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan and David Mason first visited Korea in 1982.
Taiwan, before finally stepping onto
He had no idea he’d still be here today.
el
Chann

Rain has managed to ride Korean soil.

the Korean Wave all the way It was 1982, one year after his col-
iscovery

to a film career in the U.S. lege graduation, and what Mason now
describes as Korea’s unexpected charms
y the D


ended up keeping him here, on and off,
db

for the next 27 years.

Provide

"Korea is beautiful. Korea is an

interesting country," Mason, now 51,
said in a recent telephone interview for

The Hollywood
“Ninja Assassin,” as Raizo. this magazine. He said that view hasn’t
What makes this documentary spe- changed since he arrived.
cial for Koreans is it was filmed for seven Mason now works as a tourism pro-

Forecast: Rain
months last year at various locations in
Seoul, featuring the city’s most spectac-
ular sights, including the Han River and
Namsan, along with the trendy neigh-
The Korean celebrity has a special on his life borhoods of Myeong-dong, Hongik
University and Cheongdam-dong. One
airing worldwide, and will star in a U.S. film.
fessor at Kyung Hee University in Seoul,
one of the few rare non-Korean experts
in Korean tourism.
He’s taught himself almost every-
thing there is to learn about Korea.
Back at the University of Michigan,

Provided by David Mason

scene shows Rain participating in the Mason studied China and was enthralled
filming of a music video in Apgujeong- by East Asian culture — but he was only

A
ctor and pop music singer
Rain, whose ambitions took
him from Korean superstar
to Asian heartthrob, has
been featured in a documentary titled
“Hip Korea,” produced by the Discovery
Channel. It is the first time the Ameri-
can cable television network, available
in 170 countries around the world, has
run a program devoted solely to a Kore-
an celebrity. The program first aired on
the channel in January.
The second episode of “Hip Korea,”
featuring Korean actor Lee Byung-hun,
will be broadcast in May.
Since the first episode hit television
screens in Australia and New Zealand
on Jan. 31, it has been rerun several
times. The show started broadcasting in
Asian countries including Korea on Feb.
23. The episode featuring Rain will
rerun in April here.
The documentary, which is 45 min-
utes long, tells the life story of the
26-year-old singer and actor, who rose
from poverty and recovered from the
pain of losing his mother to become an
international star. It portrays the hard
work and passion that has helped Rain
go beyond the Hallyu, or Korean cul-
tural wave, to become an up-and-com-
ing Hollywood actor.
Rain appears in “Speed Racer,” the
English adaptation of the classic Japa-
nese racing anime directed by Andy and
Larry Wachowski. After this relatively
small role as Taejo Togokhan, Rain
landed a job in another Hollywood film,
dong. Another scene sees him looking
out over the Han River and Mount Nam
from the rooftop of a building in Han-
nam-dong, Seoul.
The second episode will show
another Hallyu star, Lee Byung-hun,
driving a Ferrari on a riverside highway
and taking the subway. His feature film
credits include the starring role in the
critically acclaimed “Joint Security
Area” and, most recently, in the fantasy
remake of “The Good, the Bad, the
Weird.” Lee also landed roles in two
Hollywood films now in post-produc-
tion, playing Su Dongpo in the thriller
“I Come with the Rain” starring Josh
Hartnett and Storm Shadow in the Ste-
phen Sommers film “G.I. Joe: The Rise
of Cobra.” 
 By Limb Jae-un
really aware of China and Japan.
Several decades ago, Korea, he said,
was only vaguely known and rarely
studied even among Asian scholars in
the U.S. At that time, the University of
Michigan’s research materials on the
country were scant.
So Mason simply thought Korea
would be similar to China. But over
time he came to realize the country’s
uniqueness.
"I began to recognize a different
style in Korea, different from China and
Japan. Then I said to myself, wow, it's a
third country. There are three countries
in East Asia," he said. "[Korea] has its
own character, but nobody knew any-
thing about it."
Driven by the desire to share his
knowledge, Mason has written several
David Mason holds a roof tile with a Buddhist monk.
books about Korea.
He also runs a Web site (www.san-
shin.org) offering English-language
information about Korean mountains,
which he amassed over several decades.
Sanshin is the Korean word for moun-
tain spirit.
In 2007, two men from New Zea-
land — Roger Shepherd and Andrew
Douch — launched a hiking project
along Baekdudaegan, the 670-kilome-
ter series of mountain ranges that forms
the backbone of the Korean Peninsula,
and Mason has played a key part in their
ongoing expedition, turning the infor-
mation the two hikers collect into aca-
demic materials, which they plan to
publish as books. In collaboration with
the Korean Tourism Organization, they
are also working on a comprehensive
Baekdudaegan trail route.
"I want to promote unknown aspects
of Korea so that the world can find them
out," Mason said. "I wish Korea would
be more recognized in the world." 
By Moon Gwang-lip

62 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 63

 People People
People

Not Just I
n recent years, Washington’s envoys to Seoul have tried to talk Well aware that person to person allow young people to spend 18 months
directly to the Korean public, but the new ambassador, Kathleen interaction can go a long way, Ambas- abroad, including five months of lan-
Stephens, takes it to a whole new level sador Stephens struck a deliberate note guage study, a year-long internship and

Another
She has a Korean name — Shim Eun-kyung — which she uses when, during her first press conference a month of tourism. Some 5,000 Kore-
to post about her experience as ambassador in Korean and English after arriving, she introduced herself ans will participate annually.
on the embassy Web site and at Daum, a major Korean blog site. with her Korean name, Shim Eun- But perhaps the most poignant

Diplomat
The first female U.S. envoy
is no stranger to Korea.
The nuances may get lost in a translation on occasion, but not kyung. Because of the importance she symbol of the ambassador’s long
very often — after all, Ambassador Stephens speaks Korean. Some places on language, the ambassador has relationship with Korea is what
diplomats take crash courses on the host country's language, but the urged her staff members to learn Kore- she bought from an acquaintance
first female U.S. ambassador to Korea first encountered the Korean an to understand the locals better. in Hongcheon, Gangwon: a pair
language not as a diplomat but as a teacher. Stephens taught English “Pressure it is, but it's good pres- of Korean sabsal dogs, named
at a middle school in rural South Chungcheong Province for three sure,” said an official at the U.S. embassy, Yeoyu and Mushim.
years beginning in 1975 as a Peace Corps volunteer, and she returned referring to Ambassador Stephens’ lan- With two Korean dogs, a
to the country in the 1980s as a junior diplomat. guage campaign. In any case, sincere Daum blog and her fluent Kore-
Her blog entries are as apolitical as possible, recounting experi- messages get through, and the ambas- an, anyone would agree that Shim
ences meeting with members of the public rather than government sador's philosophy is a fitting one. Eun-kyung fits right in. By Brian Lee
officials. When asked in an earlier interview
In a February entry she wrote, “Another sport I enjoyed in Korea with the JoongAng Daily about the phi-
many years ago was taekwondo. I shared this sport with my embassy losophy behind her approach, the
colleagues last week when the embassy hosted a demonstration by ambassador replied, “I want to make
some well-known taekwondo masters in our cafeteria area. We sure that I keep speaking Korean
observed breaking and self-defense techniques from a team led by and just engage people. I
Master Lee Kyung-ho. The ceiling was so low that the taekwondo encourage my people to do
athletes were not able to jump as high as they might have, but their the same. Once people
performance was still impressive.” think a foreigner like
Her blog post continues, relating that experience to her past me speaks Korean they
memories of the sport and the country. “When I took taekwondo in come up and talk to me.”
the 1970s, very few women were involved in the sport, and there were Though her predecessors
no female taekwondo athletes in Yesan. It is terrific to see that today laid the foundation, it is only
the sport is practiced with enthusiasm by both men and women,” she fitting that Korea has been add-
wrote. ed to the United States’ visa waiv-
In another entry the same day she writes about a different sport. er program, which allows Korean
“I also had fun attending the Korean Basketball League's All-Star citizens to visit the United States for
game on Sunday as an honorary referee. What a great atmosphere! I up to 90 days without a visa, under
learned that Korea's professional basketball league is only about 10 Stephens’ watch. Both sides have also
years old, so I was really impressed by the quality of play and the great agreed to a student exchange project
enthusiasm of the fans,” she wrote. between the two countries that will

Far left: Ambassador

Stephens returns to Yesan
Middle School, where she
taught 30 years before.
Left: The envoy serves as
honorary referee for a KBL
basketball game. Right:

[JoongAng Daily]
Ambassador Stephens sits
[JoongAng Ilbo]

with her two dogs, Yeoyu

and Mushim.

64 korea April 2009 April 2009 korea 65

Foreign Viewpoints
The Past
Is Another
Country
In Seoul in 1980, a foreigner
was still a rare sight. But for
Paul Mooney the warmth of
the people made enduring the
homesickness worthwhile.
Paul Mooney is Vicar for the international
congregation at Seoul Anglican Cathedral.
He first came to Korea as a missionary
student on overseas training in 1980 and
has spent about 15 years in total living in
Korea since then.His wife, Soonduk Park, is
a Korean and they have two almost grown-
up children.
66 korea April 2009
O
n Wednesday evenings I
attend a Korean class for
foreigners at the Korea
Foundation Cultural Center.
Korean is our common language, and we
inevitably end up talking about our ex-
periences living in Seoul. I was quite sur-
prised at the interest my fellow students
had in life in Seoul in the early 1980s. To
me it seems like yesterday, but this pre-
Internet, pre-cell phone time was before
most of them were born. In fact, 1980 is
as long ago to my fellow students now
as the end of the Korean War was to me
when I first came to Seoul.
When I arrived in August 1980, Ko-
rea had experienced a difficult period of
trauma since the death of President Park
Chung Hee. But not all was grim politics
by any means; life goes on and Seoul
was then as now a busy place. One of
the first things that struck me was the
almost complete absence of ordinary
private cars, and the abundance of taxis,
buses and commercial vehicles. Except
for a few Hyundai Ponies and Kia Brisas
the only private cars seemed to be large
black sedans which obviously carried
persons of some importance. At 80 won
for a single fare, buses were not only
convenient but cheap. The small orange
and green taxis were also a very good
value, and the compact cabs would fill
up with passengers going in the same
general direction, especially coming up
to the crucial curfew hour when the
streets would clear from midnight till
four. The subway was still small, but
work on the new lines was going on in
almost every quarter, and this added to
the general bedlam of Seoul traffic.
Though the capital city of a budding
world-class economy, Seoul in 1980 was
not quite cosmopolitan. Foreigners still
raised eyebrows and were a source of
wonder off the beaten track. Western
foods that we can now pick up in any
local supermarket had to be accessed
at premium prices in the foreigners’
commissary or stalls in the back alleys
of Namdaemun. For many Westerners,
choco pies were the nearest things to bis-
cuits or cookies in local stores. But there
were many compensations: People went
out of their way to make one welcome,
and many embarrassing blunders were
gracefully forgiven. Spontaneous acts
of kindness and consideration mitigated
the force of homesickness and culture
shock. Warm-hearted humanity and a
spirit of solidarity capable of transcend-
ing racial and national boundaries often
broke through Confucian formality and
the myriad regulations that governed
everyday life. Despite the changes, rela-
tionships were then and still are the key
to all of aspects of life here in Korea.
When I am pressed to identify the
difference between Korea in 1980 and
the Korea of today I have to look to so-
ciety itself. Korea in 1980 was in many
ways highly collectivized. In private or
public companies, in the military or in
education, people knew their place and
rank in the structure. But Koreans have
never been happy just to take their place
in the hierarchy, and much of Korea’s
success has been due to people forging
ahead armed with personal ambitions
and taking risks on new ventures.
Little did we imagine that it would
all change so fast. Economic liberaliza-
tion brought a consumer society, politi-
cal liberalization, a strong civil society.
Private cars began to throng the streets,
and individualized life gradually took
hold. When it was announced in 1980
that Seoul would host the 1988 Olym-
pics, few realized the city would change
so far beyond a few sports facilities. By
1988 Seoul would be well on its way to
becoming the world-class city it is today.
So, what do I miss? I don’t miss the un-
abashed personal questions and the irk-
some niggling requests which reflected
no understanding of individual boundar-
ies. However, I do miss the spontaneous
simplicity, the almost naïve wonderment
and that strong dose of human warmth
and affection that Koreans call cheong.
The warmth is still there, but in the end,
all I can echo is the famous quote: “The
past is another country, they do things
differently there.”