People & Culture

February 2011

korea‘s
online
game
thrills with multiplayers

korea works out

KOREANs dash toward better health
UPo wetland
a Fountain of life
ISSN: 2005-2162

www.korea.net
Contents
february 2011 VOL.7 NO.02

02
cover story
As one of the world’s most wired nations,
Korea’s vibrant gaming industry is booming.
This is the story to look forward to in 2011.

14
pen & brush
Bae Su-ah’s delicate and sensitive prose
reflects a novelist of extraordinary versatility.

18
people
Carpenter Lee Jeong-seob is fond of tradition,
but certainly isn’t afraid of modernity.

22
great korean
Joseon-era artist Shin Saimdang left behind a
legacy for women that has endured the ages.

24
my korea
02
February’s Lunar New Year holiday, or seollal,
is a meaningful time for Koreans as they
gather with family to welcome a new year.

28 publisher Seo Kang-soo,

seoul Korean Culture and Information Service
Seoul’s long history as a city embraces majestic
architecture that includes many royal palaces. Editing HEM KOREA Co., Ltd

e-mail webmaster@korea.net
30
travel printing Samsung Moonhwa Printing Co.
Upo Wetland is Korea’s largest inland swamp
and a well-known ecological reserve.
18 All right reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced in
any form without permission from
36 KOREA and the Korean Culture and
now in korea Information Service.
Koreans are now turning en masse toward a
The articles published in KOREA do
healthier lifestyle – and it’s about far more
not necessarily represent the views of
than just a slim figure. the publisher. The publisher is not liable
for errors or omissions.
40
If you want to receive a free copy of
summit diplomacy
KOREA or wish to cancel a subscription,
The European Union, the US, Peru-Korea has
please e-mail us. A downloadable PDF
a string of FTAs coming into force this year. file of KOREA and a map and glossary
with common Korean words appearing
44 in our text are available by clicking on the
thumbnail of KOREA on the homepage

30
global korea
of www.korea.net.
Taekwondo, Korea’s national martial art, is
enjoyed all around the world. 발간등록번호 11-1110073-000016-06
cover story

Since the late 1990s, Korea’s online gaming industry has

grown as quickly as access to high-speed Internet. Today,
gaming is a central part of Korean life. And in a country that
has long had to rely on science and technology over natural
resources, the gaming industry seems set to become even
more relevant in Korea. by Baek Bong-sam

KOREA’S GOT GAME

© Topic Photo (background)

02 | korea | february 2011 www.korea.net | 03


Korean online games have gone beyond
their home turf and are now reaching
out to the US, Europe, China and Japan.
No matter where you live, you can
play Korean games and strike up cyber
friendships with fellow gamers around
the world. At big gaming tradeshows
overseas, such as Gamescom and the
Tokyo Game Show, Korean online
games are some of the most hotly
anticipated, wowing seasoned gamers
with their dynamism and creativity.
Korean game developers have also
been quick to adapt to the latest trends,
building a host of hot new social games,
functional games that are educational
as well as fun, and open platform games
that are staking claim in the booming
realm of smart devices.
rocking All Over the World Guild
Wars by NCsoft, Maple Story by Nexon,
and Cross Fire by Neowiz Games are
among the most popular Korean online
04 | korea | february 2011
and European affiliates. Dungeon plans to focus more on promotion, while by restricting access to its gaming
Fighter, Nexon’s other signature title, also easing certain regulations. market. In response, Korean companies
once had 2.2 million players connected A major reason that Korean online began forming partnerships with local
simultaneously in China and was picked games have thrived away from home publishers like Shanda and Tencent. Still,
as one of the most popular games at the is their success in adapting to local the rapid growth of China’s indigenous
WebMoney Award 2010 in Japan. needs and tastes. Just as high-speed gaming industry has seen Korea’s
Cross Fire, a first-person shooting Internet connections became more market share drop from 80% to 25%.
(FPS) game, is also in the elite club widely available around the globe, Some gamers in North America and
of games to have registered 2 million Korea marched into Japan, China and Europe continue to find Asian games a
simultaneous connections in China. Taiwan, as well as the US, Europe and little exotic for their tastes, and not all
Though it only enjoyed marginal success Russia. By setting up overseas affiliates, countries enjoy the fastest of Internet
in Korea, players in China, Taiwan and Korean companies hired local talent to connections.
Vietnam made the game a huge hit help infuse local culture into games and But the increasing presence of online
overseas. Along with The Legend of Mir create marketing strategies that would games in the global gaming market is
2 and Dungeon Fighter, it is one of the appeal to local players. enormously encouraging for Korean
three biggest Korean games in China. It hasn’t all been plain sailing,
however. Since the late 2000s, China
The Secrets of their Success As has looked to protect its own developers
ever more Korean online games find
fans overseas, gaming has established
itself both as an industry and as a
cultural phenomenon in Korea. Suitably
for Korea, games don’t require much
Screenshot from games overseas. in the way of natural resources, instead
the online game
Aion, which is Guild Wars first took off in North relying on a highly skilled and inventive
one of the most
popular games
America and Europe markets where workforce. As such, gaming is one of the
not only in console video games have highest value-added industries in the
Korea but all
over the traditionally been dominant. country.
world (above). Developed by ArenaNet, According to the “2010 Korea Games
Muguk, one of
the striker the North American affiliate of White Paper,” published by the Ministry Aion’s characters are seen on its screenshot
characters of (above). Attendees for G-star 2010, an annual
Dungeon the leading MMORPG (Massively of Culture and Korea Creative Content game trade show held in Busan, Korea,
experience online games on the iPad (right). A
Fighter (right). multiplayer online role-playing game) Agency, the local game market recorded
© NCsoft Corporation; WeMade Entertainment Co.,Ltd.; NHN (clockwise from above left)
Main poster of screenshot from Metro Conflict (below).
the game maker NCsoft, Guild Wars sold about 6.6 trillion won in annual sales in 2009.
Dungeon Fighter
(below).
6.3 million copies outside Korea, raising In the same year, Korea accounted for
huge expectations for a sequel. 3.1% (US$3.58 billion) of the overall
When it arrived, Guild Wars 2 international market (US$117.3 billion),
didn’t disappoint, winning NCsoft’s and exports increased 13.6% year-on-
© NCsoft Corporation (top); NEXON Corporation (left, bottom)
“best online game” award at the year to US$1.24 billion.
2010 Gamescom, a German gaming In 2010, exports of Korean games
exhibition. It was the second year were estimated to have grown by a
in a row that NCsoft took the prize, further 29% to surpass US$1.6 billion,
following Aion’s victory in 2009. with many predicting that figure could
Maple Story is also available in top US$2 billion in 2011. Korea has set
about 70 countries across Asia, North out to become one of the world’s top
America and Europe, with Nexon three game makers, alongside the US
offering officially serviced versions of and Japan, by 2012. To help the industry
the game through its North American develop even further, the government
www.korea.net | 05
companies. According to market (28.3%) selected playing games as their
researcher DFC Intelligence, the world favorite pastime than watching TV
online games market in 2011 is expected (22.1%) and going to the movies (19.7%).
to grow by 17.2% to surpass US$18 In Korea, gaming is a part of the cultural
billion. Korea, long on experience and furniture.
technology in online games, is poised to G-Star, an annual game trade show,
become more competitive overseas. served as further proof of this. Held
over four days in the BEXCO center
A Perfect Pastime An online teaching in Busan, Korea, G-Star 2010 attracted
site recently showed that Korean middle around 283,000 visitors from Korea and
school students spend 57% of their free overseas. Some 316 companies from
time surfing the Internet and 10% of the 22 countries conducted 3,550 rounds
time playing online games. The 2010 of export consultations, with 166 deals,
white paper on games said more people worth around US$20 million, being
inked in total.
One of the
opening shots of Every year, the crowds at BEXCO
The Legend of Mir
2 (above). Some of
have been growing, with the geeks
NCsoft‘s games being joined by growing numbers of
were featured at
Gamescom families and couples. This in itself marks
2010, held in a major shift, as games in Korea have
Germany last
year (far left). traditionally been seen as a baleful
Ferres, a new
character in influence that keeps youngsters away
Arche Age, from their studies and shuttered up in
showed up at
G-Star 2010 for smoky PC rooms. Some games have
the first time
ever (left).
drawn controversy for their racy or for different age groups before they hit Attendees of G-Star 2010 enjoy online games Com2uS and Gamevil are two of
in the middle of the event room (above). The
Screenshot violent content. Though the Game the market, its rulings have also been the main characters from the educational PC Korea’s top mobile game makers.
from Arche game by the UN World Food Programme,
Age (below). Rating Board reviews and labels games source of rancorous debate. Food Force, bring to gaming an awareness of
Having earlier focused on games for
But as games increase their presence worldwide environmental disasters (below). feature phones, the companies threw
in Koreans’ lives, and as trade shows and their creative weight into iPhones and

© WeMade Entertainment Co.,Ltd. (top); NCsoft Corporation (middle left, left); XLGAMES Inc. (middle right)
e-sports events turn gaming into a form Android-based phones soon after those
of spectator sport, games are laying ever devices hit the Korean market in late
greater claim to the mantel of “culture.” 2010. Com2uS has released about 20
And as this rehabilitation gathers games for Apple App Stores and Google
pace, the government seems certain Android Markets, with titles such as

© XLGAMES Inc. (above); NCsoft Corporation / World Food Programme (right)

to increase its support for the gaming Homerun Battle 3D and Slice It! faring
industry and to help it nurture talent. much better overseas than in Korea. For
its part, Gamevil has produced Baseball
the move to mobile Just as the Superstars 2010 and Zenonia 2, which
Internet heralded a seismic shift away have both ranked No 1 in sports and
from consoles and arcade machines, RPG games, respectively, at Korea’s
so smartphones and tablet PCs are Apple App Store.
threatening another revolution in the Seeing these enormous new
gaming industry. Potentially the biggest opportunities, online game developers
platform in this new gaming world are have been quick to get in on the
social networking sites such as Facebook action. Nexon is working on mobile
and Twitter, where social games have and smartphone games through its
exploded over the past year. subsidiary Nexon Mobile, using its

06 | korea | february 2011 www.korea.net | 07


own original games such as Kart Rider,
a wildly popular racing game. Neowiz
Games has acquired a mobile game
company, Zio Interactive, as it bids to
become a player in this booming market.
NCsoft has focused on producing
applications linked with online games,
earning plenty of good reviews in the
process.
The rise of SNG, or social network
games, is increasingly impacting Korea’s
online games as well. Whereas users
previously relied entirely on online
games built by developers, they can now
bond with other SNG players and build
networks of their own.
Another change is in the gamers
themselves. Previously the domain of
men, gaming has become increasingly
popular with women, too. Thanks to
improved technology, it’s also possible
for moderately tech-savvy gamers to
develop appealing SNG at a low cost. For
08 | korea | february 2011
companies widened, with new ventures ABI Research in the US estimates that the gaming industry, which has the
finding it extremely difficult to get a the global online games market could potential to be as important an export as
foothold. Part of the problem was that reach US$20 billion by 2012. Korea is automobiles, ships and semiconductors.
developers stuck rigidly to their own aiming to become one of the world’s Instead of the often stifling current
services, or signed exclusivity deals three biggest gaming countries by then, restrictions, Korean game companies
with certain portals. But with the new with an increased focus on moving are hopeful that Korean regulations will
“channeling” services, games are now beyond the saturated domestic market increasingly be brought into line with
available through multiple sites, with and toward the wider world. international standards.
everyone sharing the revenues. Growth on that scale requires more Given its steady growth and its nimble
support from the government, civic response to ever-changing trends,
Thinking about the Future organizations and the general public. experts are optimistic about the future
Up till now, Korea has concentrated Archaic restrictions and policies could of the Korean online game industry.
on developing games linked to new hinder the further development of Highly-anticipated games such as Tera
platforms based on online games. by NHN and Guild Wars 2 by NCsoft
However, boundaries between video are scheduled for release this year. The
games, online games and mobile games world of Korean gaming is set for even
have been blurring, and Korea is looking more excitement ahead.
to take advantage of a more globalized
market as well.
Korean developers, thanks to their
cutting-edge technology and quick
responses to trends, expect the country
to mount a sustained challenge to
gaming powerhouses such as the US,
A screenshot from companies, SNG games represent a low- Japan and China in the years ahead.
the online game
Asta (above). One risk venture that can bring outstanding The year 2011 is set to see another
of the main poster
images of
results. Companies like WeMade, SK major push from Korea’s game An original painting for WeMade‘s upcoming
online game, NED (left). A screenshot from the
Kingdom Under Communications, Nexon and Gamevil developers, as they prepare for further brand new online game by NHN, Tera, which
Fire 2 (right). A proved to be a mega hit when it was unveiled
screenshot with have all shown interest. They are growth and move deeper into overseas in Korea in January (above). A screenshot from
characters from expected to start rolling out their own markets. Government and corporations Kingdom Under Fire 2 (below).
Aion (below).
efforts sometime this year. are expected to invest heavily in the
Functional games are another new search for more games like Nexon’s
trend. Beyond entertainment, games are Dungeon Fighter, Neowiz Games’
being used for education, therapy or to Cross Fire and NCsoft’s Guild Wars,
raise awareness of global environmental which were all big hits in countries
© WeMade Entertainment Co.,Ltd. (above left); NHN (above right, right)
disasters. Food Force, an educational outside of Korea.
game published by the United Nations
World Food Programme (WFP), has tip for understanding
been released in Korea by NCsoft.
© NHN (top, middle); NCsoft Corporation (bottom)
Hanja Maru, by NHN, helps players Channeling Service
learn Chinese characters. Other games
currently in development promise to This refers to servicing of games by a game portal
site through another company over a certain period
help users with rehabilitation training of time. There are no additional costs besides the
and learning disabilities. contract and the companies share their profits.
Game portal sites are also changing. Such deals are often reached between major game
portals and mid-sized developers. Big portal sites
As the industry has grown larger, the have entered this partnership as of late in a bid to
gap between major developers and small win more players.
www.korea.net | 09
cover story

Korea’s Big N’s:

developer of the MMORPG Atlantica, baseball team in Korea, which would years, it will invest 100 billion won in
giving itself some momentum for make it the first local IT firm to own smart device games and will concentrate
overseas growth. The industry estimates a ball club. In doing so, it is looking at its efforts on mobile game development
that Nexon last year became the first ways to connect its games with other in Korea and Japan. Accordingly, on
gaming company to surpass 1 trillion types of businesses. January 3 NHN set up Orange Crew
won in annual sales, with overseas sales Corp to develop smart device games.
accounting for almost 70% of that. Hangame, Korea’s No 1 online Game experts say the Big N3 have
game portal Hangame, operated been able to dominate the market
NCsoft, global recognition by NHN, is the most popular game through a clear vision, a real feel for what
To say that the so-called “Big N3” – Nexon, NCsoft and Thanks to such hits as the Lineage series portal in Korea. Buoyed by computer their customers want, and outstanding
NHN – own the Korean online game market would be and Aion, NCsoft is widely regarded versions of traditional games such as go- and constantly evolving technology.
as Korea’s best MMORPG developer. stop and poker, Hangame has enjoyed The companies have remained very
only a slight exaggeration. In addition to being smash hits
The company has also enjoyed success tremendous recent success with RPG nimble to new trends, and have not
in Korea, games such as Nexon’s Maple Story and overseas: NCsoft’s Guild Wars package, games like C9, Monster Hunter Online, been afraid to invest heavily. This eye for
Dungeon Fighter, and NCsoft’s Guild Wars and Lineage, developed by the company’s North and Seven Souls. competition, and the relentless quest to
have enjoyed great popularity overseas as well. As for American affiliate ArenaNet, has sold Hangame is hoping to make an even outdo one another, means things could
NHN’s Hangame – it’s the most popular games portal site more than 6.3 million copies worldwide. bigger splash in the game sector this yet get even bigger for the Big N3.
in this Internet-crazed country. Lineage, an MMOPRG released in year with Tera, an MMORPG developed
1998, laid the foundation for NCsoft’s over four years by Bluehole Studio. The
One of the main characters of Blade & Soul is
massive success. To this day, Lineage FPS game Metro Conflict, unveiled at seen (opposite). A character from Asta (below).
remains the face of NCsoft, with huge the game trade show G-Star 2010 last
followings in Korea, Japan and Taiwan. November, and Kingdom Under Fire 2,
In this three-way battle, everyone has But it was in 2008, when Nexon The game posted its highest quarterly an action strategy game, will round out
a slightly different weapon of choice. acquired Neople, the developer of sales in the second quarter of 2010, and Hangame’s lineup for this year.
For Nexon, it’s casual games. NCsoft Dungeon Fighter, that the company with some substantial updates scheduled As part of its new strategy, NHN plans
is the leader in MMORPG (Massively really hit the big time. Through the for this year, Lineage’s success seems to set up a game channeling site called
multiplayer online role-playing game), publisher Tencent, Nexon moved into sure to run for a while yet. PlayNet. The idea is to let the millions of
and Hangame is the top site for Web China and soon had 2.2 million users Using its first-class MMORPG daily visitors to NHN’s Naver – Korea’s
board games. Each company has simultaneously connected to its games. technology, NCsoft is expected to mount biggest portal site – gain easy access to
distinct characteristics, and each takes The Nexon portal saw a 20% hike in a bigger push into overseas markets. dozens of games after a single log in.
enormous pride in its product. And this new users, as well as a 21% jump in Blade & Soul, an MMORPG successor Currently running a beta version, it’s
being a battle, each also engages in little overall visits. to the online smash hit Aion, and scheduled to go fully live early this year.
psychological digs aimed at giving it But Nexon has had its down moments, Guild Wars 2, a sequel to Guild Wars - These concerted efforts can be traced
the edge. too. It’s had its share of hit games, but which enjoyed huge success in North back to NHN’s Achilles’ heel. Whereas
some, such as Husky Express, bombed. America and Europe - are both under Nexon and NCsoft started out as
Nexon: the father of RPG games And though far from disastrous, Nexon’s development and penciled for release game developers and continued
Nexon has made steady progress since foray into the MMORPG market didn’t either late this year or early next year. to make progress as developers,
bursting on to the scene with 1998’s come close to emulating the company’s NCsoft hasn’t been as successful in NHN has mostly rode the success
Land of the Wind, the father of RPG success with regular games. regular games – though not for lack of of its gambling games. Now,
games. In 2003 the company released To work on its flaws and make trying. While Love Beat, a dance game, however, NHN wants a place at the
© NCsoft Corporation (left); NHN (opposite)

Maple Story, which now boasts more
than 100 million registered players in
60 countries around the world. The
following year it continued its hot
streak with Kart Rider, a racing game so
popular it’s been dubbed “the national
game of Korea.”
another big leap forward, Nexon last fared quite well, neither Dragonica or top table of games developers, and is
year went on the hunt for the best of Punch Monster ignited the passions of going all out to get there.
developer talent. It acquired GameHi, Korea’s notoriously demanding gamers. It was also in this vein that NHN last
the developer of Korea’s top FPS (first- To find its next breakthrough, NCsoft year set itself the goal of becoming the
person shooting) game Sudden Attack, has signed a publishing deal with global top player in smartphone games in both
for 120 billion won (US$108 million). game developer PopCap. NCsoft is also Korea and Japan. At the time, NHN
Nexon then bought out Ndoors, bidding to launch a new professional announced that over the next three

10 | korea | february 2011 www.korea.net | 11

cover story
The year 2011 promises to be a big one for Korea’s gaming industry. NHN was
first out of the gates with Tera at the beginning of the year. XLGames is scheduled
to unleash Arche Age in November. And NCsoft, a giant of the MMORPG, looks
to roll out Blade & Soul in the next few months.
NCsoft and NHN, two of Korea’s biggest
computer game companies, are primed
for some heated competition. With
developers from NCsoft bolting the
company to take part in the building of
NHN’s Tera – an act of high treason in
the gaming world – NHN is itching to
release something better than NCsoft
has ever done. For its part, XLGames is
also poised with a world-leading game
of its own. While it’s too early to tell
which of the companies will emerge
victorious from this round, gamers
themselves stand to win big.
12 | korea | february 2011
Tera vs Arche Age: 40 billion
won takes on a new standard
in MMORPG After three private tests,
one “stress test” and a mountain of
anticipation, Hangame unveiled Tera at
6am on January 11.
Developed by Bluehole Studio, Tera
offers the best graphics of any existing
online games. Created with Unreal
Engine 3 technology, the graphics
cleanly capture the world of Tera, with
exceptionally realistic backdrops and
objects. As a “free targeting” game, Tera
doesn’t automatically target monsters,
overseas. However, since the game is
quite dense in terms of data and layout,
some point to the need to make it more
efficient.
With Tera having thrown down the
gauntlet, XLGames is preparing to
enter the fray with Arche Age. After two
private tests last year, Arche Age will have
another test either in March or April
before hitting the market in November.
Arche Age was already generating
major buzz in Busan last November
during G-Star 2010, the largest game
trade show in Korea. With Song Jae-
kyung, a main developer behind Nexon’s
The Land of the Wind and NCsoft’s
Lineage, on board, gamers are brimming
with anticipation to see what unique
new worlds this maestro and his team
have created.
Sleek, CryENGINE 2 technology
graphics and a massive range of quests
promise to make Arche Age a great
game. XLGames has already signed
deals with Japan’s GameOn and Taiwan’s
GigaMedia to provide the game in those
territories, along with Hong Kong and
Macau.
The timing of the release, however,
remains a point of concern. If NCsoft
goes ahead with its plan to unveil Blade
& Soul toward the end of the year, then
XLGames will be going up against one
forcing the player to defend themselves of the best established names in the
© NHN (opposite); NCsoft Corporation (top); XLGames Inc. (middle, bottom)
from all sides and distances. It all adds MMORPG business instead. Gamers,
up to one of the most intense, deeply needless to say, are watching the
immersive games ever released. situation closely.
Before its launch, some introductory
scenes from Tera were posted on the US More Newer Online Games on the
game site GameTrailers.com. Enthralled Way NCsoft – the creator of top-notch
gamers raved about its music and MMORPG such as the Lineage series
composition, awarding the new game 8.7 and Aion – has got high hopes for Blade
points. & Soul. Unlike other epic games that
Frogster, a famous developer, is relied solely on flashy graphics and sheer
currently working on the European scale, Blade & Soul is already being
version of Tera, meaning Bluehole is hailed for producing nearly perfect
looking at its first successful MMORPG content.
A screenshot from NHN Hangame’s Tera
(opposite). Yuran, one of the main characters of
Blade & Soul of NCsoft (above). Screenshots from
XLGames‘ Arche Age (below, bottom).
Players got their first glimpse of Blade
& Soul at G-Star 2010, where the NCsoft
booth was so popular that gamers had
to line up two hours for a brief chance
to go hands-on. Despite the wait, players
gushed about Blade & Soul’s brilliant
graphics and impressive new skills sets.
Released under the slogan, “The
Signature Eastern Fantasy MMORPG,”
Blade & Soul is populated by wildly
diverse tribes and characters. Art
director Kim Hyung-tae, of Magna
Carta fame, has produced a visual tour
de force with his artistic and colorful
touch. Bae Jae-hyun, who worked on
Lineage, brings a real technical craft to
the game. Their joint creation will see
a general release before the end of the
year.
NCsoft is, in fact, in no great hurry
to introduce Blade & Soul. Lineage and
Aion are still doing well, so the company
is loath to split its own market share. It
all depends on how Tera does. If Tera
starts taking a bite into NCsoft’s market,
expect Blade & Soul to appear very soon
afterward.
WeMade Entertainment, which found
success in China with The Legend of Mir
2, is also back this year with Chang Chun
2, the sequel to Chang Chun Online.
Ntreev Soft is set to release Elisha, a
horse-themed MMORPG. Special Force
2, the sequel to the popular first-person
shooting (FPS) game Special Force, is
also scheduled to appear this year, as
is Football Manager Online, the online
version of SEGA’s Football Manager
package, which will be serviced through
KTH.
“If we’re lucky, we just might see all
three of Tera, Arche Age and Blade &
Soul this year,” said an official in the
online game industry in Korea. “This
year, the Korean online game industry
will be a fertile ground for battles of
major, epic games.”
www.korea.net | 13
pen & brush
Portrait
of a Sensitive
Soul
Bae Su-ah’s writing is sensitive and
delicate, with compelling rhythms and
an almost poetic cadence. Yet her words
are so singular they can be hard for her
readers, and sometimes even for Bae
herself, to find truly familiar. Through
her flowing, elegant style, Bae lures her
readers into an unfamiliar space – and
then makes it all seem perfectly natural.
To many of her peers, she is simply the
pride of Korean literature.
by Choi Hye-jeong | photographs by Kim Hong-jin
My long-held preconceptions were broken in an instant. Bae
Su-ah, this titan of serious writings of Korean literature, was
easygoing and witty. Her long black hair and bangs gave her
the look of a young girl, though she was born in 1965, and like
an instinctive traveler, she seemed ready to drop everything
and take off around the world.
Where, I wondered, could those melancholy fogs in her
works have come from? But then, as the interview began, her
trademark seriousness started to emerge.
“My full-time job is writing. I do some translating work,
too,” Bae said. “I usually work at home and seldom meet
people. I don’t touch any alcohol drinks. No drinking in
Korean society means not being good at making friends.
Almost all meetings lead to drinking. So I usually stay at
home. I like to be at home as well.”
14 | korea | february 2011
Bae Su-ah
A Literary Wanderer This loneliness translates into a
palpable energy in Bae’s books. It is not sad and sorrowful. It
is the loneliness of someone who chooses solitude. Indeed,
so well known is Bae’s propensity for being alone, that it is
interpreted as her defiant face to the world and a mark of
pride in what she does. Her isolation even extends to her
intermittent trips to Germany, where she lived for a year.
The country’s unfamiliar atmosphere, she said, serves as the
workshop for her writing.
“Prior to going to Germany for the first time in 2001, I had
been thinking of living abroad for about a year,” Bae said.
“Abroad didn’t necessarily mean Germany, but I found Berlin
to be one of the cheapest places I visited in terms of rent. The
other reason was that Germany is the country of Thomas
Mann. I don’t like all of Mann’s works. But Death in Venice
made a big impression on me. So I was very curious.”
“I read Death in Venice for the first time back in middle
school, and I couldn’t understand it at all,” Bae said.
“Nonetheless, I fell in love with the atmosphere in the work.
The first book that I read in Germany was Death in Venice,
and I still couldn’t understand it at all. It’s a real challenge for
non-experts in the German language, but I still found it hugely
attractive. It was quite extraordinary.”
Since then, Bae has visited Germany several times,
whenever she has a little money to spare. Germany, she said,
is simultaneously a familiar and unfamiliar place to her.
And quite apart from the influence it’s had on her original
works, Bae’s relationship with Germany has yielded another
wonderful benefit to Korean readers. Bae has translated a
series of contemporary German novels, including Helene
Hegemann’s Axolotl Roadkill, and Angstblüte by Martin Walser.
 Walk, Cry, and Write
When I asked her about the
frequent appraisals of her
work as being too “difficult”
or “complicated,” Bae gave a
considered response.
“Nobody tells me so
directly, but I know that
some readers think that
way,” Bae said. “I think the
word ‘difficult’ was chosen
for convenience’s sake. I
am neither a scholar nor a
theorist who use difficult
technical terms. Isn’t the word ‘difficult’ often just used in place
of ‘different from other works’ or ‘unfamiliar?’”
In fact, Bae’s works do not have clear storylines. Narrative
often takes a back seat to the hero’s consciousness, producing
a style of prose that is freeflowing and relatively unstructured.
In a lesser writer’s hands, it could be empty or self-indulgent.
But Bae does it with such mastery that it becomes her works’
greatest strength.
In Korean literature, have we ever had a writer who
approaches the finitude of human beings, poverty, deficiency
and death with such unfailingly beautiful words? Her latest
collection, Nonexistence of Owl, is a case in point. An in-depth
quest into death and nonexistence, the book’s title piece tells
the story of Jorg, a friend of the tale’s narrator. Throughout
the story, Bae challenges the reader with some of the deepest
questions of all.
“What is nonexistence? Where does it come from? And why
does it exist?” asks the narrator in Nonexistence of Owl. “If
we are nothing but nonexistence, then why are we here?” The
answer is to keep on writing. “Walk, Cry, and Write. These are
the only things you can do in this world.”
The Best Mentor Will be One of Your Enemies Bae
debuted in 1993 with A Dark Room in 1988. Since then, she
has published collections such as Highway with Green Apples,
Late-Night Communication, The First Love of the Person and
Hul, as well as full-length novels like Careless Love, I Am Tired
of You Now, Sunday Sukiyaki Restaurant, A Desk of an Essayist,
Donkeys and Northern Living Room. Despite this prolific
output, Bae still boasts of having an unlimited imagination
and a strong desire to create.
Yet Bae’s assessment of her own work is cool and analytic.
“At first, I began to write without knowing what literature
16 | korea | february 2011
really is,” she said. “So reading my past works, sometimes, I
had that kind of eerie feeling people get when they cut live fish.
I didn’t know much. I was reckless as a non-literature major.”
(Bae majored in chemistry in Ewha Womans University.)
“By sheer good fortune, my work fit with the flow of the
mid-1990s, when people were demanding a change in literary
styles,” Bae continued. “Readers and critics found greater value
in my early works than I felt I had created. In fact, writers are
seldom satisfied after reading their past works. This is because
they published the stories when they were confident about
them, but later, when they returned to them, they find all these
little shortcomings. Many times I was convinced that I lacked
the spirit of master craftsman. So to me, my most satisfactory
work is always my latest work. Published works do not change,
and remain the same. But writers change endlessly.”
Bae will open another channel for her writing this month,
when a Korean publisher serializes her new novel online.
“It won’t be easy to publish a long novel on the Internet,”
she said. “As soon as I put stuff up, I’ll be able to see reactions.
Though I’m determined not to change direction because
of what I see, some of it is bound to hurt. I thought about
avoiding reading the comments altogether, but negative
criticism can be some of the most helpful of all. There is a
saying in Korea that ‘the best mentor will be one of your
enemies.’ I will learn from the criticism.”
Bae Su-ah was candid enough to admit that she could learn
from her critics, as well as her fans. Who, then, is her own
favorite writer?
“My favorite author is W G Sebald, a German writer who
passed away in 2001. Sebald lived in England after emigrating
there, but he wrote most of his works in German. In 2008,
when I came across his works for the first time, they were too
good to be true. Sebald’s descriptions and statement methods
seemed like mumbling endlessly.
“If Umberto Eco overwhelms us by delivering vast
knowledge through a clear system, Sebald delivers it with
poetic expressions. When I read his books, I felt as if I was
traveling through time.”
More recently, Bae has been introducing Sebald to other
Koreans through a series of translations. Though it is
sometimes said that translation is harder than creation, to Bae
it seemed to be little short of an honor.
Happiest When Writing So why, after achieving so much,
does Bae continue to write?
“Maybe, my answer to the question, ‘Why do you write?’
is simply: ‘Because I am a writer,’” Bae said. “The question
BOOK
Sunday Sukiyaki
Restaurant : a Place
out of This World
Sunday Sukiyaki Restaurant is a
unique and invigorating work.
Published by Moonji Publishing in
2003, its 17 short stories return to a
single theme: poverty. In this long,
often bizarre tale, poverty is mean and
shabby, but it is an unavoidable facet
of people’s lives, often propelling them
to move forward. In the novel Sunday
Sukiyaki Restaurant, Ma becomes
helpless after eating a dumpling with
tripe while living a happy life as a professor at a national university. An
impoverished woman called Don Gyeong-sook rails against her
husband, saying, “Men are all pathetic.” Pyo Hyeon-jeong uses her
sole daughter as a slave while invoking the debts of her husband. The
fates of all the characters in this novel are inextricably tied up with
money. They hate poverty more than death, but they aren’t able to
escape it. They have nothing in common except for poverty. They are
tied to one another as an ex-husband, an ex-wife and a current wife,
friends, parents, a lover, a brother, an interviewer and an interviewee,
or an uncle and his nephew. Bae Su-ah, the writer states in the book
that the greatest motivation behind her writing this book was the issue
of poverty, which she claims is not considered a universal and
important topic any more. “Up to now, I have seen poverty in
everyone, whether I’d met them or not. In some sense, I have never
met anyone who wasn’t living in poverty. That became my first
motive,” Bae said. Continuing, the writer explained that to her,
poverty doesn’t simply describe a lack of money, but some sort of
deficiency in general. In this context, Bae’s words take on greater
meaning. Because surely no one, anywhere, is entirely free of
deficiency. The Sunday sukiyaki restaurant, then, may not exist
anywhere in the real world. But does this make it any less true?
is old and unchanged, but I guess I’ll keep on hearing it. So,
writers constantly try to find the right answer to that question.
Peter Bichsel, a German writer said, ‘I am not good at playing
football.’ Some asked in return, ‘Can’t I love all day long?’”
“But the obvious fact is that I feel happiest when my writing
exceeds my actual thoughts. When I realize amazing things
through sentences, just like a shaman speaking in tongues, I
couldn’t be happier.”
“On the flip side, the time I feel saddest is when I think,
‘Readers will hate to read this kind of thing.’ I believe that even
though I have to be conscious of my readers, I can create a
better work when I have a certain distance from them.”
Bae shapes the act of writing into a beautiful art work. She
imbues words with creativity, expression and real life. Not for
nothing is she known as “the real pride of Korean literature.”
www.korea.net | 17
people

Methods of Today,
Beauty of the Past
Making furniture entirely by hand may seem a hopelessly inefficient way of
doing things in our modern, mechanized society. But without that
particular brand of perseverance and dedication, carpenter Lee Jeong-seob
wouldn’t be where he is today. Lee reinterprets the art of Korean furniture
and repackages it for contemporary audiences. And now, Lee has a more
global clientele in his sights. by Jeong Eun-ju | photographs by Park Jeong-roh

Last December, Naechon Workshop Gallery opened for

business inside the Space Group building in Jongno, Seoul.
The actual Naechon Workshop, where Lee Jeong-seob
makes his Naechon branded furniture, is all the way out in
Hongcheon, Gangwon-do Province.
The gallery is decorated entirely with Lee’s furniture. In
the Space Library are chairs and tables where people can sit
comfortably with a coffee or tea. In Space Hanok there are
long tables, cots and shelves on display. Whether it’s a modern
cafe or the inside of a classic hanok (Korean traditional house),
Lee’s furniture blends right in with any setting.
The discerning viewer will quickly recognize the true value
of Lee’s work. The harmony of its fine lines and slightly tilted
curves emits a modern elegance and a traditional Korean
sensibility at the same time. This is the secret to its universal
appeal, with purists and modernists, Koreans and foreigners
all finding something to cherish. Ironically, by embracing
the new, Lee has drawn a whole new generation of admirers
to Korea’s ancient heritage, people who once might have
dismissed the country’s traditions as stuffy and inaccessible.
Lee’s work methods demonstrate his Catholic approach.
Though he generally eschews the use of nails, as the traditional
master carpenters did, he won’t hesitate to use them if he feels
the furniture would benefit.
“I don’t think it’s right to insist on our own methods in the
name of tradition when there is state-of-the-art technology at
hand,” Lee says. “The same goes for the materials. It used to be
all but impossible to get woods like these in Korea, but now
it’s so much easier to find that it would simply be wasteful to
insist on domestically produced wood all the time.”
From art student to carpenter Lee Jeong-seob is
just like the furniture he makes. Simple and neat, he has a
self-effacing air and his words are straightforward. He was
drawn to his vocation quite by chance. A major in Western
painting at the prestigious Seoul National University, he failed
to generate sufficient passion for painting and couldn’t see a
future for himself as an artist.
“After graduating, I had to find some way to make a
20 | korea | february 2011
living,” he says. “As an art major the only option for me was
to continue painting or become a professor. I didn’t have the
artistic talent to be known as a painter. After much reflection,
I eventually asked myself, why not try carpentry?”
Lee’s deep-seated aversion to city life was another key factor.
“I would never have found happiness in this chaos called the
city, where the bizarre is an accepted way of life.”
And so, Lee set off for Taebaek, in the eastern Korean
province of Gangwon-do. He began learning how to build
traditional hanok houses, before turning his attention to
furniture making. As such, Lee’s change of direction was
a result of his preternatural need to create freely: Whereas
houses had to be built according to the wishes of the owner,
Lee could make furniture pretty much as he pleased. He
moved to what became his Naechon Workshop, and began
working at his newfound calling. That was in 1998, and he has
been there ever since.
Just like the man who created them, Lee’s furniture has an
undeniable streak of honesty running through it. Whether
it’s a table or a chair, most of his pieces have no special
ornamentation, instead allowing the natural beauty of the
material to shine through. The natural grain is as clear on his
furniture as if it had been painted on, with the different woods
giving the pieces a solid, sturdy feel. Try lifting them and you’ll
see just how heavy and robust wooden furniture can be.
Korea’s Beauty The first thing Lee did as a furniture maker
was visit to Europe, Japan and other places in a quest to study
different styles of furniture. But while they certainly helped
broaden his horizons, Lee’s travels also confirmed in his mind
just how beautiful the furniture from his homeland was.
“The furniture I am making now is, in a way, the product
of everything I learned back then. I felt that I had to recreate
the best things I saw, and then as now I honestly felt Korea’s
traditional arts to be the most beautiful. To me, Korea’s seated
Bodhisattva statue in pensive pose [a gilt-bronze sculpture
from the Three Kingdoms Period], is far more moving than
any sculpture on display at the British Museum.”
Some liken the simplicity and minimal decoration of Lee’s
pieces to the Zen style that is so popular in Japan. To this, Lee
responds that some elements of Zen were actually influenced
by Korea. The spirit of his work may seem to be derived from
linear factors, but it is, in fact, the result of a natural sentiment
that he says unfurls of its own accord as he works.
“I try not to get too far into design elements when it comes
to making furniture. I just follow the wood’s original traits and
the result is these straight lines.”
This complete repudiation of design seems daring, shocking
even. But the warmth of the furniture’s straight, hard lines is
vindication enough of Lee’s method.
Lee’s furniture seems expensive until you become more
aware of the enormous amount of work that goes into it. Only
after a long, intensive process of securing the wood, designing,
refining and then polishing it, does a piece of furniture finally
come into being. Yes, he has assistants, but the overwhelming
share of the creativity and production comes from Lee himself.
“Depending on the furniture, some pieces are completed in
two days, and some take more than two years,” Lee says.
Endless dedication Lee spends most of his time at his
Naechon Workshop, only venturing into Seoul if he has a
special engagement such as an interview or exhibition. He
lives in the house next door, which he built himself.
Lee’s work day begins right after breakfast at 8am. He goes
to his workshop, meets up with his assistants, and barely stops
working all day. Now and again, he’ll round off the day with a
few drinks with his colleagues. In this way, Lee says, the days
and months simply fly by.
Carpenter Lee Jeong-
seob works at his own
workshop located in
Hongcheon,
Gangwon-do Province
(opposite). Several
wooden furniture
pieces are seen in his
workshop space (far
left, left, above).
“I never used to appreciate just how important good health
is in this line of work,” Lee says. “I used up all my energy
when I was young and my back and joints have taken a lot of
damage. Now I live a regular life and work while taking care of
my health.”
It’s the rainy season in the summer that he is most afraid of.
It’s the wettest time of the year, and even with the dehumidifier
on 24 hours the humidity won’t go away. The wood becomes
devilishly hard to dry out, making the whole process even
more onerous. But for Lee, it’s just another integral part of
creating the pieces that have come to define who he is.
Close to the workshop stands a gallery displaying Lee’s
furniture. The works arrayed sparsely in the hall look even
more sophisticated and elegant under the gentle light. His
furniture is considered as art for a reason. At a design auction
held early last year by Seoul Auction, a piece by Lee called
Console fetched over 10 million won (US$8,700), showing just
how indistinguishable from real art his work has become.
Whatever else happens, Lee will continue to be huddled up
in his workshop in the valleys of the Gangwon-do mountains,
working away at his beautiful creations. His endless reserves
of energy and his dedication to his work make his a life that
shines. And so it is with his furniture. Simple, sure, and
unassuming on the outside, within it lie the aesthetics of
Korean tradition, and a yearning to embrace the best of what
the modern world has to offer.
www.korea.net | 21
great korean

matter and used expression techniques. A technique called
Molgolbeop (drawing the subject matter directly without
outlines) was used for all the works containing grass and
insects, with Shin drawing two or three plants in the center
with a few insects surrounding them. Simple subjects, concise
and stable composition, detailed and feminine expressions,
and sense of color are all characteristics of Shin’s works.
Shin achieved considerable renown in her own lifetime,
garnering praise from scholars and even from the king,
Sukjong. In his book Paegwanjapgi, Joseon Dynasty scholar Eo
woman from Chinese history, who raised her son to greatness
through prenatal education and rigorous schooling. Her son
went on to become King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty.
In what was a severely restrictive environment for women,
Shin flourished thanks to her inordinate talent and the
influence of her family. In a society where boys typically
received the lion’s share of educational opportunities, she
enjoyed a tremendous amount of attention from her family,
and was able to study to a very high level.
Shin’s mother stayed with her own parents after giving

Korea’s Own
Suk-gwon lavished praise on Shin’s work, saying: “Saimdang’s birth, which gave her a relatively free hand to educate her
paintings of grapes, mountains and rivers are miraculous. daughter. Shin also enjoyed encouragement from her husband,
Who shall rebuke such incredible paintings, and who shall say Lee Gong, who understood his wife’s artist talents and often

Renaissance that such work is not fit for a woman?”

Shin was also a prodigiously talented calligrapher, famous
showed her paintings to his friends. Though she married at the
age of 19, Shin never submitted to Confucian notions of male

Woman:
for the traditional calligraphic style of Jamdumaje (literally, superiority but rather stressed the importance of a relationship
silkworm’s head and horse’s hoof). In 1868, Yoon Jong-eui, based on mutual respect.
a late Joseon Dynasty scholar, engraved replicas of Shin’s Today, Shin is portrayed as a female role model for her

Shin Saimdang
calligraphy that were then stored in the Ojukheon residence. artistic talent, education and character. As the mother of the
His postscript read, “Indeed one can see in the handwriting great Joseon Dynasty scholar Yi I, she is also revered for her
Sincerity in each stroke, but with a style that is also deep, parenting skills. Shin’s fiercely independent life shows us that
Shin Saimdang is recognized as the greatest elegant, clean and calm.” the human spirit can prevail over the social attitudes of a given
time. It was precisely
female artist in Korean history. In an era
Art and Life Shin’s real name was Shin In-seon. The pen this truth of spirit that
demanding Confucian female values, Shin name Saimdang, which she chose herself, was comprised of Sin pursued so tirelessly
Saimdang developed her own world, and three Chinese characters: Sa meaning teacher, Im standing in her wonderful works
continues to be a source of inspiration to for Tairen and Dang meaning lady. “Tairen” was a legendary of art.
poets and artists throughout Korea. by Lee Se-mi

On June 23, 2009, Korea issued its first ever 50 thousand won
bill, and the first new currency denomination of any kind
since 1973. Intense debate had surrounded the issue of whose
face would adorn the new bill, with Kim Gu — a prominent
political leader during the Japanese colonial period and a
symbol of Korean independence — narrowly beating Korea’s
greatest female artist, Shin Saimdang.
Following consultations between the government and
the Bank of Korea, it was announced that Kim’s face would
be reserved for the forthcoming 100 thousand won bill,
while Shin would appear on the 50 thousand won bill. Shin
talent emerged in painting. She began painting at the age of 7
without any teachers, and mimicked the landscape paintings
of Ahn Gyeon, the most prominent painter of her time.
Shin approached a range of subject matter in her works,
which include such masterpieces as Pododo, Sansudo,
Chochungdo and Jarido. Among all her paintings, however,
Chochungdo, a depiction of grasses and insects drawn on an
eight-fold folding screen, is considered her magnum opus.
In Chochungdo, Shin combines trivial everyday subject
matter and transforms it into a work of art. Each fold includes
plants and insects from which the name Chochungdo is
© Gangneung Municipal Museum

was chosen not just for her numerous works of poetry,
calligraphy and painting, but also for her role in overcoming
discrimination and the limitations set on women at that time.
Shin (1504~1551) was born in the town of Gangneung,
eastern Korea. She showed promise in poetry, painting,
calligraphy and embroidery from a young age, but her greatest
derived: eggplants, grasshoppers, watermelons, field mice,
cockscombs, dung beetles, poppies and lizards. One story
has it that Shin’s creations were so elaborate and true-to-life
that when, as a child, she painted a grasshopper on a ground
cherry, a chicken came along and tried to eat it.
Shin Saimdang’s portrait (opposite). Shin’s face appears on the 50 thousand won bill (top). One of Shin’s works,
Shin painted a number of works with similar subject Chochungdo, shows several life-like cockscomb plants, waterfowl and watermelons on the vine (above, from left).

22 | korea | february 2011 www.korea.net | 23

my korea
Imagine, for a moment, darkness. You’re sitting on the beach,
holding hot chocolate or coffee between knitted gloves. The
smell of the sea drifts faintly toward you like an apparition
weary from endless motion. Or perhaps in the darkness you’re
walking among trees on the slope of a mountain, your breath
puffs in front of you, warm from your upward trek. Choose a
HERE
place of your own liking, but wherever it is, you must have a
clear view of the eastern horizon.
Now, looking out through the morning mist, you wait,
perhaps telling stories or sitting in silence. The crease along
COMES
the skyline begins to glow, first deep orange, then radiating
yellow, becoming brighter as the minutes tick by, giving
credence to Korea’s nickname: The Land of the Morning
Calm. The sun peaks up over the ocean, or tree-lined horizon,
and the morning chill is warmed by the sun’s rays. You’ve just
participated in a Korean custom, watching the first light of the
THE
New Year. Or at least, the Solar New Year.
Korea also celebrates the Lunar New Year, which they call
“seollal.” Though it takes place on the first day of the lunar
SUN
With 2011 now more than a month old, it’s time to ring in the New Year
— the Lunar New Year, that is. From February 3, Koreans will be
celebrating what they call “seollal” with three days of rest, family
reunions and a celebration of Korea’s wonderful traditions.
And as Steven E Athay, an American teaching English in
Busan, discovered, those traditions remain vibrant
and alive — even among the country’s
younger residents.
24 | korea | february 2011
calendar, the date changes every year because it is based on the
phases of the moon. This year, for example, it falls on February
3, whereas next year it will be celebrated on January 23. And
celebrated it will be! A full three days are set aside for seollal,
which is often time spent to reflect with family and partake in
traditional Korean activities and ceremonies.
Since soellal is a traditional holiday, it is far more significant
in Korea than the Solar New Year. Indeed, Korea’s strong
sense of tradition really becomes evident during its two major
holidays, chuseok and seollal, which are both based on the
lunar calendar. The holidays consist of eating traditional food,
and often include visiting the graves of relatives while dressed
in traditional Korean clothing, called hanbok.
I teach at Kwangmu Girl’s Middle School in Busan, so I
discussed seollal and its accompanying traditions and customs
with my students and co-teachers. We were having class at an
English library. The sun prodded at the blinds, leaving streaks
of sunlight stretched across the table. A handful of students sat
quietly at their tables with my co-teachers and me, working on
www.korea.net | 25
book and movie reports.
“Kyung-ju,” I said to another teacher, “Do men wear [the
traditional Korean dress] hanbok?” Replying in the positive,
Kyung-ju explained, “Men will wear blue or red, and women
wear bright colors, like yellow, orange or pink.” During some
traditional holidays, Koreans travel all over the country to see
family and visit ancestral graves, and wearing hanbok is a sign
of respect. They offer food and give a deep bow, and then they
pray to the deceased, asking for blessings in the new year.
“It is typically a happy time, celebrating their memory,” said
Kyung-ju. “We tell stories and try to enjoy the memories we
have of them.”
These bowing rituals are known as sebae. Starting in the
morning, after dressing up in hanbok, children will bow to
their elders and say (in Korean, of course), “Please receive
many blessings in the new year.”
I asked Hee-won, one of my most outgoing students, if
she’d show me how to perform sebae correctly. But asking
middle school girls to do something out of the ordinary is like
ramping up production at the local giggle factory.
“How much will you give me?” Hee-won asked.
“What do you mean?”
Hee-won explained, “You get money. Sebaedon.” Don, with
a long “o” sound, is the Korean word for money, and after the
bow is performed, relatives, such as parents and grandparents,
give the children money.
“How much do you usually get?” I asked.
By this time everyone was listening in on the conversation,
so I sat at a table surrounded by seven giggle-crazy girls. “Ten
thousand won,” (about US$9) one said. Another told me 30
thousand won. But the amount didn’t really matter. What
mattered was that after the bow, the girls would receive some
26 | korea | february 2011
kind of remuneration for their efforts.
Since I was holding out on the cash, no one volunteered
to bow. Instead, they had me get on the floor while they
instructed me how to do it. Boys and girls, I learned, bow
differently. Boys place their left hand on top of their right and
girls vice versa. As I got down on my knees to perform the
bow, Na-young joined me on the floor, sitting across from me
in the traditional girls’ bowing posture — cross-legged, right
hand on top, bending over and touching the floor.
During seollal, many families play traditional games to ring
in the New Year. One such game is Yunnori, which is a bit
complicated to explain but, I’ve been told, is fun to play. From
what I can surmise, it’s like combining Yahtzee with a board
game, only instead of dice, four, two-sided sticks (called jang-
jak) are rolled, you move your piece on the board, and the
final goal is to collect four tokens called mal.
Jae-hee, one of my students who’s taught herself most of
the English she knows, approached me and looked at my
computer screen. “What is that?” she asked.
I scrolled up to show her a picture of the Yunnori board and
pieces. She nodded to show she understood.
“Do you like this game?” I asked.
“Yunnori? Yes, teacher, I like this game,” she replied.
“Why?” I asked.
“It is fun. Every holiday my family plays this game.”
Other students heard Jae-hee and me speaking, and their
familiarity with the topic drew them in. “Yunnori?” I heard
them say among a barrage of unintelligible Korean. Kyung-
min smiled, acknowledging the game.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
“Yes,” she told me, “We play it every year.”
All of my students agreed: this was an annual family
tradition. The enjoyment of the game is strongly tied to the
feelings of nostalgia and the sanctuary that family provides,
just as perhaps eggnog or carols are tied sentimentally to the
United States’ winter holidays.
But of course, the game itself may not be the most
exciting, especially in the age of the Internet and interactive
entertainment.
“What about you?” I asked, motioning toward
Hyun-jeong, a student fluent in English and in the
process of learning French.
“Teacher, I do not like this game,” she said.
“Why not?”
“Because I like to play computer games,” she said.
Ah-young, another co-teacher, chuckled at Hyun-jeong’s
response, which caught my attention. So I asked her, “What do
you think of Yunnori?”
She nodded. “It’s fun. I played it mostly as
a child. But it’s more fun when you bet
money on the winner,” she explained
with a mischievous laugh.
Kyung-ju, who had been
listening in, added, “A popular
game among adults is called
Go-Stop, which is similar to
poker.” You need at least
three people to play and
small amounts of money are
gambled. “This is a common
modern tradition,” Kyung-ju
explained. She smiled. “And
I’m not very good at it.”
After recording this
information, I turned to my co-
teachers and asked, “What else
can you tell me about seollal?”
They thought for a moment, then
both agreed: “Tteokguk.”
With any kind of cuisine, there are dishes
that some people don’t like — but I’ve yet to
see any Korean refuse tteokguk. It’s a simple dish,
typically consisting of a light beef and anchovy broth with
thin sliced tteok (Korean rice cakes and dumplings), roasted it is the phase of the moon upon which these are based. It
gim (seaweed), and perhaps eggs and/or gim as a garnish. It’s was intriguing and entertaining hearing my students and co-
basically a dumpling soup that is made to bring luck for the teachers, for the first time, reveal to me these personal and
New Year. common aspects of their culture. As I bowed on the floor,
Though tradition and ritual plays a large role in the my left hand on top of my right, my students giggled with
celebration of seollal, not all ceremonies have to be steeped in amusement at the sight of their teacher learning something
historical custom. The lunar calendar has 12 earthly branches, that was completely foreign. So I leave you now with the words
which are represented by animals. 2010 was the year of the spoken after the sebae: Please receive many
tiger, and this year it’s the rabbit’s turn. Rabbits are now all blessings in the New Year. by Steven E Athay |
over clothing, stationery, calendars and just about anything illustrations by Jo Seung-yeon
else you can think of. Certain coffee shops are selling rabbit-
shaped donuts and there are rumors of discounts at various
shops for those born in rabbit years. The Everland Zoo near
Seoul recently created a miniature obstacle course for these PROFILE
cute and tiny animals. Visitors would have seen fluffy rabbits,
dressed in tiny winter sweaters jumping over hurdles and Steven E Athay is an aspiring writer.
He has a bachelor’s degree in English
through hoops. Language and Literature with an
The sun shines, whether in the morning, breaking through emphasis in creative writing. He lives
the mists of the horizon, or pushing through shades, in Busan with his beautiful and witty
wife Kimberly and his long-haired
illuminating desk tops in English libraries. It is in the sunlight dachshund, Sasha. You can follow
that Korea partakes in customs, rituals and ceremonies, but him on Twitter @steveneathay.
www.korea.net | 27
seoul
A
Palatial
Tour
You may be in one of the busiest,
fastest cities in the world, but you can
still get lost in the past. With their
sprawling grounds, elegant halls and
maze-like structures, Seoul’s palaces
are the perfect way to while away a
day – or even two.
by Lim Ji-Young | photographs by Kim Nam-heon
28 | korea | february 2011
Built in 1405, Changdeokgung was a royal palace for around
500 years, and housed the last Joseon emperor, Sunjong, until
his death in 1926.
This beautiful structure shared in the joys and pain of
many Joseon kings. Perhaps more than any other, it perfectly
captures the harmony between man and nature that Joseon-
era architects strove so hard to achieve. Passing through
Bulromun Gate and entering the Huwon Garden, you come
across an eye-catching pond, Aeryeonji, where lotus flowers
blossom in the summer time. Changdeokgung retains more
of its original shape and structures than any other palace
in Seoul, a status that helped it become a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1997.
Stroll on toward Bugaksan Mountain and you’ll come to
Gahoedong Hanok Village, where nobles and high-ranking
officials once lived. Better known as Bukchon Hanok Village, it
is one of the best preserved hanok settlements in the country,
giving a taste of how Korea of yore would have looked and felt.
Changgyeonggung Palace, built in 1484, is located between
Changdeokgung Palace and the Jongno area of downtown
Seoul. A walk through Changgyeonggung is like a primer
in some of Korea’s most momentous history: Here, you can
encounter traces of King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo, who loved
Seoul attracts foreign visitors with its boundless and colorful
faces. Along with excellent food and shopping, much of
that color is to be found in the city’s traditional culture, and
especially its splendid palaces. Whether you’re here for a
proper vacation or just passing through for a couple of days,
there are some historical sites that you simply cannot miss.
At the top of the list is Gyeongbokgung Palace, near
Gyeongbokgung Station on subway line No 3. Gyeongbokgung
was the main palace of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910),
and its vast grounds still house such majestic buildings as A landscape of Gyeongbokgung Palace (opposite).
Geunjeongjeon Hall, where kings accepted felicitations Changgyeonggung’s tombstone (above right). A visitor
looks through Deoksugung’s collections (above left).
from their officials. Also in Gyeongbokgung Palace is Deoksugung’s royal guards changing ceremony (below).
Hyangwonjeong Hall, the ideal spot for a bit of quiet A snowy landscape of Deoksugung Palace (right).
rumination. Literally meaning “a pavilion of far-reaching
fragrance,” Hyangwonjeong offers a picture perfect view of
Gyeongbokgung’s beautiful natural surroundings.
Once you’ve had your fill of Gyeongbokgung, take a stroll
along Samcheongdong Road, a beautifully quaint street
winding away from the palace’s eastern perimeter. Give
yourself a couple of hours to meander through its boutiques
and galleries, and then kick back with a cappuccino or herbal
© Topic Photo
tea in a traditional Korean hanok house. Pure Bliss.
Next up is Changdeokgung Palace, east of Gyeongbokgung.
their people and academia in equal measure, and the ill-fated
life of Sadoseja (Crown Prince Sado).
The majestic greenhouse to the palace’s rear sits in the
center of what was Korea’s first Western-style botanical garden.
Changgyeonggung is also the palace where Dae Jang Geum, a
Joseon-era female doctor whose story became a smash-hit TV
series, is said to have tended to King Jungjong. Deoksugung
is the smallest of Seoul’s five remaining palaces. Rebuilt near
the turn of the 20th century, it served as the residence for
King Gojong — the second-last Joseon monarch — after his
traumatic period of refuge in the Russian Legation in 1896.
“The palace of virtuous longevity” is located at the corner of
Seoul’s busiest downtown intersection. Particularly famous for
its elegant stone-wall road, it sits alongside a series of Western-
style buildings, giving it a unique backdrop. Get to the main
gate of the palace at 11am, 2pm or 3:30pm, and you can watch
the fabulous royal guards changing ceremony.
Exit the palace, walk along its stone walls, and you’ll get
to Chongdong Theater, one of the best known performance
venues in Korea. Established in 1995 as an annex of The
National Theater of Korea, Chongdong Theater offers a variety
of shows and performances including, most notably, MISO,
which combines an old-time dance and music show with a
traditional narrative
vocal music called
pansori.
Each palace
makes a great trip
on its own, but as
they’re all close by
one another, it’s
possible to see the
whole lot in a couple
of days. So for the
modest price of a
Combined Palace
Entrance Ticket, you
can witness all the
majesty of Korea’s
dynastic history.
Hours & fees
Gyeongbokgung Palace open 9:00~17:00, 3,000 won (US$2.6)
Changdeokgung Palace open 9:00~17:00, 3,000 won (US$2.6)
Secret Garden 5,000 won (US$4.4) extra
Changgyeonggung Palace open 9:00~17:00, 1,000 won (US$0.9)
Deoksugung Palace open 9:00~21:00, 1,000 won (US$0.9)
www.korea.net | 29
travel

Upo Wetland,
Changnyeong:
A Fountain of Life
A fisherman rows his boat through the dawn fog, his face weather-
beaten but tranquil. Migratory birds scoop up their prey in slender
beaks. Take a trip to Upo Wetland and discover just how exquisite
nature can be. by Chung Dong-muk | photographs by Kim Nam-heon

© Korea Tourism Organization

A calm and peaceful landscape of Upo Wetland.

Families of whooper swans float atop the
lake, paying no heed to the strong winter
wind. With feathers as white as cotton
and bright yellow beaks, the whooper
swans swim gracefully, like meandering
middle-aged gentlemen.
Not unlike their human counterparts,
this family of whooper swans comprises
a mom, a dad and two kids. The feathers
of the young are gray, not white, making
it easy to distinguish them from their
parents. The swans are surrounded by
small, black birds, each focused on its
own task. Coots totter on top of the ice,
and the bean geese enjoy the wastewater
under the sun. Next to a group of
falcated teals, two pochards brush by as
if expressing their love for one another.
Upo Wetland is
covered in snow in
wintertime (above).
Some migratory birds
fly on the swamp
(left). Peaceful
sunsets at Upo
Wetland (below,
opposite).
32 | korea | february 2011
Korea’s Largest Inland Wetland
When the lazy afternoon sunlight shines
aslant on Upo Wetland, it becomes a
heaven for birds. Winter migratory birds
settle down on the swamp and then
disappear at the change of season. Birds
come back to Upo Wetland because of
the abundant prey they can find here,
and because it is safe. The birds detect
these two things instinctively.
Birds usually feed on insects or plant
spores. In the wetland, which never
runs dry, a diversity of water plants
and insects coexist. Upo Wetland,
a protected ecological preserve, is
especially safe because it is largely free
of human interference. Some people say
that because of the large-scale apartment
complex built in Changwon City, many
of the migratory birds that once called
its Junam Wetlands home ended up
resettling in Upo Wetland.
Upo Wetland, located in the
southern county of Changnyeong-gun
in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, is a
natural swamp. 140 million years ago,
as the glacier on the Korean Peninsula
melted, this region was flattened into a
plain. The melted water flowed into the
ocean, and as the surface of the water
rose and could not flow further, the
earth and sand piled up, creating a dike
that later became a swamp.
Upo, Korea’s biggest inland swamp,
stretches across 8.54 million square
© Korea Tourism Organization (middle, bottom); Topic Photo (opposite)
meters. The water surface alone stretches
across 2.31 million square meters, 210
times the size of a football field. Upo
comprises four swamps spread over 3
myeon (districts) and 4 ri (villages). Of
these, Upo takes up the largest area with
1.28 million square meters, which is why
the name “Upo” became shorthand for
the entire area.
Due to its natural ecological value,
this expansive, beautiful wetland has
been assiduously preserved. Wetlands

Visitors can experience Upo
Wetland’s ecosystem in Upo
Wetland Ecosystem Pavilion all year
round (above). Rental bicycles are
available for visitors to ride around
the swamp area (right). An inside
view of Upo Wetland Ecosystem
Pavilion (below).
34 | korea | february 2011
are generally harmonious spaces, with
countless plants and creatures helping
keep things in balance. Plants and
microorganisms filter the sources for
pollution, sending the purified water
flowing into rivers and oceans, and
filling the empty spaces with a blizzard
of organisms. Swamps also temporarily
hold the water when it rains and emit it
slowly afterward, preventing floods from
occurring. In this sense, swamps are
natural dams.
between Man and Nature Upo
Wetland is the habitat of about 1,200
species of animals and plants: around
750 species of plants, 250 types of
insects, 160 types of birds, 14 kinds of
mammals, 13 types of fish, 11 types of
reptiles and 10 types of amphibians.
The gasi-yeonkkot, a floating leaved
plant, has small and soft pads in its early
stages, but takes on a unique appearance
by growing splinters on its pads and
flower as it grows. A pad of the gasi-
yeonkkot can be 2 meters wide, making
it the largest-leafed of Korean plants.
The lotus’ purple flower, which blooms
in summer, and its splintered stems
are beautiful in color, but are so strong
that they can pierce through the pads.
Though they grow in the wild in Korea’s
southern regions, they have been pushed
to the brink of extinction by neglect and
mismanagement, making the ones in
Upo even more special and valuable.
A variety of water plants, such as
yellow floating-hearts, reeds, water
chestnuts, irises, and salvinia natans,
lace the swamp’s surface with greenery.
When you’re there in spring, summer
or fall, it’s hard not to be astonished by
the Great Willow Tree. The drooping
branches of the Great Willow, which
must have been planted in the spot 100
years ago, sway in the wind, a sight that
reminds the visitor of the well-brushed
hair of a beautiful, sophisticated woman.
In the early dawn, Roh Gui-yeol, a
resident of Jangjae Village, stands on a
small barge and slowly rows a bamboo
rod. He is entering the swamp to haul in
the net he cast the day before.
“I’ve been fishing here for 30 years,
in all four seasons except when the ice
freezes. You could say these swamps
represent my life.”
Roh’s image, floating toward the
swamp’s center in the dawn fog, is
like a fragment of a poem. In the past,
fishermen were a common sight in
Jangjae, but now only nine remain.
In 1998, after Upo Wetland officially
became a Ramsar Wetland and joined a
string of other wetlands protected by an
international treaty, it became Korea’s
mecca of natural wetlands. The number
of animals, plants and organisms has
grown and diversified. In addition to
Upo Wetland, 12 other wetlands in
travel information
How to Get There
KTX & Train Take the train at Seoul Station
and get off at Dongdaegu Station. Take the Seoul
subway to West Daegu Bus Terminal and transfer to
a bus to Cheongnyeong Bus Terminal. From Seoul
Station, you can also get off at Milyang Station and
take a bus at Milyang Bus Terminal to Changnyeong
Daegu
Bus Terminal. Milyang
Changnyeong
Bus Express buses travel from Seoul Nambu
Bus Terminal to Changnyeong Bus Terminal
five times a day. Buses from Changnyeong Bus
Terminal to Upo Wetland also run five times a day.
what to eat
Restaurants In the Upo Wetland area, visitors can find several restaurants specializing in
steamed dishes or fish stew made of snakeheaded fish or carp. Upo Minbak (82 55 532
6202) in Jangjae Village is renowned for serving delicious fish caught by the owner himself.
While in Changnyeong villages, visitors may wish to visit Hwawangsanjang Village (82 55 533
0066), famed for its superb seafood stew mixed with doenjang and cheonggukjang, two types
of traditional Korean soybean paste.
where to stay
Accommodations Within the Gasi-Yeonkkot (Splinter Lotus Flower) Village near Upo
Wetland, you can find many minbak (inns), and several motels within the town of
Changnyeong. S Motel (82 55 532 6542) has one of the top facilities among the motels. At a
40-minute distance from the town lies the Bugok Hot Springs Complex, said to provide Korea’s
optimum spa water temperature.
Hot freshwater fish stew Flowers in Upo Wetland Jeongol stew with octopus
Korea, including Yongneup Swamp of at the swamp’s entrance. The exhibitions
Mt Daeam and Suncheon Bay, have been in the two-storied center provide a
designated Ramsar Wetlands. wealth of information on the ecology
It takes three to four hours to walk here, including the countless organisms
around Upo Wetland, with a trail that reside in the swamp.
offering a very scenic way to do it. An oxcart slowly rolls along the dike
Visitors can also borrow bicycles at the road. As the cow trudges along, the trill
swamp entrance and ride around the from its bell echoes above the swamp.
swamp’s perimeter instead. Visitors to Upo Wetland will be able to
Before looking around the swamp, it find themselves here — a place where
really pays to learn a bit about the place man, animal, plant and water coexist in
at the Upo Wetland Ecosystem Pavilion an alluringly slow way of life.
www.korea.net | 35
now in korea

Even on the iciest of winter nights, gyms and yoga centers

in downtown Seoul heave with sweaty bodies. While their
colleagues cram into buses or subways desperate to get home,
these late-night workout warriors hit the fitness centers to
warm up, tighten up and slim down.
Quite apart from their greater numbers, gym-goers now
have different priorities from “keep-fit” fans of the past.
Whereas once it was all about losing as much weight as
possible, today’s exercisers are far more concerned with
gaining good tone and looking genuinely healthy. This kind
of body needs more than sweat and minimal calories — it
demands a balanced diet and a well-rounded workout. And, as
the particularly busy winter gyms attest, nothing sharpens the
motivation more than the aftermath of the festive season.

Invasion of the Momjjang With a healthy body, so the

saying goes, comes a healthy mind. But in a world where we’re
constantly barraged by stress and worries, it’s perhaps never
been harder to maintain this balance.
Recent statistics in Korea have revealed a shocking growth
in the numbers of people in their 20s and 30s suffering, or
even dying, from ailments prompted by overwork, smoking
and excessive drinking. High blood pressure, angina, diabetes,
heart disease and obesity often seem to be the curse of our
times, and all are related to how we live and what we eat.
To quote another old chestnut, prevention is better than
cure. And with even young people coming down with chronic,
lifestyle-related ailments, the answer is all too clear: more
exercise, better food and a slower lifestyle.
Jung Da-yeon, known as the momjjang ajumma, or “mom
with a knockout figure,” became Korea’s first superstar fitness
guru when she began releasing her diet tips, workout videos
and online columns in 2003. Having formerly been distinctly
out of shape, this mother of two caused a sensation by
eating and exercising herself back to a perfect figure. Almost
overnight, housewives across Korea were enrolling in fitness
classes and trying to attain a momjjang figure of their own.
“It wasn’t about having a beautiful body in the beginning,”
Participants of 2010 Bicycle Festival of Green Growth Jung said. “I started exercising because of back pain. The
at Olympic Park ride bicycles in November in Seoul.
workout not only helped me recover from that problem, it

© Yonhap News Agency

Koreans Get Physical

They sweat on treadmills. They plow up and down swimming pools. They swing their
arms on golf courses or practice ranges. They are Korea’s growing ranks of fitness fanatics
and they crave genuine well-being in body and mind. by Lim Ji-young | photographs by Kim Nam-heon

36 | korea | february 2011 www.korea.net | 37


profoundly altered my figure. I never thought that it would
make me so happy.”
Eat right Not so long ago, the teen-esque, waif-like figure
was the ideal for practically all Korean women. While that is
still a popular notion, a growing number of women are opting
instead for a healthy, curvy shape. As Korean females became
more discerning about their diet and fitness, they realized that
however effective crash diets might seem in the short term,
they certainly weren’t making them healthier. And working
out had other clear benefits, too.
“I have been working out for almost two years, and I feel
much better than before,” says Lee Yang-hee, a worker at a
shipping company and a member of a fitness club in Seoul’s
Apgujeong-dong. “I used to suffer terribly from insomnia,
headaches, and stomach problems because of physical and
mental stress. But since I started this one-hour workout every
day, I do not suffer from those symptoms.”
38 | korea | february 2011
Gym-goers work out at a fitness center (above).
Audiences from 2010 Mr & Ms Korea contest try out
fitness equipment in June in Incheon (left). Taebaeksan
Mountain is popular for climbers even in winter (below).
The type of food, rather than just the quantity, has also
become increasingly important to health-conscious young
Koreans. Food stylist Kim Jae-won has sworn off all processed
salt and white sugar ever since finding out just how unhealthy
they could be.
“Most people are aware of the benefits of working out these
days, but surprisingly few people really know the full effects of
the food they eat,” says Kim. “Eating less salt and sweet stuff,
for example, is every bit as crucial in eating healthily as is
cutting fat and consuming fewer calories.”
Didier Beltoise, general manager of the Intercontinental
Hotel Seoul, agrees. His fitness regime includes swimming,
walking and golf, along with a controlled diet that excludes
© Yonhap News Agency (above)
processed salt, sugar and fat. As a result, he looks younger than
his age and, he says, he feels more confident in himself, too.
“We may not need to worry about having enough to eat any
more, but very quickly, that’s been replaced with worries about
overeating and obesity-related diseases,” says Kim.
“We really need to start thinking much more about what
and how much we eat.”
In what is now a rapidly expanding fitness market, patrons
can choose precisely how fast they want to go. As large-scale
fitness chains such as W Fitness and Pops Italia Gym opened
branches in major cities around the country, people became
familiar with classes that were more intense — and sometimes
downright punishing.
Whereas traditional fitness clubs hadn’t offered much
beyond aerobics, today’s gym-goers are just as likely to be
sweating off the pounds in classes involving treadmills and
kick boxing. Depending on the size of the club, some places
offer up to 20 classes, with everything from a gentle workout
to a virtual boot camp.
a fast or slow option Just as these hardcore workouts
have proliferated, “slow exercise” classes or routines have been
gaining adherents, too. The likes of yoga and Pilates, which
give greater focus to mental, rather than just physical, well-
being, are providing a perfect antidote to Koreans’ sometimes
enormously stressful lives.
Mun Yeong-mi, who is six months pregnant, attends
a yoga class in the city of Daegu. She says she feels much
trimmer and more self-confident about her body since she
started the so-called ‘Mild Yoga’ classes for pregnant women
three months ago.
Even more traditional Eastern exercises are making a
tips for working out
Faster, stronger, Better
1 Step Dance
Basically, dancing with a box to up-tempo music. Movements include jumping
onto the box and pounding back down, with real devotees raising their knees
to their chest or trotting quickly. Step Dance is the perfect option for people
looking to build up a real sweat, as housewife Lee Hyun-joo explains, “It’s the
hottest workout there is!”
2 Body Combat
“Fight for your life! Push yourself hard, and move like you were fighting
against a mortal enemy!” No, it’s not army training, but an intense workout
program called Body Combat. Combining real fighting moves − from sports
including taekwondo and boxing − with aerobics, Body Combat is very popular
with women looking to lose weight quickly.
3 RPM
Like aerobics on bikes, RPM sees classes of fitness fanatics take to the cycling
machines and pedal in time to jaunty dance music for upwards of 50 minutes.
Though a big cyclist, Lee Tae-hoon is an unabashed RPM fanatic, too. “I like it
because I don’t feel like I’m working out,” he says. “Instead, I can just get lost
in the rhythm.”
comeback. As slow and elegant as the brush strokes in
Oriental paintings, balletic disciplines such as taegeukgwon,
kookhak kigong, and sunmudo provide a throughly serene
path to physical and mental fitness. And while these Oriental
slow exercises aren’t as popular as yoga or Pilates, they are
slowly but surely gaining fans in Korea. In particular, with its
2,500-year history rooted in Buddhist practice, sunmudo has
become increasingly popular with foreigners, who value its
emphasis on training your own mind and discovering your
true self.
A new beginning There is a saying in Korea that “health
should be maintained when the body is still healthy.” Perhaps
for this reason, 40 seems to be a big turning point for Koreans
in evaluating their health and how they can improve it.
“We have more members in their 40s than other age
groups,” says Baek Soo-wol, manager of Wellness Fitness near
Seoul City Hall. “This is because 40 is often the age at which
people finally realize the value of good health. Perhaps for
the first time in their lives, they really feel themselves getting
weaker, and they worry about their future quality of life. This
is perhaps the most powerful motivator for coming here and
trying to do something about it.”
It may be be jogging, running on a treadmill or pumping
weights. It may, on the other hand, just be a better diet. But
whatever it is, more Koreans are recognizing the value of a
healthier life, with a better body and a better mind.
Dumbells are popular
pieces of equipment in
fitness centers (left).
Books and videos
related to exercise or
diet are big hits in
Korea these days
(above).
www.korea.net | 39
summit diplomacy
Free trade agreements
broaden economic territories
“I don’t think we’re ahead in opening up our markets. We’ve barely joined
the free trade scene.” Kim Jong-hoon, Director of Korea’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade, said these words in 2009, three days after Korea
signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union. At the time,
most Koreans believed their country stood to be a net loser through FTAs.
In the 18 months since Korea signed a
Free Trade Agreement, or FTA, with the
European Union (EU), perceptions of such
treaties have changed dramatically in
Korea and the rest of the world.
At a time when the world is still trying to
bounce back from a global financial crisis,
countries are more and more realizing
that instead of looking to saturated
domestic markets, they urgently need to
enter foreign markets under favorable
conditions.
Crucially, they’re also recognizing
40 | korea | february 2011
by Kim Hye-mi
that in order to gain an edge over non-
FTA signees, it’s necessary to make some
concessions during FTA talks.
The Korea-Chile FTA, which took effect
in 2004, is considered one of Korea’s
biggest bilateral trade successes. After the
deal took effect, Korean products such as
automobiles, mobile phones and television
sets came to occupy shares of up to 50% of
Chile’s domestic markets. Korea’s exports
to Chile soared from US$517 million to
US$2.23 billion by 2009.
And while Korea’s agriculture sector
was expected to take a sizeable hit from
the deal, the effects have been minimized
by adjustments to production levels.
Korea is now poised to ratify deals with
the EU, Peru and the United States, with
the automobile and IT industries expected
to be among the biggest winners. Talks
are under way with the governments of
Australia, Colombia and Turkey, and China
and Japan will be added to that list soon.
Through its numerous FTAs, the Korean
economy is largely growing across the
entire world.
© Yonhap News Agency
In free trade, automobiles, IT and
textiles to the fore Korea and the
Korea and Finland
agreed to push for
the Korea-EU FTA to
United States finally reached agreement take effect as soon as
on their long-mooted FTA last December, possible at a meeting
in November 2010 in
following a series of intense, often
Seoul (opposite). FTA
tortuous negotiations. When the two sides negotiations
were stalled over tariffs on automobiles, between Korea and
a particularly contentious issue, Timothy
Peru in November
last year in Seoul
Geithner, the US Secretary of Treasury, (right). Kim Jong-
called Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor hoon, director of
MOFAT, gives a
Company, into his office. Geithner asked keynote speech at a
Mulally whether he could accept a five- Seoul meeting
year, 2.5% tariff on automobile exports to (below).
Korea. After discussions with US House of
Representative and labor unions, Mulally
said it could work out. Then, on December
1, US President Barack Obama called
Korean President Lee Myung-bak, stressing
the importance of finalizing the FTA.
With the morning talks going nowhere
the following day, Michael Froman, US
Deputy National Security Adviser for
International Economic Affairs, decided
to sit down with Kim Jong-hoon, Director
of Korea’s Trade Ministry. When Froman
asked for compromise on the grounds
that stalemate could harm the Korea-US
alliance, Kim made additional demands
and the two found some middle ground.
The next day, on December 3, Korea and
the US agreed to the terms.
The automobile sector, which played a
crucial role in the FTA negotiations, is again
under the spotlight as the deals with the
EU and the US look set for ratification this
year. The eventual abolition of auto tariffs
seems certain to increase Korea’s auto
exports and the influx of cars from Europe
and the US, promising increased choice for
consumers everywhere. in agriculture. But Korea’s auto industry is Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics
Auto tariffs will be phased out over the actually more optimistic. After the latest and LG Display, three of Korea’s biggest
next five years with the EU, and the next negotiations, the Korea Automobile electronics companies, also stand to benefit
four years with the US. By that time, the Manufacturers Association (KAMA) and through newer, competitive pricing.
price of Korean vehicles in Europe will have Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group said that Following the December FTA talks, an
fallen by around 10%, with a more modest uncertainty in the US market had largely official at LG Electronics said, “With new
decrease of 2.5% in the US. been resolved and that US plants have products or some high-end products made
Domestic critics said Korea made major become more competitive of late, meaning in Korea, we could see our pricing get more
concessions on autos but didn’t gain much sales should soon pick up. competitive thanks to tariff benefits.”
www.korea.net | 41

Korean Trade Deputy Minister Ahn Ho-young
holds a briefing about the Korea-US FTA in
December 2010 (left). Kim Jong-hoon met
with US Trade Representative Ron Kirk to
discuss the Korea-US FTA issue in May 2010 in
Washington DC (above). The Korea-Peru FTA
was finalized in August 2010 in Peru (below).
Korean consumers will also be able to
buy a number of other foreign-produced
goods, such as oranges and grapes, pork,
branded clothes, cosmetics and alcohol.
And once the 15% tariff is deducted from
the cost, and insurance and freight (CIF)
costs are reduced on wine, consumer prices
could fall by 10 to 20%.
Peru, A New Partner in Resources
Given the ever-increasing imports of raw
materials, reaching an FTA agreement with
Peru is crucial. After the economy bounced
back following the global financial crisis,
Korea’s imports of raw materials increased
by 34.5%.
The two countries signed a preliminary
FTA in November last year, with the
official deal to take effect this year. Korea
exported about US$640 million to Peru in
2009, but the FTA is perhaps even more
important in terms of providing Korea with
greater access to Peru’s wealth of natural
resources, including zinc, lead, tin and
bronze. Already, Korea is importing silver,
zinc and tin from Peru tariff-free.
Automobiles, television sets and
medicine will likely also benefit from the
FTA with Peru. Currently, high tariffs of
9% are applied to these sectors, but once
they’re abolished, Korean goods will be at
least as competitively priced as rivals from
China and Japan.
Korea plans to hold a second round of
preliminary talks with China sometime in
the first half of the year and to resume
negotiations with Japan. The success of the
US FTA seems to have added fresh impetus
to the talks with Japan, which had almost
ground to a halt.
A free trade pact with the Gulf
Cooperation Council, which includes
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab
Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, is also
expected to be signed soon. If that deal
goes through, the volume of Korean trade
covered by FTAs will jump from 14% to
more than 80%.
Swiftly concluded FTAs are beneficial
because they give Korea an opportunity to
establish its presence in markets ahead of
its competitors. Being the first to venture
into a new territory can leave a strong
impression on local consumers. Over the
first four years following the signing of
the FTA with Chile, Korea’s share in the
import market there nearly tripled. Korean materials could also come into play.
automobiles, for instance, now account for But ultimately, FTAs can help lead to the
37% of the market, ahead of Japan. building of SOC, including those related
Benefits from competitive prices to logistics, and to increased research and
following the abolition of tariffs could be development efforts by local industries
nullified if China and Japan reach FTAs as they drive to create world-leading
with those same countries. Fluctuations brands. Hopefully, more Korean brands are
in exchange rates and in prices of raw destined to be world leaders too.
President Lee Myung-
bak, left, attends an
EU-Republic of Korea
summit. The
announcement of the
Korea-EU FTA in
October 2010 in
Belgium (right). Officials
held a first-round
session of Korea-Peru
FTA talks in March 2009
in Seoul (below).

a new urgency to FTA Negotiations

The Korean government is also
expecting improvements to trade-related
social overhead capital (SOC) and other
infrastructure. A Samsung Electronics
official said, “If the trade volume rises after
the FTA takes effect, it will help improve
infrastructure in logistics and other areas
related to trade.”
Prices of European vehicles, such as
BMWs and Audis, and American cars by
GM and Ford could all dip by about 8%.
Though Nissan, Subaru and Toyota are
Japanese brands, some US-built vehicles
could be considered US products, so
tariff-exemptions could apply. The Korea
Automobile Importers and Distributors
After the dramatic signing of the FTA
with the US, Korea is speeding up its free
trade talks with other countries. Currently,
negotiations with Australia, Colombia,
Turkey, Mexico and New Zealand are under
way, and great progress has been made
with Australia.
An FTA with Australia would provide a
© Yonhap News Agency

The gradual reduction of tariffs on
textiles should also help boost Korean
textile exports. Shipments to the US alone
are expected to grow by an average of
US$183 million per year over 10 years.
Association (KAIDA) said Korea could now
import cars that it couldn’t in the past
because of legal issues. It predicted that
import car sales will reach 130,000 this year,
up 31% from a year ago.
significant boost to Korea’s top exports,
including automobiles, shipbuilding,
machinery, home appliances and
communications devices, and also help
Korea secure precious mineral resources.

42 | korea | february 2011 www.korea.net | 43

global korea
Korean Taekwondo
taking on the World
Taekwondo is one of Korea’s cultural and sporting jewels, as well known in many
places as the country itself. In the 1960s, taekwondo did much to introduce a country
which then had a GDP of less than US$700 per capita to the world. A martial art
that trains both body and mind, taekwondo’s popularity worldwide has never been
greater. Since becoming an official Olympic sport in 2000, taekwondo is leaving its
mark in sporting history. by Lee Se-mi
Members of World Taekwondo Headquarters put
on a show in front of Gyeonghuigung Palace in
Seoul (opposite). A member of World Taekwondo
Federation, or WTF, instructs young students in
Texas, US (top). An audience cheers during a WTF
demonstration (above).
© World Taekwondo Headquarters (left); World Taekwondo Federation (opposit top, above)
Taekwondo first became a global pursuit
after the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
Though it has long historical roots, it only
really came into its own in Korea following
the country’s liberation from Japanese rule
in 1945, when a generation of Koreans
began to rediscover their martial arts
heritage. This included not just taekwondo,
but other Korean martial arts called
taekkyeon and subakdo.
Taekwondo went through a period of
consolidation beginning in 1946, and in
1961, the Korea Taekwondo Association
was established. This was followed in
1972 with the founding of Kukkiwon, also
known as World Taekwondo Headquarters
and home of the World Taekwondo
Academy, and in 1973 with a global body,
44 | korea | february 2011
the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF).
Choi Hong-hi was one of the people
responsible for combining several
martial arts into what he later named
“taekwondo,” a discipline that was
subsequently named Korea’s national
sport by the country’s post-Korean War
president, Rhee Syng-man .
fighting to be peaceful Translated
literally, tae means foot, leg or to stomp;
kwon means fist or fight; and do means the
art or the way. In combination, the terms
mean ”working toward a peaceful world
by stopping conflicts using one’s body.”
Somewhat ironically, then, taekwondo’s
first overseas action came during the
Vietnam War, when Korean military
personnel traveled there to fight alongside
the US Army. With Korean taekwondo
experts smashing through planks and
leaping through the air, taekwondo soon
gained a tough image, and some American
troops gained an interest in learning
it. To cater to them, a taekwondo gym
subsequently opened up in Vietnam.
From these beginnings, taekwondo
enjoyed its first genuine surge of overseas
popularity in the US, where the first
taekwondo schools started opening in the
1960s. At the time, the Japanese martial
art karate was becoming something of
a craze, with many competitions held
throughout the US. Against this backdrop,
a Korean man named Henry Cho (Cho Si-
hak) opened the first taekwondo school
in New York, which became famous for its
demonstrations of flying kicks that would
inevitably result in lots of broken wood.
In 1965, Cho started the “All American
Open Taekwondo/Karate/Kung Fu
Championships Tournament”, which
included matches in all three disciplines.
A young Bruce Lee made a guest
appearance in the third such tournament,
and legendary tough guy Chuck Norris
also took a turn.
The early history of taekwondo in
www.korea.net | 45
the United States was built through the
dedication of its instructors. The fledgling
academies would have to fight to establish
themselves — sometimes literally. Though
first advertised as the “Korean Karate,”
taekwondo began shedding this label in
the 1970s, and was soon gaining popularity
with a series of tournaments.
In 1965, Jhoon Rhee, who was famous
for teaching kicking techniques to Bruce
Lee, opened a taekwondo school in
Washington DC. Rhee strived to enhance
taekwondo’s image by adjusting it to
the changing times and publicizing its
educational aspects. Rhee raised standards
by insisting that black belts would only
be awarded to people with sufficient
skill, while also branching out into new
areas such as “taekwon-ballet,” a form
46 | korea | february 2011
of taekwondo set to music. Crucially,
Rhee also started making safety gear to
persuade parents to let their children take
up the sport. By the 1980s, taekwondo was
becoming more popular than many of its
martial arts rivals.
Taekwondo also has its fans among
America’s rich and famous. In 2009, on a
visit to Korea, US President Barack Obama
delighted his hosts when he was pictured
practicing a taekwondo move. Obama
learned taekwondo for four years from
2001 when he was an Illinois senator, so
Korean president Lee Myung-bak was only
too happy to present the American leader
with a taekwondo uniform, a black belt
and an honorary black belt certificate.
In the US, many schools are adding
taekwondo to their after-school curriculum
A WTF member
demonstrates a brick-
breaking technique (left).
A Mexican taekwondo
team poses at the 4th WTF
World Taekwondo
Poomsae Championships
in Cairo, Egypt (below).
for its purported benefits in helping
kids concentrate better. People learning
taekwondo are, of course, also exposed
to Korea’s language and culture. The first
taekwondo schools hung the American and
Korean flags side by side, and instructors
often regaled their students with stories
about Korea.
Indeed, taekwondo instructors often
serve an important dual role as purveyors
of Korean tradition, with some of their
students traveling to Korea for training
and to see the country for themselves.
Every year, more than 5,000 people visit
international taekwondo cultural festivals
in Korea with their instructors. Sometimes,
American taekwondo instructors use
Korean as the primary language of
instruction in their schools. And all
taekwondo commands are given in Korean,
including “charyeot” and “gyeongne.”
Eschewing any kinds of weapons,
taekwondo teaches amazing striking
powers using only human limbs. However,
learning techniques used in defense are its
most fundamental lessons of all. With its
focus on peace and on training the body
and mind, taekwondo has become one of
the most popular martial arts in the United
States today.
focusing on Sport Taekwondo became
an international sport through its efforts
to minimize injury, which were achieved
through the development of effective
safety gear and an international body of
rules. During the 1988 Seoul Olympics,
taekwondo demonstrations made a
lasting impression on viewers worldwide.
With its spectacular and powerful kicking
techniques, taekwondo cut a distinctive
figure in the world of martial arts.
© World Taekwondo Federation
The project to develop taekwondo as
a sport began in the early 1960s with the
creation of new tournament rules. In 1963,
the first taekwondo competition was held
during Korea’s National Sports Festival
and in 1973 the first World Taekwondo
Championship was held, transforming a
traditional Korean martial art into a sport.
Later, the World Taekwondo Federation
organized taekwondo associations in
various countries, further consolidating
taekwondo’s appeal. As more international
competitions were held, taekwondo
evolved and more sopshisticated techniques
were developed.
After the 1980s, new taekwondo
techniques started to spread and mature. A
prime example is the “naraechagi,” a flying
kick technique that delivers numerous
blows. The development of elaborate
kicking techniques was central to elevating
taekwondo from a traditional martial art
to a popular sporting pastime.
Constant technical developments also
served to give taekwondo its distinct
identity. Continuing with this evolution,
the World Taekwondo Federation recently
adopted instant video replay and electronic
safety gear to make sure fights are even
safer and fairer, while also reducing size
of the square ring for more dynamic and
exciting matches.
Taekwondo first appeared in the
Summer Olympics as a demonstration sport
in the 1988 Games in Seoul and the 1992
Games in Barcelona. On September 4, 1994,
the 103rd IOC Session in Paris confirmed
that taekwondo would become an official
Olympic sport at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
In that year, 103 athletes from 51 countries
participated, followed by 124 athletes
from 60 countries in Athens four years
later. At the 2008 Games in Beijing, that
number rose again to 128 athletes from 64
countries, and even greater numbers are
expected at the 2012 Olympics in London
and the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. In
the space of just 40 years, taekwondo has
become a truly global sport.
As more countries participate, and
as athletes from new participants start
picking up medals, taekwondo standards
worldwide are rising ever higher. This, in
turn, brings more people into the sport.
“Taekwondo does not require a budget
to learn,” says Kang Suk-jae, the public
relations director at the World Taekwondo
Federation. “If you just have a coach, you
can learn all the attacking and defense
techniques in a small area and without the
need for any extra equipment. This is a
A WTF member
guides senior
students through
basic poses (far left).
Spanish players
attended the 5th WTF
World Taekwondo
Poomsae
Championships in
Uzbekistan (above).
An Iranian player at
the 4th WTF World
Taekwondo
Poomsae
Championships
(left).
key reason why Middle Eastern countries,
which have not traditionally done too well
at the Olympics, are turning to taekwondo
in the hopes of gaining more medals.”
Taekwondo champions have already
hailed from the unlikeliest of places. In the
Beijing Games, for instance, Afghanistan’s
Rohullah Nikpai won the bronze in the 58
kg category, the first medal the country
had won in its 72-year Olympic history.
Mexico also picked up two gold medals in
taekwondo at the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games, showing just how international
taekwondo’s medal winners had become.
In many Middle Eastern, and Central
and South American countries, taekwondo
is second only to soccer in popularity.
Taekwondo enjoys particular popularity in
www.korea.net | 47

Iran, whose men‘s team is a dominant force
in international competitions.
More recently, the Korean government
and taekwondo organizations from the
country are taking stock of what they
have learned in the last few years in a
bid to push the sport even further around
the world.
the home of taekwondo In 2008, the
World Taekwondo Federation established
Taekwondo Peace Corps (TPC), a non-profit
organization offering free taekwondo
lessons and equipment in underdeveloped
countries around the world. TPC selects
taekwondo black belts from around the
country and sends them on these goodwill
missions for one to two months in the
summer and the winter.
The first such coaches were sent in
2008 to developing countries throughout
Africa, the Middle East, and Central and
South America. In 2010, TPC sent out its
fifth group, bringing the total number
of volunteers to 315, with 65 countries
having taken part. TPC not only shares the
taekwondo spirit and its most advanced
techniques, it also supplies countries with
taekwondo equipment while offering
classes in elements of Korean culture.
In 2006, the World Taekwondo
Federation held the inaugural WTF World
Taekwondo Poomsae Championships. The
first championships were held in Seoul,
followed by Incheon, Korea, Turkey, Egypt
and Uzbekistan.
48 | korea | february 2011
Taekwondo was a popular sport at the 2004
Olympics in Athens, Greece. Active moments of
playing taekwondo are seen (top, above).
The WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae
Championships is a competition specifically
aimed at the 90% of the taekwondo
population who focus on a technique called
poomsae, which is an established pattern
of attacking and defense techniques that
allows for training without a coach. In its
versatility, poomsae has made it easier for
men and women of all ages to take part.
From 2009, the main taekwondo center
Kukkiwon has deployed 12 taekwondo
instructors to 12 countries to promote and
develop taekwondo, as well as enhance
cooperation and increase exchanges
between Korea and developing countries.
The instructors are actively contributing
to the host country’s taekwondo
development by offering expert coaching
to their national teams, junior teams
and even their police forces. A truly
international effort, the programs have
taken place in Indonesia, Syria, Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka, Myanmar, South Africa, Nepal,
Senegal, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan and Tunisia.
The instructors have also been instrumental
in promoting friendly relations with their
hosts and increasing interest in Korea.
Kukkiwon is also supporting the
nurturing of future taekwondo talent
through its “Taekwondo Training
Program.” From June through December
2009, three outstanding taekwondo
prospects were invited from three different
countries: Bhutan, Mongolia and South
Africa.
The “World Taekwondo Leaders
Forum” which researches and discusses
issues related to taekwondo, and the
“International Instructors Seminar” which
provides training to taekwondo instructors
in a variety of taekwondo techniques, are
also proving to be very successful.
Elsewhere, expert taekwondo instructors
are being sent to relay the more traditional
messages and spirit of taekwondo though
the teaching of poomsae.
Hosted by Kukkiwon, the “International
Instructor’s Seminar” welcomed some 1,200
participants from seven different countries
— the United States, Indonesia, India,
Kazakhstan, Iran, Taiwan and New Zealand.
Not to be outdone, the Korean
government is also helping push
taekwondo worldwide. In Beijing, the
Korean government recently opened a
taekwondo reference room and cultural
content exhibit hall. In addition, the
government published a taekwondo
textbook for children in Berlin, held
taekwondo cultural festivals in Moscow,
and has supported after-school taekwondo
classes in New York. The Korean
government opened nine Korean cultural
centers in 2008, and is planning to help
© World Taekwondo Federation
them promote taekwondo through 2013.
Further demonstrating its commitment,
the Korean government is working with
international sports organizations such as
the WTF and the IOC to supply taekwondo
equipment worldwide.
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Namsadang Nori Inscribed in 2009
on UNESCO’s Representative List of
the Intangible Heritage of Humanity,
Namsadang Nori, literally the ‘all-
male vegabond clown theater’, is
a multifaceted folk performance
tradition originally practised widely
by travelling entertainers and now
kept alive by professional troupes in
the Republic of Korea.

www.korea.net | 02