Han Asia Times

1. Korea Art Summer Festival (KASF) 2010 http://www.kasf.co.kr An annual art fair where over 250 artists in genres spanning across painting, traditional Korean art, sculpture, installation art, craft, gather together and interact with visitors. - Period : July 28 – August 1, 2010 - Venue : Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC) 2. Sacheon International Percussion Festival 2010 http://www.sacheonpercussion. org There will be astounding performances by world-class traditional and contemporary percussion artists as well as various exhibitions and workshops. - Period : July 28 – August 1, 2010 - Venue : Sacheon Art & Culture Center, Sacheon City, Gyeonggsangnam-do Activities & Announcements 1. Invitation to the Premiere of "Thank You, Master KIM (Intangible Asset No. 82)" Thank You, Master KIM tells the story of a respected Australian jazz drummer and his search for an elusive South Korean shaman and grandmaster musician. It is a road movie, a philosophical encounter, a ...

Have you heard of the term “Ethernet?” Not Internet, mind you, but Ethernet. Well, I suppose it’s not exactly in our everyday vocab list. Ethernet, stemming from the physical concept of the “ether,” refers to the computer networking technologies for local area networks (LANs). In simpler words, it is a system where multiple computers scattered far and wide can form a network and share information. This system is widely used in the banking or trading industry that operates hundreds of branch stores. Traditionally, the Ethernet market has been dominated by advanced countries such as the US, Japan, and Germany. But recently, Korean industrial Ethernet technology has been adopted as an international standard, marking a milestone for advancing into the world market. Let’s learn a bit about this Korean Ethernet technology. Faster and Easier to Fix According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy of Korea, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) approved of 5 RAPIEnet (Real-time Aut...

An event titled “Spending the Summer at the Royal Palace” is being held from July 24 through August 31 at Changgyeonggung Palace. Let me introduce it to you. Upon entering the palace you will be able to see a banner in front of euhgoo (a stream flowing from a royal place) that traverses the palace. The clear stream euhgoo flows along Geumcheon path with pleasant, gurgling sounds, and you can take a rest in the shades drawn by the lush trees planted along the path. The path is also adorned with a variety of aquatic plants such as lotuses and water lilies as well as twenty-some photographs. Euhgoo flowing along Geumcheon path> You can spot friends, lovers, families here and there, as well as foreigners visiting Korea. There are kids on a field-trip with the assignment to observe water lilies and hyacinths. There are members of a photography club on an outing. The various aquatic plants with their beautiful features and purifying qualities grab ...

Owners of some of Chicago's skyscrapers are hoping to tap into new technology that — by dimming lights or lowering water temperature on a massive scale — would dramatically cut energy usage and save millions of dollars. The $25 million technology project is being bankrolled by the Republic of Korea, which has agreed to install energy-saving equipment in up to 14 Chicago buildings during the next few months at a cost of between $10 million and $20 million. The remaining money is pledged to Illinois colleges for research and development related to smart-grid technology. Officials from Illinois and South Korea on Wednesday signed an agreement for the project at the Aon Center, one of the buildings being considered for the pilot project. The Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago, which represents most of Chicago's downtown buildings said if the project were expanded to the entire downtown, the energy savings would be enough to shutter a coal-fired po...

MANILA, Philippines—The number of Filipino students in South Korea has quadrupled to about 400 this year from 108 in June 2005, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Luis T. Cruz said in a news release, quoting data from the Korean Immigration Service. "South Korea is our top source of foreign students, retirees, and tourists. It is no wonder that mutual awareness between our peoples is high. This knowledge has naturally led to situations that allow the transfer of ideas and sharing of experiences in both the school setting and beyond," Cruz said. “The growing community of Filipino students in the country is making an impact on both academic and social landscapes as Filipino students gain prominence in schools for their cultural and scholarly contributions,” he said. Most of the Filipino students in South Korea are beneficiaries of both short-term and long-term international scholarship programs and belong to diverse fields such as international relations, business, and the sc...

Portion of the copy of the di Plano Carpini map of 1434. Maereum Orientale (EastSea) is clearly visible near the upper right portion of the land masses. This is the 10th in a series of contributions and interview articles exploring standardization issues of the geographic names -- the “East Sea” and “Sea of Japan.” Various views on the geographic name of the sea body between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago will be presented in the hopes of raising awareness of the controversy. -- Ed.Norman Cherkis became involved in East Sea/Sea of Japan issues in 1995. Among his responsibilities is as a consultant to the Korean Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration regarding Korean seafloor toponyms in the East Sea. He is a vocal advocate for the adoption of usage of “East Sea” as an alternate name for Sea of Japan, and has published a number of papers on the subject, including a reference list of almost 700 papers that have been published in non-Korean journals.He is also i...

KU to run 'Korea University Studies' course Korea University (KU) reminds people of “Minjok Godae” and “makgeolli” among other things. “Minjok Godae” means “people’s Korea University” and makgeolli is the milky traditional Korean alcoholic drink that has been loved by everyday folk for hundreds of years. The words compose the key elements that conjure up the brand image of KU, the nation’s first university established by Koreans. They may sound a bit outdated but they are the reasons that make its students and graduates proud of their alma mater. It’s also the base on which the school hopes to attain globalization. “I believe all globalization efforts should start from our own tradition. What’s truly Korean can become truly global. Knowing ourselves is very important before pursuing globalization,” KU President Lee Ki-su said in an interview at his office in Seoul. Under his leadership, the school has taken a leap forward in globalization — forming a lot of alliances with top u...

Sacheon International Percussion Festival, Thur – Sun, 29 Jul- 1 Aug 2010, Gyeongsangnam-do The International Percussion Festival mainly led by professor Choi Jong-shil, the pioneer of Samulnori, is the nation’s first festival devoted to the percussion instrument and its musicians. This 4-day festival will be held to promote the excellence of Samcheonpo Korean farm music with 12 episodes, which was designated as Intangible Asset No. 11 and the Hanryo Maritime culture. During the festival period, the Percussion Instrument Festival will also be held with the participation of world famous percussionists from the US, Taiwan, Japan, France and Brazil. The Percussion Instrument Exhibition will display 1,000 kinds of musical instruments. What’s more, there will be a World Percussion Musical Academic Convention, a National Percussion Musical Contest, and a Percussion Musical Experience. Date: Thursday-Sunday, 29 July- 1 August, 2010 Venue: All around the Sacheon City and Samcheonpo Bridge Me...

Aqua Festival, 28 Jul - 1 Aug 2010, Jeollanam-do, Korea This event, which will take place around Tamjin-gang River and its ecological park and nearby dam, will allow wooden boat rides, or a wooden raft or rope boat, which is tied to the shore. Other fun activities include fishing with bare hands, playing at the ice pool, making pottery, riding on an ox cart or rodeo. Date: 28 July- 1 August 2010 Venue: Tamjingang River, Jangheung-gun, Jeollanam-do Admission: Free. Note that some events/activities may charge a fee. Info: 061-860-0224, 0380, 061-863-7071(Weekends) (Korean only) or KTO's 02-1330 (English, Chinese, Japanese). Event website in Korean only. Getting there: It takes more than two hours to get from Yongsan Station to Gwangju by KTX. Transfer to bus heading to Jangheung. Please visit: http://www.jhwater.kr

U.S. teenagers are taking part in an intensive Korean language course in a classroom. This is not out of the norm at Sogang University’s Korean Language Education Center, but these students, all of whom are 15-18 years old, are here as part of a special program sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Each student had their own unique reason for coming to Korea and joining the National Security Language Initiative for Youth. “I started watching Korean dramas and listening to Korean music and I got tired of watching them with subtitles,” said Zaneh Williams from Maryland. “This is a chance to see the world on my own and have a bit more independence,” said Gabrielle Hanley from Virginia. The students study Korean for four hours in the afternoon, with a strict “no English” policy. Learning Korean is “fun, but really intensive. We learned reading and writing in about a week,” said Gabrielle. But she said understanding Korean vocabulary and sentences is the hardest part. Even students in the...

“Summer IS+land”: K-pop artists SG Wannabe, MC Mong, Min Kyung-hoon, Shin Jung-hwan and Maybe will hold a concert welcoming the heat of summer at the Yonsei Culture and Art Center on July 24. Each singer will not only have his/her own stage, but also perform with other artists to mix it up. Tickets cost 55,000 to 66,000 won. For more information, call 1544-1555. “Danny Jung, 11 am”: The first Korean saxophonist to be listed on the Billboard chart, Danny Jung will look to bring his cool and breezy renditions of both local and international pop songs popular with to the Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Complex on July 29. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Jung has worked with many Korean celebrities such as soprano Sumi Jo and a legendary rock star Seo Tai-ji. Tickets cost 15,000 won. For more information, call 1577-7766. 　 “Hoyoung 2 Ocean”: Taking on a concept of the summer season, pop star and former G.O.D. member Son Ho-young will stage a solo show under the theme of “vacation” at the K...

The scorching heat and oppressive humidity of a Korean summer makes people sweat a lot and saps them of energy. To preserve one's vigor and prevent the heat wave from causing exhaustion of both body and soul, Koreans choose either of two ways: One is to fight against the heat by consuming something cold while the other is to beat it at its own game by having something even hotter. Either way, Koreans eat some special foods to effectively escape the sweltering summer sizzle. * Samgyetang Despite the scorching heat, Koreans are not afraid to queue up in a long line in front of samgyetang restaurants on the three Boknal Days, the hottest days of summer, in order to have the popular Korean ginseng-chicken soup. This is the most popular dish that Koreans have in mid-summer in order to fortify their health against the heat. It has been recorded that traditionally Koreans have eaten some special health foods in summer. Donguibogam, or "Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine,...

It has become quite common to find foreign nationals learning Korean as a hobby thanks to the huge popularity of Korean stars and television dramas overseas. Even television shows like “Misuda,” where a panel of Korean-speaking foreign nationals discuss Korea, have become familiar to most Koreans. But it seems like more non-Koreans are studying Korean academically nowadays. Rather than attending private language academies, many choose to go to graduate schools to get a Korean literature & language masters or doctoral degree. In fact, the number of such students has been growing sharply over the past few years to the point where some are saying that the number of foreign Korean literature & language students is similar to locals. Experts explain that such a phenomenon has resulted from the increasing number of foreign nationals who desire to become Korean language specialists. This is thanks to the extra attention the country and its culture have been receiving from abroad. “The...

Kim Yu-na performing to 'Meditation from Thais'

Korea is emerging as the "land of opportunity" for many foreign students. The number of foreign students enrolled in Korean universities stood at 75,000 as of 2009, up by 19 percent year on year. This is a four-fold increase from a mere 17,000 in 2004 when the government began keeping records. Korea can expect many positive effects from attracting foreign students including the cultivation of excellent human resources overseas, creation of economic value added and nurturing of Korea-friendly leaders of foreign countries. Korea, the 15th largest economy in the world, joined the Development Assistance Committee last year, making it the first country in the world to turn itself from a recipient to a donor of assistance, and it is being recognized by the World Nuclear Association as the world's fifth largest exporter of nuclear power plants. On top of that, Korea has shown the fastest recovery from the global financial crisis among OECD countries and has recently been selecte...