Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Kim Nam-Joo, Throws Herself into ‘Concept Korea' with Enthusiasm


 The third Concept Korea will be held at the David Rubenstein Atrium, Lincoln Center, New York on the coming 15th (local time). The event takes place during the New York Fashion Week season featuring four groups of designers from Korea sponsored by the Korean government to represent the exceptional fashions of Korea. As an upgraded version of the past two Concept Koreas, this time a wide range of additional events supporting promotion will be offered.

New York Fashion Week is one of the four major international fashion collections leading the world fashion industry. It is more a commercial-oriented fashion show, featuring merchandisable fashion to lead the market than boldly experimenting with trends. This year the week runs from February 10th to 17th at the Lincoln Center; and ‘CONCEPT KOREA, Cultural Treasures 2011’ brings the fashion designs of Korea to the international stage, where all leading figures of the fashion market gather to enjoy the season. The project, accompanying various promotional marketing activities, is sponsored by the Republic of Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), Daegu Metropolitan City, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), and the Korean Research Institute for Fashion Industry (KRIFI) to advance the Korean fashion industry into the world market.

(photo: Naver blog)

When such efforts can successfully support Korean designers to create global brands joining the international fashion market with other world-renowned labels, the national competitiveness of Korea can be enhanced while acknowledged for its original fashion trends. Promotion is necessary for those talented designers to join the market; however it is difficult for many full-time designers to put much effort into marketing and promotion. Thus with support from government and private sectors, the Korean fashion can move a step closer to win more opportunities introducing its original trend of fashion to the world.


Indigo blue spreads into New York

Lie Sang Bong, and DO HO (from left to right)>

This year’s theme for Concept Korea is ‘Cultural Treasures,’ planning to feature designs inspired by traditional Korean cultures by four designer groups, DO HO, Lie Snag Bong, Steve J & Yoni P and Choi Bum Suk. The profound and mysterious indigo blue of the celadon porcelain will be transferred to the garments and the showroom portraying the graceful sensibilities of Korea. The indigo of the celadon may enchant the eyes of the West with its elegant and sophisticated beauty from the East, Korea.

The designers have prepared about forty pieces of work for the collection and the Concept Korea staffs prepared additional events to better promote Korean culture. This was planned from feedbacks on the past two Concept Koreas, which did not fully explore the resources and opportunities ending the event with a single show.

(photo: Naver blog)

After the forty-minute length fashion show, a list of interesting events with reception introducing Korean food, music, performance, and IT is held. Visitors can relax and get better understandings on Korea while enjoying fusion Korean food provided as part of the ‘Taste of Korea’ project led by the Korean Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. An internationally recognized chef Tom Colicchio has prepared a special fusion Korean dish and makgeolli (Korean rice wine) for this occasion expected to attract more attention from the Western people.


Reaching out for new business opportunities

As the primary mission of the event is for the Korean fashion industry to enter the global market, a room showcasing the collections for potential business partners was arranged. In Chelsea Meatpacking district a public showroom was set up for ten days starting from February 14th to 23rd. Here the four designer groups from Korea shows each fifty pieces of their design welcoming foreign buyers. Especially, bringing Korea’s IT technology to the space, the showroom is ready to surprise the visitors and buyers from the entrance spot winning local attention among other designers participating the New York Fashion Week.


National and international promotion is a significant key to win success paying back the long efforts put into. Kim Nam-Joo, the Korean fashion icon celebrity was commissioned as honorary ambassador for Concept Korea Ⅲ and fashion magazines including Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and influential American presses such as CNN, New York Times, New York Daily News will report the third Concept Korea stage.


Smart Phone applications providing information on Concept Korea Ⅲ will be distributed and SNS marketing will be actively developed. Twitter and Facebook contents (serviced in English) and appointed fashion reporters will introduce the New York fashion week agenda, events and selected designers followed by additional services. Thanks to such supports you would be well informed about the show without a need to fly to New York.

Let’s hope the fashion show to end as a great success promoting talented Korean designers on world stage and further work as a stepping stone for the Korean fashion industry advancing into the international market.

Friday, 25 February 2011

Korean History and Political Geography


Koreans often use the proverb “when whales fight, the shrimp’s back is broken” to describe their country’s victimization at the hands of larger, more powerful neighbors. China, as the largest and most technologically and culturally advanced society in East Asia, exerted the most important outside influence on Korea until modern times. In the twentieth century, Korea became the focus of rival interests among neighboring China, Japan, and Russia as well as the more distant United States. But for well over a thousand years, until colonization by Japan in the early twentieth century, successive kingdoms on the Korean peninsula were able to maintain a society with political independence and cultural distinctiveness from the surrounding nations.

Korea Before the Twentieth Century 
Settled, literate societies on the Korean peninsula appear in Chinese records as early as the fourth century BCE. Gradually, competing groups and kingdoms on the peninsula merged into a common national identity. After a period of conflict among the “Three Kingdoms”—Koguryo in the north, Paekche in the southwest, and Silla in the southeast—Silla defeated its rivals and unified most of the Korean peninsula in 668 CE. Korea reached close to its present boundaries during the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392), from which its Western name “Korea” is derived. The succeeding Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) further consolidated Korea’s national boundaries and distinctive cultural practices.

Within Korea there are some regional differences expressed in dialect and customs, but on the whole regional differences are far outweighed by an overall cultural homogeneity. Unlike China, for example, regional dialects in Korea are mutually intelligible to all Korean speakers. The Korean language is quite distinct from Chinese and in fact structurally similar to Japanese, although there is still debate among linguists about how the Korean and Japanese languages may be related. Many customs, popular art forms, and religious practices in traditional Korea are also quite distinct from either Chinese or Japanese practices, even though the Korean forms sometimes resemble those of Korea’s neighbors in East Asia and have common roots.

Traditional Korea borrowed much of its high culture from China, including the use of Chinese characters in the written language and the adoption of Neo-Confucianism as the philosophy of the ruling elite. Buddhism, originally from India, also came to Korea from China, and from Korea spread to Japan. For many centuries Korea was a member of the Chinese “tribute system,” giving regular gifts to the Chinese court and acknowledging the titular superiority of the Chinese emperor over the Korean king. But while symbolically dependent on China for military protection and political legitimization, in practice Korea was quite independent in its internal behavior.

After devastating invasions by the Japanese at the end of the sixteenth century and by the Manchus of Northeast Asia in the early seventeenth, Korea enforced a policy of strictly limited contact with all other countries. The main foreign contacts officially sanctioned by the Choson Dynasty were diplomatic missions to China three or four times a year and a small outpost of Japanese merchants in the southeastern part of Korea near the present-day city of Pusan. Few Koreans left the peninsula during the late Choson Dynasty, and even fewer foreigners entered. For some 250 years Korea was at peace and internally stable (despite growing peasant unrest from about 1800), but from the perspective of the Europeans and Americans who encountered Korea in the nineteenth century, Korea was an abnormally isolated country, a “hermit kingdom” as it came to be known to Westerners at the time.

Japanese Colonial Period During the latter half of the nineteenth century, Korea became the object of competing imperial interests as the Chinese empire declined and Western powers began to vie for ascendancy in East Asia. Britain, France, and the United States each attempted to “open up” Korea to trade and diplomatic relations in the 1860s, but the Korean kingdom steadfastly resisted. It took Japan, itself only recently opened to Western-style international relations by the United States, to impose a diplomatic treaty on Korea for the first time in 1876.

Japan, China, and Russia were the main rivals for influence on Korea in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and after defeating China and Russia in war between 1895 and 1905, Japan became the predominant power on the Korean peninsula. In 1910 Japan annexed Korea outright as a colony, and for the next 35 years Japan ruled Korea in a manner that was strict and often brutal. Toward the end of the colonial period, the Japanese authorities tried to wipe out Korea’s language and cultural identity and make Koreans culturally Japanese, going so far in 1939 as to compel Koreans to change their names to Japanese ones. However, Japan also brought the beginnings of industrial development to Korea. Modern industries such as steel, cement, and chemical plants were set up in Korea during the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the northern part of the peninsula where coal and hydroelectric power resources were abundant. By the time Japanese colonial rule ended in August 1945, Korea was the second most industrialized country in Asia after Japan itself.

Divided Korea and the Korean War 
The surrender of Japan to the allies at the end of World War II resulted in a new and unexpected development on the Korean peninsula: the division of Korea into two separate states, one in the North (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, D.P.R.K.) and one in the South (the Republic of Korea, R.O.K.). In the final days of the war, the United States and the Soviet Union had agreed to jointly accept the Japanese surrender in Korea, with the U.S.S.R. occupying Korea north of the 38th parallel and the U.S. occupying south until an independent and unified Korean government could be established. However, by 1947, the emerging Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, combined with political differences between Koreans of the two occupation zones and the policies of the occupation forces on the ground, led to a breakdown in negotiations over a unified government of Korea.

On August 15, 1948, a pro-U.S. government was established in Seoul, and three weeks later a pro-Soviet government in Pyongyang. Both governments claimed to legitimately represent the entire Korean people, creating a situation of extreme tension across the 38th parallel. On June 25, 1950, North Korea, backed by the U.S.S.R., invaded the South and attempted to unify the peninsula by force. Under the flag of the United Nations, a U.S.-led coalition of countries came to the assistance of South Korea. The Soviet Union backed North Korea with weapons and air support, while the People’s Republic of China intervened on the side of North Korea with hundreds of thousands of combat troops. In July 1953, after millions of deaths and enormous physical destruction, the war ended approximately were it began, with North and South Korea divided into roughly equal territories by the cease-fire line, a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that still forms the boundary between North and South Korea today.

The Two Koreas
Since 1953, North and South Korea have evolved from a common cultural and historical base into two very different societies with radically dissimilar political and economic systems. The differences between North and South Korea today have little to do with pre-1945 regional differences between northern and southern Korea. North Korea has been heavily influenced by Soviet/Russian culture and politics as well as those of China. It has developed a self-styled politics of juche (“self-reliance”) based on economic and political independence, having a highly centralized political system with a “Great Leader” at its apex (Kim Il Sung until his death in 1994, his son Kim Jong Il since then) and a command economy. North Korea developed into perhaps the most isolated and controlled of all communist states, and even 10 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, showed little sign of political and economic liberalization despite severe economic hardship.

South Korea, on the other hand, has been greatly influenced by the United States and, in a more subtle way, by Japan. The U.S. has maintained close political, military, and economic ties with South Korea since the R.O.K. was founded in 1948. While South Korea has often been less democratic than Americans would like or the Korean leaders claimed it to be, since the fall of its military dictatorship in the late 1980s democracy appears to have become increasingly consolidated in the R.O.K. Meanwhile, South Korea made impressive economic gains in the 1970s and 1980s and can be considered now among the world’s developed industrial countries. South Korea recovered rapidly from the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and is currently the third-largest economy in Eastern Asia, after Japan and China.

As in many other countries, American popular culture is an important presence in South Korea. To a lesser extent, Japanese popular culture is influential as well. However, South Korea has developed its own distinctly Korean forms of popular culture, while traditional Korean culture has undergone something of a revival in recent decades. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, South Korean pop music, film, and television dramas were becoming quite popular in other parts of Asia too, especially China and Vietnam.

Despite the general cultural homogeneity of Korea, regional sentiment has become an important factor in South Korean politics and in other areas of contemporary life. The main regional division is between the Cholla area of the southwest and the Kyongsang area of the southeast. Although some would claim that these regional differences go back to the ancient Three Kingdoms period, in fact modern South Korean regionalism is mostly a phenomenon originating in the rapid industrialization that began in the 1960s. At that time, President Park Chung Hee focused on the economic development of his home region of Kyongsang, and drew much of South Korea’s leadership from there. This bias toward Kyongsang continued through the succeeding presidencies of Chun Doo Hwan, Roh Tae Woo, and Kim Young Sam, who were all from the region. Meanwhile, Cholla remained relatively backward and was seen as a place of dissenters, including long-time opposition figure Kim Dae Jung. As a consequence, voting patterns in South Korea have shown overwhelming favoritism toward candidates from the voters’ home region. After Kim Dae Jung became president in 1998, he attempted to bring more regional balance to economic and political development in South Korea, but regional identification and prejudice remain strong.

The division of Korea into North and South was imposed upon the Korean people by outside forces, and many if not most Koreans insist that the two Koreas must one day be reunited. In the early 1970s, mid-1980s, and early 1990s, the two Koreas appeared to be reaching breakthroughs in inter-Korean relations, but each movement toward reconciliation and reunification ended in frustration. Finally, in June 2000, the leaders of North and South Korea met in Pyongyang, in the North, to discuss improving North-South relations. This was the first time such a summit meeting had ever taken place, and the event once again raised expectations of reconciliation and eventual reunion between the two halves of the divided peninsula. However, there is still very little contact between the governments or the people of North and South Korea, and barring a dramatic turn of events, the hope for reunification appears to be a long way off.

The Korean Diaspora 

In addition to the 46 million people in South Korea and 23 million in the North, some 6 to 7 million people of Korean descent, or approximately 10 percent of the population of the two Koreas combined, live outside the Korean peninsula. In proportion to the population of the home country, the Korean “diaspora” comprises one of the largest groups of emigrants from anywhere in Asia. The largest communities of overseas Koreans are in China (two million), the United States (over one million), Japan (700,000), and the former Soviet Union (450,000), mostly in the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The Korean diaspora is distinctive both for its relative size and the fact that it is almost entirely a twentieth-century phenomenon, with the exception of Koreans in China and Russia, who began to immigrate there in large numbers in the 1860s. There were no Koreans in U.S. territory until after 1900, and most Koreans in Japan today are, or are descendants of, immigrants who came during the colonial occupation period of 1910-1945.

Koreans were first brought to Hawaii in 1903 as workers in the sugarcane fields. Later, Koreans settled increasingly on the U.S. mainland, especially in Southern California. Koreans in the U.S. still numbered only in the few tens of thousands until after 1965, when restrictions on immigration from Asia were relaxed. By the 1980s, Koreans were among the most rapidly growing groups of immigrants to the United States. Immigration from Korea leveled off after 1988 and began to decline in the early 1990s, but increased slightly again after the Asian financial crisis hit South Korea in 1997. The main concentrations of Koreans in the U.S. are in the Los Angeles area, New York, and Chicago.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, South Korea is among the major industrialized nations of the world and is widely recognized as a success in economic development and political democratization. South Korea has evolved remarkably from the poor, backward country that emerged from the shadows of Japanese colonial rule in 1945. It is also a country with a strong sense of national identity and great pride in its culture, traditions, and accomplishments. At the same time, Korea remains divided into North and South, with nearly two million men under arms on the peninsula and a high state of military tension. As it has for more than a century, Korea occupies a strategic place on the world map, and any conflict on the peninsula would have the potential to draw in neighboring countries, if not farther. Korea may no longer be a “shrimp,” but the waters it swims in are not yet entirely safe.Source: Asia Society, Charles K. Armstrong.

Friday, 18 February 2011

Main Events of this Month

1. A New Start, Daboreum (the year’s first full moon) Festival 
http://www.nfm.go.kr/Inform/ninfor_view.nfm?seq=14381 
Experience the seasonal customs of Daeborrum, a traditional Korean holiday and enjoy folk performance shows

Date : Feb 17, Thurs (10:00~17:00)
Venue : Front Yard (Main bldg), The National Folk Museum of Korea, Jongno, Seoul

2. 2011 National Gugak Center First Full Moon Festival “Ttwil-pan (jumping), Nol-pan (playing), and Han-pan making happy” 

http://www.gugak.go.kr/performance/performance/information/perf_viw.jsp?boardId=30004065 

Enjoy the First Full Moon Festival with National Gugak Center

Date : Feb 16, Wed ~ Feb 17, Thurs (19:30)
Venue : Yeakdang & Front yard, National Gugak Center

* The event is free but requires an advance reservation www.gugak.go.kr 

Korean Mushrooms Occupies the Tables of the Swiss

The superior species and high production quality of Korean mushroom is proved through its great texture and taste, already having been renown overseas. Today Korean mushrooms have attracted the Swiss people being one of their favorite dishes.





Korean mushrooms spotlighted as high-quality food

Jelomli, a grand department store of Zurich, the largest city in Swiss has Korean mushrooms on their sales list, sold at the lower ground grocery section, along with a variety of other raw mushrooms. Here Korean king oyster mushrooms are sold by 30-40 franc per kilogram, quite expensive which is equivalent to 35,000 ~ 47,000 won in Korean dollars.

Swiss people, on sunny days, often enjoy barbeque parties with their family and friends sharing grilled meat and sausages, and the Korean king oyster mushrooms as the only vegetable to be added on the main grill list. Taken as a high-quality food item, the king oyster mushrooms are enjoyed for its bigger size and thick texture that is much suitable for a grill party compared to button mushrooms.

In Swiss, now it is not that difficult to meet these mushrooms from Korea in Swiss as they are not only supplied to department stores but also to Migros, the largest supermarket franchise in Swiss.

a Swiss restaurant in Itaewon, Korea> (Photo: Naver blog)

In Swiss, mushrooms are widely enjoyed by the people being one of the most popular food often used as an ingredient for sauces or even as main dishes. Regarding the sales of button mushrooms the amount of its consumption are 13,000 tons annually; 8,000 tons of raw mushrooms and 5,000 tons of cooked mushrooms. Here 7,000 tons of raw mushrooms are produced in Swiss and the import! rate of the total market consists of 15 percent. The Swiss people do seem to favor mushrooms a lot!


Cannot imagine a life without mushrooms!
  The Swiss people in love with mushrooms

Even the economic crisis did not stop the Swiss fondness for mushrooms. In the second half of 2008 when the economic situation was not favorable, consumers did not cease to spend money on mushrooms. In 2009, rather the total consumption increased adding 300 tons compared to the former year. In fact, the fastidious Swiss customers looking for the best qualities seem to continuously increase the needs for fresh mushrooms.


Button mushroom is the most largely produced and consumed one in Swiss, which is a very traditional kind. However, Asian kinds started to receive attention along with the rising popularity of foreign mushroom species. These days foreign mushrooms that have been introduced during the 1980~1990s including shiitake, king oyster mushroom, grifola frondosa are now receiving some spotlight. Especially shiitake is enjoying popularity being ranked second in the consumer preference.

It may be no surprise that Korean mushrooms with high quality and taste has successfully created its market in Swiss. It had past 3~4 years since Korean king oyster mushrooms joined the dishes of the Swiss dining table.

Now the annual amount of mushroom import!s are over two hundred million Korean won. This was possible by both continuous efforts put to improving species and through quality control.

In 2009 renowned chefs from all over the world have visited Korea to participate in the ‘Amazing Korean Table,’ and Korean mushroom was used by all chefs. A variety of mushrooms were grilled or slightly boiled to be used as ingredients or become the main dish itself.

The taste and flavor of Korea mushrooms seems to prove its real worth no matter where it is. As the Swiss fondness for mushroom continues the future of the Korean mushroom overseas market is expected to be positive; we hope to create a broader international market, in addition to Swiss, for all consumers who want high quality mushrooms.

The Medical Service Project Shares New Life and Hope!



Do you know much about the congenital heart disease? The disease is due to abnormal heart development before birth that requires postnatal medical treatment. It may lead to premature death if no appropriate surgery is operated, however a successful surgery can grant a new healthy life to a child.

Regrettably, there are many people who are in need of medical surgery but not all receive the opportune treatment. The high costs and lack of professional medical hospitals are doubling the burden. Fortunately, movements of medical support for the global neighborhood have been started, the ‘Korea Medical Service Share Project’ being one of them.

The Korean government financially supports children of neighboring undeveloped regions suffering from the lack of medical facilities by paying all expenses on their visit to Korea for medical treatment; Private medical institutions support the medical expenses by offering voluntary surgical operations. This year’s first patient is Danilya, a young boy from Russia.


A new life to a six-year-boy Danilya

The level of medical treatment of Korea is well recognized on the international level. The number of foreigners visiting Korea for medical surgery or treatment is increasing and every year new surgery method of Korea and its successful cases are introduced overseas.

The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare has developed a project to position Korea as a global healthcare leader and promote voluntary services overseas.

The project is significant for being a public-private collaboration case while the Korean government provides financial aids covering flight fees and expenses during the stay and medical institutions covers the medical expenses. This year’s budget is 250,000,000 Korean won, which will be used to cure fifteen patients from the neighbors of Korea including China, Russia, Kazakhstan and so on.

Danilya, a six-year-old boy from Havarovsk, Russia was the first patient to meet the Korea Medical Service Share Project. Danilya was diagnosed as congenial heart disease and ventricular septal defect however the family could not afford a surgery and in fact no hospitals specializing in heart disease could be found near the village. It was grateful to receive Irina’s - the mother’s joy and appreciation when she heard the good news from Korea about the medical and financial support.

Sejong Hospital, specializing in heart disease, was responsible for the young boy’s surgery this time. The hospital has conducted about 900 free medical operations for children from twenty nations including Russia, China, Vietnam, and Iraq for the last twenty-nine years bringing new life to them. The hospital explains that it is time for Korea to give back the help it has received from their neighbors in the past and this medical service project could be one example of it.


Sharing the advanced medical technology of Korea with Russia

conducted by Korean surgeons at major Hospitals of Korea>

The operation process of Danilya was covered by RTR, the Russian public broadcasting media and will be broadcasted across Russia in March. ‘Pulse,’ RTR’s self-produced medical documentary program that usually deals with new trends in the medical field e.g. modern medical science, diagnosis and diverse diseases, and new medical treatments, will feature the story on Danilya in three parts. This may as well be a good opportunity for Korea to introduce its advanced medical technology.

In fact, RTR did not only take report of Danilya’s surgery but also covered the current medical technology for cancer, cardiac and vascular diseases, oriental medicine, brain and spine treatment of Korea in depth, introducing the excellence of Korean medical technology.

to a patient that will work as a real arm> (photo: The Joongang Daily)

The Korea Medical Service Share Project will actively continue to support the young patients of China, Kazakhstan and so on. ‘Medical Korea,’ a medical institution to operate free surgery, will be established and promoted through the local media. ‘Global Medical Service Share Corps’ program supported by Hanlyu celebrities will be carried out as well. We expect the project would gradually expand its activity reaching out to more regions and covering more diseases to be cured.

The project embraces the idea of coexistence and the global community. It is grateful for both, Korea who can be help and its neighbors who calls for help – the young children suffering from illness, and the parents who need support to afford medical treatment. A better global community can be upheld by being help for those who need a hand, and this project can be one way to practice the idea. We hope to see more medical institutions willing to donate their excellence in medical technology to bring new lives to our neighbors.

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Korean Studies around the globe



Indonesian Korean Studies studenta at graduation (Yonhap News)

Korean Studies, which focuses on different aspects of Korean culture, economics, politics, history and other subjects, are an important part of how people around the world learn about and understand Korea. From Southeast Asia to Europe to North America, Korean Studies programs are a way for students and communities to connect with Korea and pursue studies while increasing ties between Korea and people around the world.  Meanwhile, Korean Studies forums, conferences, symposium and publications bring a wider view of Korea to both academics and non-specialists.

Korean Studies programs, like many other area studies, emerged primarily after the Second World War, when people around the world started to realize the importance of having interdisciplinary academic programs to study and understand other countries and cultures. 
Although the term itself dates back to the 1940s, most Korean Studies programs were several decades later. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates a wide variety of academic disciplines including sociology, economics, folklore, literature, art, history and others subjects, it strives for a holistic and complex view of Korea.

Often part of broader East Asian studies programs, Korean Studies have expanded dramatically over the past few decades, reflecting Korea’s increasingly prominent role in world affairs. Most of the best-known programs are in the United States and Europe, but more and more programs, lectures, and opportunities in Korean Studies are opening up in new parts of the world like Africa and Southeast Asia.(Right:  Prof. McCann of Harvard University gives a lecture on sijo (Yonhap News))
In 1991, the Korean government established the Korea Foundation to help promote academic and cultural exchanges worldwide, and affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They have invested heavily in Korean Studies programs around the world, and offer a variety of scholarships and grants, as well as organizing forums, conferences, exchanges and publications related to Korea.

The United States and Canada have some of the world’s oldest and most respected Korean Studies centers and programs.  The University of Toronto has the oldest Korean Studies program in Canada, dating back to 1976, but is only one of dozens of universities across Canada with active programs concentrating on Korea. The University of Hawaii has one of the largest and oldest Korean Studies centers in the world, having been established in 1972 and home to the largest concentration of Korean scholars and resources outside of Korea itself.  Meanwhile, Harvard, Columbia, UCLA and the University of Washington are home to some of the most respected academic programs dealing with Korea in the world.

Europe can boast several world-renowned programs as well, including at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, the Universities of Sheffield and Leeds.  Germany and France both have several universities with programs that allow students to specialize in Korean language and culture.  Korean Studies programs have also begun to spring up in other parts of the world, including the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia in response to increased ties between Korea and the rest of the world.

Like many academic programs and disciplines, Korean Studies as a field has experienced setbacks in funding and other areas, but it has also shown remarkable growth over the course of just a few short decades.  It has also proven itself an important area of study for people around the globe, reflecting Korea’s changing international status and academic importance as a discipline.  Korean Studies conferences, forums, programs and publications continue to flourish and expand as Korea’s role in the world increases.

Monday, 31 January 2011

Scholarship for Females to study in Korea@ Ewha Womens University

EGPP(Ewha Global Partnership Program) Scholarship
The Ewha Global Partnership Program(EGPP) is a global initiative that selects and educates promising females from developing countries on full scholarship at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with an aim to nurture them into top professionals and global leaders of the 21st century. This is a program designed under the goal to share Ewha’s 120 years of accumulated academic excellence with females from other parts of the world.

Read more: http://scholarship.bursa-lowongan.com/egppewha-global-partnership-program-scholarship-2011/#ixzz1CDERHatk


Eligibility
A female student from a developing country who has been recognized as a potential leader, and who applies for admission to the undergraduate or graduate program of Ewha Womans University through the special admissions process for international students
Scope of Scholarship
The scholarship covers the recipient’s tuition, on-campus dormitory fees, stipend plus airfare. The Ewha Global Partnership Program Steering Committee may reduce or revoke the scholarship award upon review, should the recipient fail to fulfill eligibility requirements for reasons such as inability to continue attendance at the university or conducts unbecoming a student of the university.
Duration of Scholarship
Undergraduate freshman: maximum four years Undergraduate transfer: maximum two years Master’s: maximum two years Doctoral: maximum three years
?The scholarship is granted on condition that the recipient maintains her degree program and major.
Application (Form 4)
A completed Application Form should be submitted along with the application for admission.
Selection
Recipients will be selected through a comprehensive evaluation of her ability and potential as a global female leader, based on submitted documents.
Others
For further information, please e-mail to egpp@ewha.ac.kr or refer to the Office of Admissions website(http://home.ewha.ac.kr/~eenter/english/index.html).

Friday, 14 January 2011

Main Events of this Month




• 
Korea Grand Sale(www.koreagrandsale.or.kr) 
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Visit Korea Committee hosts a ‘Korea Grand Sale 2011’ with approximately 14,000 business participants including the ‘BIG 20 (A strategy selecting a group of franchise businesses favored by foreigner who visit Korea and offer discounts)’s for fifty days. On weekends various events are offered for customers.
 
- When: Mon. 10 Jan 2011 ~ Mon. 28 Feb 2011
 
- Where: Seoul, BusanJeju and other local governments nationwide 
Weekends Special Street Events (Hours 13:00~16:00) 

- Sat. 15 Jan ~ Sun. 16 Jan 2011: 
Myeongdong Theater 
- Sat. 22 Jan ~ Sun. 23 Jan 2011: Dongdaemun Hello APM - Sat. 28 Jan ~ Sun. 30 Jan 2011: YongsanIPark Mall Event (Floor 4) - Sat. 12 Feb ~ Sun. 13 Feb 2011: Lotte Department Store (Main Branch) outside 

Would you like a bowl of Ttukbaegi?


Onggi, a traditional Korean pottery has a significant role as a container preserving food in Korean food culture. In fact, among this time is when we remind of the rows of kimchi and doenjang (soybean paste) jars that used to be stored in the house yard. Nowadays as plastic and stainless containers became popular and the housing environment has changed Onggi lost its popularity in daily life of Koreans. However, recently the cultural value and identity of Onggi has been acknowledged. Books written in English to promote a global use of Onggi have been published followed by attempts of contemporary interpretation on the traditional pot. Let’s take a closer look.



Onggi, traditional Korean pottery of daily life

Onggi, in Korean means earthenware or pottery with a dark brown glaze, which is a native Korean pottery of daily life. Often used as a kimchi jar, for its cheap price and long-durability has been generally used by Koreans. Onggi Folk Museum in Ssangmun dong, Seoul, possesses a variety of Onggi; the big ones mostly used for preserving soy sauce, doenjang, kimchi and water and others used in a more wide range of use e.g. chimneys, candle bottles, lamp-oil containers, Gi-wa(roof tile) and tea pots.


The common use of Onggi can be explained with the characteristics of the Korean food culture. Onggi perfectly suits to preserve fermented food. Made from coarse sand-mud, its breathing holes allows air to enter but block water out that helps the preservation of the food for a longer duration. It also removes toxic substance of foods and reduces the smell. By enabling effective flow of air that helps the fermentation and preservation of the food, Onggi is perfect to store doenjang, soy sauce, kimchi and Jeotgal (salted seafood) keeping it fresh until the following year.

Especially, Onggi is a ‘pot from nature,’ that when cracked or broken to be thrown away it is simply back to earth as soil. The pot is made of soil, water, fire and wind that are harmless to our body. It is eco-friendly but also has traditional Korean scientific logics embedded, no surprise it was selected as one of ‘100 Cultural Symbols of Korea.’ Last year ‘Onggi Expo Ulsan Korea, 2010’ was hosted by Ulsan Oe-gosan Onggi village, the biggest Onggi trading center of Korea.


‘Onggi Expo Ulsan Korea, 2010’ under its theme ‘Onggi the Mirror of the Future’ introduced Onggi featuring the meanings found in its materials and decoration technology and also offering events to experience the difference between Onggi and other potteries from the world. It was the first international expo on traditional Onggi and especially its event for visitors to make their own Onggi was a great success.


CHA publishes an English edition book on Onggi

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH), Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea published a book entitled as ‘Onggi’ written in English to introduce the Onggi culture to the world. In order to help the orientation of foreigners lots of visual images are included for explaining the production process of Onggi. The process is introduced by three themes – earth, fire and spirit, which are the essential elements for making the pot throughout the history. Among the three, spirit is the most critical that contains the heart of the artisan who made the pot.


This book will be distributed overseas through Korean Culture and Information Services and other related organizations. Also the PDF version will be available at the (NRICH) homepage (www.nrich.go.kr). In addition, NRICH based on their research on intangible cultural heritage of Korea, will continue to publish other English books for foreigners.

Due to the change of housing environments and industrial progress, there are less people who use Onggi in daily life, especially with the invention of kimchi refrigerator in Korea. A significant effort to establish the identity of Onggi culture inheriting its excellence as a traditional container for fermented food, and its historic and cultural value as deriving from the early pottery of human history, should be continued. To develop Onggi suitable for practical use in contemporary life or application to interior design can be one idea. Through a long-term and specific plan, a spread of traditional Onggi culture of Korea across the world is hopefully to be expected.

Sharing Intangible Heritage of Korea with the World


Cultural Heritage can be divided into tangible and intangible heritage. Cultural assets with forms e.g. a palace or ceramics would belong to the former category, while formless assets such as music, dance, drama, and recreations would belong to the latter one. Especially the legacy of intangible cultural assets has been continued by the people throughout history until now, being re-created by time contributing to the diversity of culture.

UNESCO has well acknowledged the importance of intangible cultural heritage. In 1997, at the 29th UNESCO general assembly it has adopted ‘Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ in order to protect intangible heritage which has been under threat to cease to exist by industrialization and globalization.

In 2003 ‘Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage’ was adopted by UNECO and it designated an ‘Urgent Safeguarding List’ and ‘Representative List’ of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. In 2001, 19 assets have been assigned as intangible cultural heritage and the list of it is on increase since then. Last October the food culture of France and Mexico was added to the list receiving lots of attention.


CHA produces DVD on Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity


Half of cultural assets inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List are those of Korea, China and Japan; Kabuki theater of Japan, the Dragon boat festival and Acupuncture and moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine of China. Korea has eleven assets on the list; the Royal Ancestral Ritual in the Jongmyo Shrine and its Music, the Pansori Epic Chant, the Gangneung Danoje Festival, Cheoyongmu, Ganggangsullae, Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, Namsadang Nori, Yeongsanjae, as well as Daemokjang (traditional wooden architecture), Gagok (lyric song cycles accompanied by an orchestra), and Falconry the last three recently added to the list.

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH), Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea produced contents with foreign language services introducing the eleven assets distributed by this month. A video clip on five assets inscribed on 2009 (Cheoyongmu, Ganggangsullae, Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, Namsadang Nori, Yeongsanjae) is as well produced in three language editions with Korean, English and French. The clip includes a brief introduction on each relevant item that will be a useful resource for foreigners interested in Korean culture.

To promote active use of it, NRICH will distribute those video clips to relevant organizations and researchers in Korea and overseas, as well as providing online access to the material at NRICH homepage. High-quality contents on the intangible cultural heritage of Korea acknowledged by UNESCO is planned to be developed, produced and distributed every year. Such attempts is expected to improve a worldwide recognition on those heritages of Korea that has been under-promoted, despite of its value and significance representing the history, culture and identity of Korea.


The Intangible Cultural Heritage, the dwelling place for the Korean Spirit


Let’s take a closer look to the five cultural assets featured on the DVD produced by NRICH.
Namsadang Nori is the no.3 important intangible cultural properties of South Korea. Literally meaning ‘all-male vagabond clown theatre,’ it is a traveling entertaining theater troupe consisted of forty to fifty men enjoyed by the common people.

Kkokdusoe (the head of the group) leads the group followed by gombaengisoe, tteunsoe, gayeol, ppiri, and jeoseungpae performing the six sessions of nori (recreation) that are Pungmul, Beona, Salpan, Eoreum, Deotboegi, and Deolmi. Its origin derives from late Joseon. It was to wish peace and wealth for the villages and deliver joy to the common people through various music and performance.

Ganggangsullae, the no.8 important intangible cultural properties of South Korea, is a more familiar traditional recreation of Korea. The tradition comes from the South-western area of Korea performed to wish good harvest and fecundity.

Especially a grand Ganggangsullae used to be performed on the night of Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), which origins back from the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592. Admiral Yi Sun-shin lighted up torches on the hill and gathered women to play Ganggangsullae to fake the size of the army to the enemy and later the play continued to sing joys and sorrows of life.


Cheoyongmu is the final dance of Narye and Yeonre, successive national royal events of Korea. It is the only royal dance performed with human face masks. The narrative of the dance is about getting rid of misfortune based on the principle of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Through its dazzling and confident movements the dance delivers great energy and vigor to the audiences.

Yeongsanjae is a kind of 49 jae (a Buddhist memorial ceremony held on the 49th day of one’s death). It is a ceremony for spirits to attain eternality based on the Buddhist faiths. It cultural value is recognized for reproducing Young-san Hwe-sang, reminiscences of preach Sakyamuni has performed on Vulture Peak Mountain; also called as Young-san jak Bup, a representative providence ceremony of Buddhism.

Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is a kind of haenyeo gut (haenyeo means female diver, gut is a type of exorcism) that is part of the unique cultural heritage of Jeju along with haenyeo and folk religion. It has a cultural meaning as a cultural festival embracing the local community and encouraging mutual understanding between the people living on Jeju Island.

To preserve these inherited cultural assets of Korea an active promotion on the international stage should be continued. An active support and participation from the Korean people preserving and promoting their cultural heritage should be followed as well.
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Saturday, 4 December 2010

Cosmopolitan view a key to success

    Many perceive globalization as a fairly modern trend, but an expert of 6th-century Korean history said it is not a new concept, a foreign expert on the 6th century Korean history. In fact, it has existed ever since the Silla dynasty. “The Silla dynasty’s cosmopolitan world view had led to the reunification of the three dynasties ― Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla ― and the world approaches of the Silla dynasty much resemble the modern Korea’s world view ―- which made both successful,” Pankaj Mohan, Silla expert and professor at the Academy of Korean Studies, told The Korea Herald. The Indian professor, who has devoted two-thirds of his life to Korean studies and Korean history, said his research about Korea was inspired by a poem by an Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. The enlightening passage he read goes like this: “In the golden age of Asia/Korea was one of its lamp-bearers/and that lamp is waiting to be lighted once again for the illumination in the East.”
    Pankaj Mojan says “I just want to make Korea accessible in many ways to the outer world.”
    (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)
    Since then, he has focused on Korea’s influence on other Asian countries and discovered intriguing similarities between the 6th-century Silla dynasty and modern Korea’s development. “Silla scholars studied the outer world, where they got their guiding principles that gave them both originality and creativity. Likewise, in contemporary society, Korea is also prosperous, because they are out in the world learning foreign ideas and creativity while keeping their traditional values at the same time.” “Silla, too, became one of the most advanced and formidable powers in the Korean peninsula because of such traits. A country can become strong by opening the door to the world ― by learning from the experience of other cultures and countries.” As an example, he cited the Silla settlement in the Shandong area of China - much like Koreatowns in other countries these days, “A large number of Silla people settled in Shandong area and had their own temples too,” he said. When he began Korean studies back in 1976 in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, his parents were skeptical about learning the Korean language as a way to build a career. “My parents thought that if I studied English literature or other languages such as French or German, I would have better job prospects.” “But I was encouraged to study this field after meeting with a very good master, Seo Kyung-soo, from Dongguk University, who had established Korean history for the first time in New Delhi.” Through Seo, he had developed a firm belief that Korea would prosper, just as Tagore foresaw in his poem. “The lamp has been lit up,” he said. “I was convinced at that time that Korea is the country of the future. Small as it may be, it is a dynamic economy with lot of potential.” He also found the study of the Korean history insufficient. “It was like a well kept secret, not properly explored, I wanted to be the frontier.” Many scholars in the west tend to study Chinese or Japanese history rather than Korean history, he said but pointed out that by understanding Korea, one can understand China and Japan with clarity. “Korea’s influence and transformation have greatly affected their histories.” “I want to highlight the role of Korea in introducing the Buddhist culture to Japan and the ways in which the Koreans adopted the Chinese culture to their situation.” In recognition of his contribution to the development of Korean studies at home and abroad, Seoul City recently gave him honorary citizenship. “When you see a well, you should think about people who worked hard to dig that well. Likewise, the honorary citizenship makes me think about ancestors of Seoul, those past leaders who worked hard to make the capital a beautiful city. I feel a great responsibility to do something to add to its dynamism and to make Korea and Seoul better understood to the outside world.” Currently, Mohan is a faculty head at the academy and also a professor at Sydney University in Australia. He is on a three-year leave from the university, which he is spending in Korea.

लोकतांत्रिक जनादेश और दक्षिण कोरिया

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