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august 2012

hanji
Classic Short Stories by

Korean Traditional Handmade Paper

Enduring for over a Millennium

Hwang Sun-won
A Special Summer Awaits You along the Rivers

The Donggang and the Seogang

contents
august 2012 Vol.8 no.8

Hanji,

Cover Story

02

Korean Traditional Handmade Paper


New Future of Hanji

Living Paper That Breathes


Master Maker of Hanji

12 Pen & brush Classic Short Stories by hwang Sun-won

Ahn Chi-yong

16 People a pioneer of organ transplants park Seong-hoe

20 Great Korean Dedication to the Butterflies of Korea Seok Ju-myeong

22 Seoul Gangnam Flower market

26 Travel the Donggang and the Seogang

National Liberation Day of Korea


Korea gained its independence from Japanese colonial rule on August 15, 1945, and the Republic of Korea was established three years later. Every August 15, South Korea commemorates the nations liberation from Japanese occupation and the formation of the Republic of Korea. Known as National Liberation Day, this public holiday is celebrated with festivities, ceremonies, and parades nationwide. The Taegeukgi, South Koreas national flag, is hoisted to honor the heroes who fought for the nations freedom. South Korea celebrates its 67th Independence Day in 2012. One of the largest Independence Day celebrations is the festival at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts with high-ranking officials, independence activists, the foreign diplomatic community, and many other Korean nationals attending. At noon, 12 people including the mayor of Seoul and former independence fighters strike the large bell of Bosingak Pavilion in memory of the leaders of the nations independence movement.

30 festival 2012 Korea Speed Festival

32 Now in Korea Koreans Cultivating a new Life in the Country

34 Sports all eyes turn to Korean Culture at the 2012 olympics

38 Special Issue a Farming Field from the neolithic era in Goseong

40 Global Korea the power of one Liter of Clean Water

42 Entertainment Cultural and artistic performances at the Yeosu expo

45 flavor Ssambap Green Lettuce Wraps

46 My Korea a Smile and a Dumpling

49 Learn Korean I Want to eat bibimbap

publisher Woo Jin-Yung, Korean Culture and Information Service editing the booK CompanY e-mail webmaster@korea.net printing Jeonkwang printing&Information all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from KOrea and the Korean Culture and Information Service. the articles published in KOrea do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. the publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. If you want to receive a free copy of KOrea or wish to cancel a subscription, please e-mail us. A downloadable PDF file of KOrea and a map and glossary with common Korean words appearing in our text are available by clicking on the thumbnail of KOrea on the homepage of www.korea.net.

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Cover story

Hanji,
Enduring for over a Millennium
2 korea august 2012

Korean Traditional

Handmade Paper
There is a Korean saying that silk endures 500 years, but paper endures 1,000 years. Peter Bogardus, a photographer and print artist in New York, once noted, Hanji looks delicate but is more durable than any other kind of paper. It is the most unique paper Ive ever seen. I think it very much represents Korean perseverance. Hanjis excellence is not only in its durability, but also in its texture and other physical and chemical properties. Much more than merely bearing letters and pictures, it has many uses: it can also be used for making clothing, shoes, lighting, speakers, houses, and even robots. Made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree called dak in Korean, Hanji does not easily tear, lets light and air pass through, and also helps control humidity. For all these reasons, Hanji is called a living paper. Lets find out more about the yesterday and today of Hanji.

Cover story

H
durable.

anji is excellent as photographic paper!

demonstrated the charm and versatility of Hanji. ENDURING AS LONG AS HISTORY When the Mugujeonggwang Daedaranigyeong (lit. Great Dharani Sutra of Immaculate and Pure Light) was discovered in 1966 in the sarira

sarira casket for more than 1,200 years, it was found to be perfectly intact: it was not affected by moths or anything else, showing that Korean papermaking was even more advanced than in Japan and China, both of which also boast wonderful ancient paper-making technology.

exclaims Peter Bogardus. The surface is very smooth, it comes in great colors, and on top of that, its extremely Bogardus printed African landscapes in black and white on ten roughly hand-torn sheets of Hanji and found that the images seemed fragile but very intense. He explains that the viewer becomes overtaken by feelings of intimacy specifically because the paper is permeable to both light and air. Bogardus, a photographer and print artist who lives in New

Living PaPer ThaT BreaThes


Hanji first appeared about 1,600 years ago. Through the ages it has steadily evolved and survived all the ups and downs of Koreas turbulent history thanks to the people who devoted their lives to it. Today, Hanji sees new possibilities as Koreans reach out to the world with visions of the future.
by Lee Jeong-eun, Yang In-sil / photographs by Moon Duk-gwan, Kim Yeon-ji

New Future of Hanji

York, is one of the 2012 Fellows of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He made heavy use of Washi, which is a type of Japanese traditional paper, until he encountered Hanji last May thanks to Kim Yuyeon, an independent curator who was arranging the 2012 Hanji Project New YorkHanji Metamorphosis. He especially loves the basic white tone that Hanji assumes when it is dried under the sun. Hanji resembles the light of the sun, says Bogardus. I havent seen a kind of paper that transmits light so wonderfully. The 2012 Hanji Project New York was held at multiple venues in and around the Chelsea neighborhood of New York from June 28 to July 5 this year. The festival, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, included exhibitions, a seminar and workshop, and a fashion show in order to show that Hanji is more than just paper. Works from Korea, China, Italy, Nigeria, Iran, and the United States (including Peter Bogardus) were displayed, and all of them reliquaries in the Seokgatap Pagoda of Bulguksa Temple (constructed in 751) in Gyeongju, Korea, scholars around the world were astonished since it was believed to have been published in 704 CE. In other words, this new find predated the Hyakumanto Darani (lit. One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), which was then the worlds oldest known woodblock print, by at least 20 years. Considering the type of printing and paper that was used, there is no doubt that the Mugujeonggwang Daedaranigyeong was printed in Korea. The Mugujeonggwang Daedaranigyeong not only attests to the advanced printing technology of the Unified Silla Kingdom (676 935), but also testifies to the superb properties of Hanji. When the Mugujeonggwang Daedaranigyeong was exposed to the sun for the first time after remaining hidden in the Scientific testing finds that Hanji made by traditional methods of using the bark of a mulberry tree (also known as a dak tree) grown in Korea has better tearing strength, tensile strength, heat insulation, sound insulation, water absorption, and air permeability than Washi (Japanese traditional paper) and Xuanzhi (Chinese traditional paper) as well as typical Western paper. Hanji is also found to have better properties in terms of the directions of the fibers and the spread of ink.
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used to be made in the cold of winter. Cold, clean water acquired from nature in winter adds to the tension of the fibers, suppresses the proliferation of microorganisms including bacteria, and helps the dakpul glue that makes the paper smoother and shinier. Hanji has long been an integral part of Koreans lives. Hanji lasts a very long time. Since it lets light and wind easily pass through and helps control humidity, it has traditionally been used as changhoji (a paper that is used instead of glass to make Korean traditional doors and windows). When the weather is humid, changhoji absorbs moisture, and when the weather becomes dry, the paper releases the captured moisture. Hence Hanji is popularly known as living paper or
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1 Hanji in many different colors 2 Foreigners participate in a Hanji-making workshop. 3 Hanji is made by a oebal tteugi technique.

breathing paper. With soft but tough Hanji, you can create a variety of artistic effects by creasing, twisting, tearing, and weaving pieces together. It was long used to make such things as bridal crowns, sewing boxes, bowls, clothing, lanterns, jars, and wedding gift boxes. HANJI VENTURES OUT INTO THE WORLD In the late Joseon Dynasty, Korean traditional papermaking started to wane as Japanese Washi, Chinese Xuanzhi, and Western paper were imported in bulk. Hanji barely survived as jangpanji (floor paper), byeokji (wallpaper), and changhoji. In modern times, Western-style paper
In cooperation with Jeonju Hanji Museum

MAKING PAPER BREATHE The truest and best Hanji is of course made from the dak tree. This Hanji is more commonly called dak paper, and is also known as baekji. The syllable baek means one hundred and refers to the numerous steps and hard work involved in making Hanjicutting deeply rooted dak trees, steaming the wood and then peeling it, beating it, drying it, and so on. People started to say that the completion of a sheet of Hanji required 99 touches by the maker and one final touch by its user. To make high-quality Hanji, you need fiber-rich dak wood, clean water, and a few other materials. A one-yearold dak tree is rich in lignin, which prevents fibers from hardening and discoloring. On average, dak fibers are three times longer than those of pulp acquired from coniferous trees. The lye added when boiling dak is acquired by burning rice, bean, or buckwheat straw and gently extracts
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the dak fibers. The result of this step is a fiber porridge called dakjuk, which is mixed with clean water and a glue named dakpul to acquire a glutinous mixture called ttangmul (meaning glutinous water). Dakpul is made from the aibika plant (Abelmoschus manihot) and prevents the fibers from tangling and neutralizes their alkalinity. One of the key steps that gives Hanji such excellent properties is called oebal tteugi (or heullim tteugi). Ttangmul is poured onto a screen, which is fixed with a string. The liquid is then forced through the screen by special hand movements. Japanese Washi and Chinese Xuanzhi are made by a ssangbal tteugi (or gadwo tteugi) technique, whereby the periphery of the screen is raised to hold the fiber mixture until all the liquid passes through the screen leaving only the fiber behind without involving the hard-to-master oebal tteugi hand movements.

The two techniques have their pros and cons. The oebal tteugi technique is more difficult to master and is less productive than the ssangbal tteugi technique. The former makes the fibers cross at right angles, giving the paper a very high tear strength and other superb properties discussed earlier, while the latter renders a more even surface. The 99th touch in the Hanji-making process is beating the paper with tools called dadeumi or didilbanga . Dochim is the step that makes the paper smoother, denser, and tougher. Dochim is unique to Korean paper-making and is still used today to make the paper that covers ondol floors. NATURAL, MULTIPURPOSE PAPER Hanji is made with natural materials including fibers extracted from dak trees, and still retains the natural texture of the fibers. The best Hanji

lamented that there were only 26 Hanji workshops remaining nationwide. Thankfully, Hanji is coming back to life. It is again penetrating deeper into the lives of Koreans, not only as paper but also as a raw material for wallpaper, lanterns, furniture, bed covers, and cosmetics, to name a few. Hanji is now even making its way around the world. This past January 20, the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KCDF) opened a Korean booth in the Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center in

Paris, where the 2012 Maison & Objet Show was taking place. The booth quickly became crowded. On display were everyday items made of Hanji: sneakers, lighting, wrappers, wallpaper, pencils, pencil cases, bags, and multipurpose baskets. All these were shown to break the preconception that Hanji is only for Korean traditional books, doors, and windows, says Ryu Yeong-mi at the KCDF, who planned the Korean booth. Of greatest interest to visitors were
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mills have proliferated, pushing Hanji further and further out of the market. In the 1970s, there were still at least 100 Hanji workshops throughout the nation, but by the 1990s, the onslaught of cheap Chinese rice paper had almost caused Hanjis extinction. It seemed to be a fatal blow to Hanji since a report

Cover story

Hanjimaking steps

lamplight out and the moonlight in. A lady would spin a spinning wheel before the lamp. Aware that her husband might walk into the alley and stop to watch her, she would correct her posture again and again. Sometimes, it was she who spotted him first, for if she lowered the brightness

The harvest of one-year-old dak trees begins in late December and continues through March. Dak harvested during this period is rich in fiber and has the right moisture content. Steam the dak in a gamasot (a cast-iron cauldron), peel the steamed dak, and then dry the peeled bark. The dried bark acquired through these steps is called pidak.

Soak the pidak in water for a long time. Scrape the pidak with a knife to obtain the white inner bark called baekdak. Boil the baekdak in lye, rinse it, and dry it under the sun. Repeat the boiling, rinsing, and drying until the baekdak is completely bleached.

Remove all foreign substances from the baekdak. Place the baekdak on a broad, flat stone and beat it with wooden sticks until the dak fibers are crushed and assume a porridge-like consistency, called dakjuk.

Pour the dakjuk into clean water and mix it well with aibika glue called dakpul. The final mixture acquired is called ttangmul, which literally means glutinous water. Place the screen on the screen frame, pour the ttangmul on it, and make an even paper sheet using repetitive hand movements called ap muljil (back-and-forth movement) and yeop muljil (left-and-right movement).

Lay sheets of paper on top of each other, place a wooden board and a heavy stone on top of the stack, and then leave them until the water completely seeps out. Separate each sheet of paper and place it on a warm board to dry. Presto! Now you have your own Hanji!

of the lamp, she would be able to see the silhouette of her husband walking into the yard in the moonlight. Like this, the changhoji door served as a screen and was a shadow theater that projected each others hearts through imagination. This is the definition of the beauty of Hanji presented in Scooping Up the

the gray sneakers. European visitors and buyers were intrigued by their simple but elegant designs and ecofriendliness. The sneakers, made by a design team called los, are very light and boast excellent breathability. The fabric was made of Hanji and cotton yarn at a ratio of 2:8. Thus, these sneakers have all the benefits of Hanji and are duly reinforced. Designer Lee Jin-yeong used Hanji to develop silhouette lighting for mothers who have to breastfeed their babies at night. The uneven texture of the Hanji light cover reveals the fibers and creates an effect with the light that must have been very interesting to Europeans. Swedes and other Scandinavians, who have a reputation for being sensitive and discriminating when selecting light fixtures, showed the greatest interest of all. UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES Hanji audio speakers, Hanji garments, Hanji grillsHanji is boundlessly transformable. It now has even greater tear strength and water resistance to perform more diverse functions. One of the eco-friendly and practical
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purposes Hanji can serve as a nonpaper material is as a fabric for making apparel. Hanji garments, socks, ties, and scarves have all been developed, and surprisingly, they are all washable. Recent years have seen Hanji fashion shows that dazzle audiences at home and abroad. Hanji fabrics are not made 100 percent of Hanji. Instead, Hanji yarn is blended together with other fibers such as cotton or silk. You may worry that Hanji fabrics are not washable and tear easily, but on the contrary, theyre more durable and retain form better than other fabrics. They also suppress the proliferation of harmful bacteria and fungi and thereby prevent bad odors from perspiration. Among other properties, Hanji fabrics are extremely light, about half the weight of cotton fabric. Last but not least, they are also biodegradable. In short, Hanji fabrics are light, beneficial to the body, and friendly to the environment. One of the innovative uses of Hanji is the Hanji speaker. Hanji is positively charged and then connected to an electrode. As the two opposing

electrical forces pull and push the Hanji diaphragm, the sound goes up and down and gets stronger and weaker. Hanji is capable of delivering the most subtle trembles, so the sound is deeper and clearer than that of a standard speaker. Because of their excellent sound quality, the prices of Hanji speakers range from KRW 7 million (approx. USD 6,400) to KRW 30 million (approx. USD 27,300). A Korea-US project is underway to use Hanji for robots and protective equipment for spacecraft, funded by NASA. The electronic characteristics unique to Hanji and its superb conservative properties make Hanji excellent shielding against solar flares and other radiation. It can potentially be used to make space probes since it is much cheaper and lighter than the usual astronomically expensive materials normally used. Motorcycle helmets can also be made with Hanji. If plastics for agricultural purposes are replaced with biodegradable Hanji alternatives, we can better protect nature. Semiconductors, automobile airbags, and other automotive materials made

of Hanji will soon debut as well. Hanji is expanding its uses as a paper, too. Specially treated Hanji is being introduced for one purpose after another. One example is lacquered Hanji and Hanji for personal printers. Hanji is typically fluffy and allows ink to spread well, which makes it unsuitable for printers and copiers, but

Hanji laminated with a certain natural substance enables excellent print quality and is already on the market for those who love the natural texture of Hanji. TRANSLUCENT HANJI On a moonlit night, a changhoji-covered door became a screen which let the

Moonlight by director Im Kwon-taek, a movie about Hanji. Hanjis subtlety screens and reveals what is on the other side as warm light spreads through its milky texture. Its delicate, fragile appearance with its unmatched durability seems to reveal the identity of Koreans well, who are gentle but strongly persevering.

1 Notebooks and postcards made of Hanji (designed by Kim Ju-sung) 2 Office supplies sets made of Hanji and birch tree (designed by Cho Hyeong-suk) 3 Hanji baskets that can be put on a table and used as a bucket or tissue dispenser (designed by design team Meets) 4 A soft and ambient silhouette light lamp for mothers to breastfeed babies at night (designed by Lee Jin-young) 5 Lighting emphasizing the texture and hues of Hanji (designed by Oh Soo-dong) 6 A ball-shaped lamp made of Hanji (calligraphed by Kang Byeong-in)
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Cover story

of indigenous dak fiber, he plants dak trees every year. Today, Sinpung Hanji Maeul grows different varieties of dak trees that thrive in certain seasons better than others, ensuring that there is always a ready supply in each of the four seasons of Korea. Ahn strongly believed that customers would come to his doorstep if he produced quality Hanji with practical uses. He focused on the commercialization of high-quality

marketable, specifically in regards to its toughness and durability. He developed new methods to dye Hanji with red clay and plants to make wallpaper, flooring materials, wrappers, and materials for craftwork. He retains 12 patents for traditional Hanji-making techniques to make Hanji shrouds, Hanji urns, Hanji with three-dimensional patterns, and Hanji with water-drop patterns, as well as a technique of dyeing Hanji in water. One of his greatest feats is the development of Hanji for copiers and printers, which had long been considered impossible. In 2006, he applied for a patent for his technique of dyeing Hanji in water, which combines the advantages of traditional natural dyeing with modern dyeing techniques. The method is now used to make Hanji wallets, of which Ahn is very proud. A LIFE DEVOTED TO HANJI Ahn became an apprentice of Hanji Master Ryu Haeng-yeong (Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 117) in 1982 and was designated as a provincial intangible cultural property by the government of Chungcheongbuk-do in 2007. He participated in the development of paper for making boxes to contain Jikji (full name: Baegun Hwasang Chorok Buljo Jikji Simche Yojeol; the worlds oldest extant book printed by movable
1 Ahn Chi-yong, a Hanji master performs oebal tteugi for making Hanji. 2 A screen removal process after oebal tteugi 2

ahn Chi-yong
Ahn Chi-yong manages a cooperative that remains true to the fastidious traditional methods of making Hanji but not without modern sensibilities. He develops and produces Hanji products with his own hands.
by Yang In-sil / photographs by Moon Duk-gwan

Master Maker of Hanji

Hanji and refused to introduce machines, even though they would help him increase productivity and better respond to the influx of cheap Chinese rice paper. He clings to traditional methods to keep the quality of Hanji high. This perseverance eventually led to the provincial governments official designation of his workshop as a specialized workshop. HANJI AS FUNCTIONAL PAPER Ahn hoped to add to the value of Hanji by developing new uses for it. He constantly strived to make it more

he village of Sinpung-ri is located on the Baekdudaegan,

cooperative called Sinpung Hanji Maeul. Ahn inherited a Hanji-making business from his father, who had inherited it from his father. Ahns grandfather and father went back and forth between Wonju in Gangwon-do and Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do to run Hanji making workshops. He grew up watching his father making Hanji and rice paper. Hanji-making fared quite well up until the late 1970s when Hanok, a Joseon style of housing, began to disappear at an unprecedented pace. Demand for Hanji plummeted, and it barely survived as changhoji (paper for Hanok doors and windows), byeokji

(wallpaper for Hanok), and jangpanji (floor paper for Hanok). Exacerbating matters, cheap Chinese rice paper was imported as a substitute for Hanji. Ahn nevertheless persevered. He refused to give up his inherited Hanji business. He saw it as his true calling, and no hardship would bring him down. The first thing Ahn did after launching his own workshop in Sinpung-ri in 1981 was travel to different villages to collect different varieties of indigenous dak trees. He produced dak pulp, suppling it to Hanji workshops throughout the country and using it to develop his own versions of Hanji. In order to secure a stable supply
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metal type, designated by UNESCO as a Memory of the World artifact) for the Jikji Festival held in Cheongju in 2005 and 2007. Sports Seoul dubbed Sinpung Hanji Maeul as an innovative brand in 2008. For children who will make the future of Hanji, he created Experiential Hanji Maeul in 1999, where children can make Hanji for themselves. He broke ground on a Hanji museum in 2007, slated to open this coming October. My life has been devoted to making Hanji with indigenous dak trees, Ahn sums up. It has been meaningful in keeping the tradition of Hanji alive and in promoting the beauty of Hanji.
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the mountain range that runs most of the length of the Korean Peninsula from Baekdusan to Jirisan. The village is thick with trees, full of natural vitality, and rich with cool and clean spring water. Its climate and soil are perfect for dak trees, a variety of paper mulberry native to Korea. The inner bark of this tree is the major raw material of Hanji. There could hardly be a better place for making Hanji than Sinpung-ri, since Hanji making requires dak bark and clean water. This is why Ahn Chi-yong opened his Hanji workshop in Sinpung-ri. His workshop has since become a Hanji-making

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PEN & BRUSH

Classic Short Stories by

striding off. Far away, Seongsam suddenly looked back. Hey, why are you standing there like a dummy? Hurry up and send some cranes over. At that, as if suddenly understanding something, Deokjae went striding off through the grass. Just then, a few red-crowned cranes slowly glided with outstretched wings across the high, blue autumn sky. Excerpt from Sonagi: a girl asks a boy to go

her feet. Rain soon began to drip onto the spot where she was standing. They could not shelter there any longer. After looking outside, the boy went running toward the millet field, as if struck by a thought. He pushed apart one of the stacks formed by leaning the millet stalks together upright, then carried over another stack and added it to the first. Then he parted the stalks again, before waving her to come over. The rain did not penetrate inside the stack of millet. It was a dark and very narrow space. The boy sat beside the stack and let the rain soak him. Steam rose from his shoulders. The girl told him, in a kind of whisper, that he should come and sit inside. Im alright, he replied. Again, the girl told him to come and sit inside. He had no choice but to enter backwards. As he did so, he crushed the flowers the girl was still holding. But the girl thought it did not matter. The stench from the boys wet body filled her nostrils. But she did not turn her head aside. Rather, she felt the trembling in her body diminishing on account of the warmth of the boys body. Abruptly the noise on the millet leaves stopped. It was clearing up outside. They emerged from among the millet stalks. Not far in front of them sunlight was already shining down dazzlingly. Arriving at the ditch, they found a great flood of water filling it. In the sunlight it shone red, a muddy torrent. They could not jump across it. The boy turned his back to her. The girl obediently let him carry her. The water rose as far as the boys rolled-up breeches. The girl cried out, and clasped the boys neck. Before they reached the stream, the autumn sky had cleared and soon it was completely blue, cloudless, as if nothing had ever happened.

Hwang Sun-won
Hwang Sun-wons command of dialect, his facility with both rural and urban settings, his variety of narrative techniques, his vivid artistic imagination, his spectacularly diverse constellation of characters, and his insights into human personality make him at once a complete writer and one who is almost impossible to categorize.
by An Son-jae / illustration by Yun Seung-il

ExCErptS from Hak (thE CranE) and Sonagi (thE ShowEr) Excerpt from Hak: deokjae has just explained that he had been captured because he would not leave his ailing father, and Seongsam remembers that he had faced just the same dilemma. then Seongsam notices a flock of cranes in the abandoned fields. Once, when Seongsam and Deokjae had been about 12, they had laid snares, unknown to the adults, and caught a crane. It had been a red-crowned crane. They tied the wings down with a straw cord, then almost every day the two would come out, clutch its neck, climb on its back, and have an uproarious time. One such day, they heard the villagers whispering. They were saying that someone had come up from Seoul to shoot a crane. Intent on taking a specimen, he had even come equipped with permission from the Japanese governmentgeneral. The two went hurrying along the same path to the plains. It was no longer a matter of being found out and scolded by the grown-ups; their only thought was that their crane must not be killed. Without pausing to catch their breath, they freed the cranes leg from the snare amidst the grass and undid the ropes round its wings.

But the crane could hardly walk, probably because it had been held down by the snare all that time. The two took hold of the crane and hurled it into the air. At that very moment they heard gunfire. The crane flapped its wings a few times then fell back to earth. It must have been hit. But then another crane in a nearby thicket spread and flapped its wings, at which their crane, that had been crouching on the ground, stretched out its neck, gave one call, and went flying up into the air, circled above the two boys heads, then flew off into the distance. The boys could not tear their eyes from the blue sky where their crane had vanished. () Hey, lets go crane hunting! Seongsam spoke suddenly. Deokjae looked puzzled, wondering what he was talking about. Ill use this to make a noose. You go and drive the cranes. He untied the rope binding him and went striding off through the grass. Deokjaes face paled abruptly. The thought flashed through his mind that a little while before the Southerners had said he would be shot. In a moment a bullet might come speeding from the direction where Seongsam had gone

for a walk toward some hills, and he agrees although he is supposed to go home to help his parents in the fields. after several small adventures, a farmer they meet warns them that a shower is coming, and that they should go home. They suddenly find themselves surrounded on all sides by noises. The wind blows past with a rustling sound. In a flash everything around them turned dark purple. As they make their way downhill, raindrops can be heard striking the oak leaves. Big raindrops. The napes of their necks felt cool. Then in an instant a curtain of rain bars the way ahead. Through the rain, they could see a shack standing in a field. They would go and shelter there. But the pillars were all aslant and the roofing was in tatters. He helped the girl up, pointing out a spot where the roof was leaking less. Her lips had gone blue. Her shoulders kept trembling. He took off his cotton jacket and wrapped it round the girls shoulders. She raised her eyes and simply looked at him; she remained silent, letting him do as he wished. Next, he drew from the bunch of flowers she had been hugging those with broken stems and crushed flowers, and he spread them under

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PEN & BRUSH

ignore its initial publication date in May 1953 and interpret it as though it had been written just before its (re)publication in a 1959 collection. Hak focuses on the fratricidal nature of the Korean War, which is expressed through the central situation. Deokjae, a newlycaptured prisoner from the North Korean side, is suddenly recognized by Seongsam, the South Korean soldier who is taking him back to headquarters to be shot. As childhood playmates, they had lived together in the village where Deokjae had been captured. As they walk along, Deokjae explains that the North Koreans had forced him to become vice-chairman of the peasants league, and he was in no sense a communist. The revelation that finally ClaSSiC Short StoriES Hak (thE CranE) and Sonagi (thE ShowEr) The two stories Hak (The Crane) and Sonagi (The Shower) are familiar to almost every Korean because of their inclusion in the school curriculum, and Sonagi is very often cited by Koreans as their favorite short story. Nothing else written by Hwang comes close to them in popularity; indeed he is on the whole a writer neglected by posterity. Both short stories were written in 1952 and published in 1953, before the Armistice ended the Korean War. Their titles are characteristic of their author, who from his earliest work favored brief, single-word titles such as Scarecrow or Mantis. The most striking difference between them is the way in which Sonagi never once refers in any way to the war, while Hak is very much a story about the war. The silence regarding the war in Sonagi is so striking that some Korean critics overcomes the divisions caused by politics and ideology comes when Deokjae says that he married Mini, the little girl Seongsam recalls they used to tease together as children, and she is now pregnant. The climax of the story comes (in the passage quoted, the end of the story) when Seongsam unties the rope binding Deokjae and invites him to escape, spurred on by memories of an incident involving a crane from their shared childhood. The story, designed to stress the essential human unity of all Koreans, refuses to reflect the way in which countless thousands of soldiers on both sides were still killing one another ruthlessly in the name of rival ideologies. In that sense, it can be seen as a sentimental, idealizing rhapsody at odds with reality, but it can also be seen as an affirmation of the way eternal human values transcend hatred and division. Sonagis central episode relates a walk in

the countryside by the two main characters, a village boy and a girl from Seoul, who are never named. Their ages also are not specified but they are clearly still children, on the verge of adolescence. Both seem to be rather isolated, the boy because he has to help his parents with farm work, the girl because she is an outsider, the great-grand-daughter of Scholar Yun who lives beside the old school (the Confucian academy). They are caught in the rain, the girl falls sick. Later the two meet once more and the girl comments, It was fun, that day, and points out the stain the boy had left on her pink jumper when he carried her over the stream. At the very end, the boy hears his father telling his mother that the girl has died and asked to be buried in the clothes she had been wearing. The favorite Korean theme of innocent childhood love thus combines with the favorite Korean theme of the ineluctable separation of lovers, or ibyeol, which is the source of so much Korean han (bitter sorrow). There is however another strand to the story. The girls father, engaged in business in Seoul, has lost everything, and the family land in the village has been sold. The aristocratic Scholar Yun is obliged to go and live in poverty in town with the girls parents. This abolition of tradition by modernity is countered by the kindness of the boys parents, who send a chicken so that Scholar Yun can celebrate his family ancestral rites at Chuseok one last time before leaving. The triumph of rural humanity over urban harshness in this side-story adds intensity to the elegiac love story which gains in power by ending without any indication of the boys reaction to the girls death.

ABoUt tHE AUtHoR HwANg SUN-woN


Hwang Sun-won (1915-2000) is the author of some of the best-known short stories of modern Korea. Born in Pyongyang, South Pyongannam-do Province of North Korea, Hwang Sun-won published two volumes of poetry in his early 20s and published his first volume of stories in 1940. Concentrating on fiction since 1940, Hwang produced seven novels and more than 100 stories. In 1946, Hwang and his family moved to the southern part of Korea and began teaching at Seoul High School. After the Korean War, Hwang served as a professor of Korean literature at Kyung Hee University. Hwang began publishing full-length novels in the later 1950s. Namudeul Bitare Seoda (Trees on a Slope, 1960), perhaps his most successful novel, deals with the effects of the war on three young soldiers. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hwangs short fiction became more experimental. Some of his most memorable and challenging stories date from this period. The length of Hwangs literary career, spanning seven decades, is virtually unparalleled in Korean letters. But it is his craftsmanship that sets Hwang apart. His command of dialect, his facility with both rural and urban settings, his variety of narrative techniques, his vivid artistic imagination, his spectacularly diverse constellation of characters, and his insights into human personality make Hwang at once a complete writer and one who is almost impossible to categorize. If there is one constant in Hwangs fiction, it is a lyrical humanism that is affirmative without being naive, compassionate without being sentimental, and spiritual without being otherworldly. (Adapted from Korean Literature Today, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1996)

The girl told him, in a kind of whisper, that he should come and sit inside. Im alright, he replied. Again, the girl told him to come and sit inside. He had no choice but to enter backwards.

About the Writer, An Son-jae Born in Britain in 1942, An Son-jae has been living in Korea since 1980 teaching English literature in Sogang University, where he is now an Emeritus Professor. He has published some 30 volumes of English translations of Korean literature, mostly poetry, including works by Ku Sang, Ko Un, Chon Sang-Pyong, So Chong-Ju, Kim Su-Yong, Shin Kyong-Nim, Yi Si-Young, Kim Kwang-Kyu, and Yi Mun-yol. He received the Korean governments Award of Merit in Culture Jade Crown class in October 2008, for his work in promoting knowledge of Korean literature in the world. The file of The Shower is online at http://hompi.sogang.ac.kr/anthony/ShowerEng.pdf The file of The Crane is at http://hompi.sogang.ac.kr/anthony/CraneEng.pdf

14 korea august 2012

15

PEOPLE

Opening Up Possibilities of Organ Transplants from Pigs to Humans

Park Seong-hoe
by Yang In-sil / photographs by Lee Jin-ha

When his teams transplant of a pigs pancreatic islet tissue to four diabetic monkeys was confirmed a success, Park Seong-hoe (a professor of pathology at Seoul National University College of Medicine) experienced mixed feelings. This success was not merely about overcoming the immune system rejection in cross-species transplantation, but also the greater scope of human-to-human organ transplants.

populations general health, there are already more than 3.5 million diabetics in the country. One out of every ten Korean adults is now fighting this life-long condition, and children are engaged in the fight as well. There are roughly 200,000 cases of childhood diabetes, and the financial and emotional burdens on their parents are enormous. Many diabetes patients have a pancreas that is unable to produce insulin, a hormone which regulates blood glucose levels. More specifically, there is a loss of the insulin-producing cells (beta cells) in the islets of Langerhans that are distributed throughout the pancreas. This condition is called type I diabetes or insulindependent diabetes mellitus. People with type I diabetes require injections of artificial insulin for the rest of their lives. Another solution is a pancreas or islet cell transplant, a risky procedure that requires constant immunosuppressants afterwards, even in human-to-human transplants, and there are very few donors available. Interestingly, a pigs pancreatic islet tissue secretes the same insulin as a humans. What if it could be transplanted into a human without the need for administration of immunosuppressants? Currently, a pig-to-human transplant would create a more violent rejection. Resolving serious cross-species rejections in animal16 korea august 2012

orean society is aging at an accelerating rate. This is readily apparent in the

to-human transplants has long been a major challenge in the medical world, but Professor Parks team made a breakthrough in this regard last year. We transplanted a pigs pancreatic islet tissue into eight diabetic monkeys and injected them with MD-3, an immune-regulating antibody developed by our team, announced a team led by Professor Park on October 31, 2011. More than seven months have passed, and four out of the eight diabetic monkeys are healthy with blood glucose levels automatically regulated. The success of an organ transplant is typically determined after three months. The team ceased the administration of all drugs including MD-3 four months after the islet transplant, but the blood sugar levels of the monkeys remained in the normal 80 - 90 mg/dL range, much lower than the pre-transplant 400 - 500 mg/dL range. The monkeys have been diabetes-free for seven months, said Professor Park. No immunosuppressant drugs have been administered for three months, but the monkeys have maintained normal blood glucose levels. An organ recipient typically needs to take immunosuppressants perpetually, but if the research and recent achievement of Professor Parks team is successfully applied to human recipients, neither perpetual administration of immunosuppressants nor even human donors will be needed again.
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PEOPLE

The monkeys are healthy. They all have stable, normal blood glucose levels. His big, bright, prominent eyes have very much to do with his stellar achievements. When he was in high school, Park had tinnitus and Graves-Basedow disease (an immune disorder that causes hyperthyroidism). One of the symptoms of the disease is protuberance of one or both eyes. The disease tormented the young man, and he only realized it was an autoimmune disease when he was about to graduate from Seoul National University College of Medicine. An autoimmune disease makes the bodys immune system attack its own cells.
Professor Park and his team have successfully transplanted pancreatic islet tissue from a pig to monkeys.

rejection of the transplanted organs, but this method risks unknown side effects by the human immune genes used for the genetic modification of the pigs. Another noteworthy aspect of his teams research is the absence of rejection after the discontinuation of the administration of immunosuppressants, which is very rare even in human-to-human transplants. The team claims that this is a world first in cross-species transplantation. Professor Parks life-long concern is how to train T cells. T lymphocytes, or T cells, belong to a group of lymphocytes (aka white blood cells) and govern the cell-mediated immune response, while B-cells are lymphocytes that play a crucial role in the antibody-mediated immune response (aka humoral immune response). T cells are at the center of the immune system, declares Professor Park. Without T cells, there would be no antibodies. Without T cells permission, no B-cells would be made. He believes that if we train T cells well, the human body will have a perfect immune system. MD-3, the immune-regulating antibody that his team developed, played a critical role in the survival of the monkeys. His team believes that the monkeys have survived without rejection because MD-3 suppresses T cells, which resist antigens (invaders). The team also expects that MD-3 may enable the transplantation of stem cells including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT, bone marrow transplantation) between people who are genetically incompatible. Since Sir Peter Brian Medawar, the 1960 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, discovered acquired immunological tolerance, induced T-cell tolerance has been a major challenge in transplantation and immunology, explains Professor Park. My teams research was basically a realization of induced T-cell tolerance in primates. This was widely considered to be nearly out of the realm of possibilities, but cross-species

transplantation, especially of the pancreatic islet tissue, is only one of many possible uses of the foundational technology of our research. REPAYING SUPPORT BY CURING THE INCURABLE Professor Park is a dreamer and daydreamer. He is hit by the most brilliant inspirations at the most unexpected moments. He immerses himself deeply in everything he puts his hands onwhether researching or performing transplants or reading a novel or doing whatever. He seems to submerge in silence for a while and then resurface suddenly with a big surprise, like he did when he shed light on the cause of Hodgkins lymphoma (a type of malignant lymphoma) in 1998 after over 160 had passed away since the discovery of the disease. There are two types of scientists, muses Professor Park. The first is the diligent and meticulous type; the other is like me. We like to build hypotheses, make stories, and ask questions. Kind of like dreamers, Id say. Professor Park sums up the attitude that a researcher should have in the expression sam jeong (lit. three jeong), which are jeongjik (honesty), jeonghwak (accuracy), and jeongmil (precision). He stresses that the greatest of the three is jeongjik, for it is the vessel that contains truth. Data should be first truthful; if an error is found, the scientist should not hesitate to throw it all away. When Professor Park Seong-hoe writes answers to long-standing conundrums, many people suffering from incurable diseases in Korea and abroad silently watch him and look forward to yet another breakthrough with throbbing hearts and sincere support.
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The greatest challenge in cross-species transplantation is in non-primate-to-primate grafts, and according to Professor Parks team, this was the first time there was no rejection following the discontinuation of the administration of immunosuppressants in a non-primate-to-primate transplant. The teams research was of huge interest at a joint international congress of the International Xenotransplantation Association and the Cell Transplant Society held in Miami in 2011. A STUDENT WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE BECOMES AN IMMUNOLOGIST About a year has passed since the successful pig-to-monkey pancreatic islet tissue transplant of Professor Park and his team, giving a glimmer of hope to the more than 300 million diabetic patients around the world. There have been no further announcements or news from Professor Park, however, making diabetics and their families more anxious than ever. They wonder whether the monkeys are still alive and well, and whether there is still a chance for a complete cure for this loathsome disease.

His eyes opened to immunology and organ transplantation when he was a researcher at Harvard Medical School in the early 1980s. The two areas are closely related, as immunogenetics is foundational to organ transplantation. Professor Park believed that organ transplantation would become a useful means of treating incurable diseases. That was the beginning of his 25 years of research in transplantation, which eventually marked a breakthrough in animal-to-human and other cross-species transplantation by preventing rejection in pig-to-monkey transplants. TRAINER OF T CELLS Professor Park is planning to finish his experimentation with animals by the end of this year and start clinical trials in humans next year in order to produce the final results by 2015. His teams research is meaningful in that the organ tissue was acquired from a genetically unmodified pig. Mainstream cross-species transplantation research has generally involved pigs genetically modified with human immune genes in order to prevent immune system

Professor Park has a plan to finish his experimentation with animals by the end of this year and start clinical trials in humans next year.

18 korea august 2012

GREAT KOREAN

A Life Dedicated to the Butterflies of Korea

nabi (Apatura ulupi morii SEOK; lit. male yellow butterfly), seugitani eunjeomseon pyobeom nabi (Boloria selene sugitanii SEOK; lit. silver dottedline leopard butterfly), yurichang nabi (Dilipa fenestra takacukai SEOK; lit. glass window butterfly), dosi cheonyeo nabi (Coenonympha koreuja SEOK; lit. city virgin butterfly), and many more. Seok collected about 700,000 samples and classified the butterflies of Korea into about 255 species. He is highly regarded as an entomologist today because he did not simply collect butterflies; he classified them into species and varieties. He applied statistics to zoological taxonomy and corrected the prevailing classification and scientific names of Korean butterflies, which had randomly been given by Japanese scholars. He also reportedly analyzed over 167,000 butterflies in order to write three papers on the mutation of Korean cabbage butterflies. As a result of these efforts, he was able to put forth a theory of distribution curves of individual variations, which is recognized as one of his greatest feats. Summing up his research findings, Seok
In cooperation with Tamla Culture Research Institute of Jeju National University

Seok Ju-myeong
by Im Sang-beom / photographs by Min Ki-won

Seok Ju-myeong dedicated his life to researching butterflies, even in the face of constant trials and tribulations, becoming a world-renowned entomologist, and today, his feats in other academic fields are also becoming fully appreciated.

dubbed Koreas Jean-Henri Fabre. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, a backpack full of his writings was always on his back while he was awake and in his embrace while he was asleep. When people asked what was in the backpack, he answered, This is my life. Without this, Im as good as dead. His scholarly passion was undeniable. Alas, his life was rather short and full of hardships. He was born in Pyongyang on October 17, 1908. When he breathed his last on October 6, 1950, he had written 128 academic papers and 180 contributions. Eight volumes of his collection are still available today. After graduating Songdo Middle School in Gaeseong, Gyeonggi-do Province, he went to Japan and entered the Kagoshima Imperial College of Agriculture and Forestry and developed an interest in biology. Seok returned to Korea and decided to start researching butterflie, for which he received the support of Dr. T. Barber, a director of the Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology. The 20 years of his life since then were simple and focused. With a butterfly net on his shoulder, he roamed the entire country. He collected the butterflies of Korea, identified their traits, drew maps of their distribution, analyzed his findings, and wrote papers on them. Seok named many rare Korean butterflies
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eok Ju-myeong was an entomologist that specialized in butterflies, and he is often

in his many endeavors such as his pioneering research on Jejudo Island, his early advocacy of Esperanto, and his playing the mandolin. When Seok worked at the Jeju Natural Medicine Laboratory in 1943, he became fascinated by Jeju and authored six books on Jejus dialect, nature, society, and more. He was also a fervent activist for the spread of Esperanto, a constructed international
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1 Seok Ju-myeong has been dubbed a butterfly expert. 2 He traveled to Mt. Baekdusan in 1933 to collect specimens. 3 Butterflies named by Seok Ju-myeong 4 A Synonymic List of Butterflies of Korea was recognized around the world. 5 A book on Jejudo written by Seok Ju-myeong

auxiliary language, perhaps because Koreans were then forced to use Japanese and perhaps it was to gain equal footing with

published a book in English entitled A Synonymic List of Butterflies of Korea in 1940 through the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The paper has been quoted in many books worldwide and is still in the societys collection today. Although Seok Ju-myeong isnt widely known to the public, he achieved feats not only in zoology but also in human and social sciences and other fields. Seok fully understood that one must be knowledgeable in a range of fields in order to know ones own field in a completely rounded, comprehensive way. For this reason, Seok was a multidisciplinary scholar as seen

foreign scholars, who used either English or Japanese. This enthusiastic scholar was shot dead just a month before his 42nd birthday at the outbreak of the Korean War. Some people say he was shot by a North Korean soldier, but others say it was a drunkard that shot him. We could hardly have greater regret for the untimely loss of such a great scholar, but he at least bequeathed us his beloved studies on the butterflies of Korea.

and made them known to the world as sunorang

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21

SEOUL

GanGnam Flower market


at Seoul Express Bus Terminal
by Chung Da-young / photographs by Ha Ji-young

If youre looking for a special breed of English rose or a unique bouquet for a friend, the Gangnam Flower Market is the place for you. There, you can find all the freshest seasonal flowers at the best prices.

here are several major flower markets around the Seoul area

for fresh flowers and plants, the largest of which is Yangjae Flower Market in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. The market covers a vast 17 acres where over 400 merchants specializing in potted plants, fresh flowers, or grass for home planting can be found. Yangjae Flower Market also has a spacious outdoor parking lot for sellers and buyers. Its only a ten-minute bus ride away from Yangjae Station (Line 3, Bundang Line), but driving there is the better of the two options. Another major flower market is Namdaemun Flower Market in the Daedo Building inside Namdaemun Market. Established in the 1960s, it is the citys oldest wholesale flower market. Its accessible location in the heart of the old city makes it especially popular, but the lack of parking and the crowded bustling alleys of Namdaemun Market can be an inconvenience for bulk buyers. LILIES FROM BUSAN, ORCHIDS FROM THAILAND Gangnam Flower Market located at Seoul Express Bus Terminal south of the Hangang (a river running through Seoul) is the center of all foot traffic. This wholesale flower market is on the third and fourth floors of the Daehae Building, which is an agglomeration of 140 shops that mainly specialize in fresh cut flowers and flower arrangement accessories. Express Bus Terminal Station is a transfer station for three subway lines (Lines 3, 7, and 9), making it

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SEOUL

garlands to reindeer-shaped doorstops. The artificial flower market opens at midnight and closes at 6:00 pm. Shoppers can also find another popular flower market below Seoul Express Bus Terminal: Hansan Flower Market located in the main underground hallway connecting to the terminal. Next to the home decor and
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kitchenware shops, there are some 50 flower shops clustered along the main passage. The flowers are more expensive than the aboveground Gangnam Flower Market, but you can still buy prearranged bouquets or get your selection of flowers at cheaper prices than from flower shops in your neighborhood, wrapped in free-of-charge decorative paper and ribbons.

The products are seasonal and the prices vary day to day, but they are still generally 20 to 30 percent cheaper than at a retail flower shop. Flowers bought in bulk are even more of a bargain. In addition to local home-grown flowers, shoppers can also find imported flowers from all over the world. Roses from the UK, tulips from the Netherlands, and exotic orchids from Thailand are always popular. These days, fresh summer flowers such as dahlias, gladioluses, irises, and hydrangeas fill the market along with roses, lilies, and chrysanthemums, which are available all year round. FLOWERS THAT WILL LAST Gangnam Flower Market is indeed popular for its fresh flowers, but it is also well known for
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Central City, Center For entertainment and Culture


As the terminal has become the center for nationwide express bus transportation, the terminal and surrounding area have been transformed into a culture and entertainment facility called Central City. Central City houses a comprehensive shopping and dining complex around Marques Plaza including a Megabox movie theatre and a soonto-open Bandi & Lunis bookstore. It also connects to the Gangnam branch of Shinsegae Department Store for highend and luxury item shopping. For young shoppers on a tight budget, the underground market has just reopened after a year of renovation. Over 270 clothing shops are filled with trendy yet affordable clothes and accessories. There youll also find shops for home interior products and kitchenware.

ShoppinG tipS For BeGinnerS


Fresh flowers can be bought on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, right when they come in, but bulk buyers dominate the market on those days. You can get better service from the merchants on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Check the freshness of the flowers by smelling them. Fresh flowers have a stronger scent. Unless youre a professional, its hard to select flowers just by their buds. Visit the market one day after they arrive, when the petals have just slightly opened. The best time to go is noon on Saturday, just before the market closes for the week when the merchants are eager to sell their stock. Make sure you look around at all the shops and compare prices for the best deals. Even the same types of flowers can go for different prices.

1 2 3 4 5

its artificial flowers. On the other side of the fresh flower stalls beyond the glass doors are narrow alleys lined with shops bursting with brilliant artificial flowers, baskets, decorative interior items, and vases in all shapes and sizes. The richly colored artificial peonies, hydrangeas, and lilies are all like works of art. The bouquets even seem to be more real than real flowers. Prices range from KRW 3,000 to KRW 10,000 per piece
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1 Shoppers look for green plants for flower arrangements. 2 The ribbon shops are frequented by florists and designers from all areas. 3 Artificial flowers and fruits can be found on the far side of the flower market.

very accessible for non-drivers, but there is also enough parking at the terminal and nearby Shinsegae Department Store for drivers. The market is open Monday to Saturday, and believe it or not the doors open at midnight and close at 1:00 pm. Truckloads of fresh flowers from all over the country arrive at the market on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Those are the three busiest days of the week and also when wholesalers and retailers not only from Seoul but also from nearby cities come to buy the best products at the best prices.

GanGnam Flower market inFormation


Tel 82-2-595-0306 Business Hours (closed on Sunday): 12:00 am - 1:00 pm for fresh flowers; 12:00 am - 6:00 pm for artificial flowers Directions Get off at Express Bus Terminal Station (Lines 3, 7, and 9), and go to the third floor of the terminal building for the Youngdong and Honam bus lines. Parking Parking is available at the terminal parking lot at KRW 2,000 for two hours (parking pass must be stamped at the flower market)

according to quality and size.

During the Christmas season, the artificial flower shops also offer Christmas decorations. For the last two months of every year, these shops house all the Christmas decorations you need to adorn your house, from evergreen

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travel

A Special Summer Awaits You along the Rivers

The Donggang anD The Seogang


The Donggang and the Seogang are two rivers that flow through the east and west and finally join together at the Namhangang, a river that flows into the Hangang. The Donggang and the Seogang are not only uncommonly beautiful but also ideal for rafting and other water recreation. by Lee Jeong-eun / photographs by Moon Duk-gwan

he Donggang (lit. East River) in eastern Yeongwol County begins at the confluence

of the Odaecheon (a river that originates in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon-do) and the Joyanggang (a river that originates in Jeongseon County, Gangwon-do) and flows southwestward. The Seogang (lit. West River) in western Yeongwol begins at the confluence of the Pyeongchanggang (a river that originates in Pyeongchang County) and the Jucheongang (a river that originates on Mount Taegisan). These two rivers finally merge and join the Namhangang (lit. South Hangang River), which itself is a tributary of the mighty Hangang, the river that runs through the heart of Seoul. and is renowned worldwide for the Miracle on the Hangang River. The Donggang meanders through valleys, while the Seogang is straighter. Most of Yeongwols best scenery is along these two rivers, such as Cheongnyeongpo, Seondol, Seonam (a headland in the shape of the Korean Peninsula), and Eorayeon. These places are natural works of art carved into the land over the eons by the rivers thrusting and jabbing at the soil and rock along the banks.

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Other excellent rivers in Korea for rafting are the Naerincheon and the Hantangang. However, if you are looking for a fun and safe rafting experience, Eorayeon is the best for its gentle currents. Many say, Even a toddler who has just been weaned can raft on Eorayeon. There are many things you can do on the Donggang, especially in summer. Walking along the river is romantic; riding a mountain bike or an all-terrain vehicle along its banks is thrilling. A variety of freshwater fish including dark chubs (Zacco temminckii), swiri (Coreoleuciscus splendidus), and kkeokji (Coreoperca herzi) can be found in the clear water, making the river an excellent place for fishermen to chase off the heat of summer. HISTORY AND CULTURE FLOW WITH THE SEOGANG
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paid tribute to the king, though there must certainly be a scientific explanation such as their seeking more light in the thick, lush forest. Seondol refers to a pair of tall rocks standing on the shore of the Seogang. As tall as 70 meters, these two rocks rise like gigantic pointed towers. From afar, they also look like two Taoist immortal beings, so they are also dubbed Sinseonam (lit. Rocks of Taoist Immortal Beings). The view of the Seogang as seen between the two rocks is absolutely fantastic.

Seonam, a village at the upper reaches of the Seogang, is on a piece of land jutting out into the water that is shaped just like the Korean Peninsula. It was sculpted by the forces of nature, particularly the waters of the Seogang. From a nearby observatory, a thick pine forest appears to stand for the Baekdudaegan, a mountain range that runs north to south along the entire Korean Peninsula, and other jutting features of the headland bear an uncanny resemblance to their counterparts on the peninsula. Though straighter than the Donggang, the Seogang itself still snakes, forming capes and inlets. Cheongnyeongpo in Yeongwol is a cape where King Danjong, the sixth monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, lived in exile after being deposed by his own uncle, King Sejo. Facing water in three cardinal directions and blocked by a rugged cliff called Yugyukbong in the other, Cheongnyeongpo was a natural jail and refused any access except by ship. Cheongnyeongpo is famous for its pine woods. More than 700 pine trees that are hundreds of years old still grow there, and mysteriously, the pine trees around the house where King Danjong stayed all lean toward it. It has long been believed that even the trees

The Donggang snakes along at a leisurely pace between rough limestone cliffs. The scenery unfolding along the Donggang is picturesque. The Donggang once served as a waterway for raft transport, mainly for lumber. Logs from the southern part of Gangwon-do were bound together in the form of rafts and set afloat on the Donggang to eventually be recovered when they reached Gwangnaru in Seoul, where a river dock once stood. Today, the dock is long gone, but it is memorialized by the presence of Gwangnaru Station on Seoul Subway Line 5. Back in the day, the raft drivers nicknamed the Donggang the Deep Valley, and along the banks were gaekju facilities (brokerages and inns for merchants and raft drivers). When the Hambaek Railway connecting Yeongwol and Hambaek was laid
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became forlorn and nearly forgotten. It was not until 2000 that it was rediscovered and dubbed the Amazon of Korea when the construction of the Yeongwol Dam sparked nationwide controversy over ecological protection. Some parts of the Donggang remain almost untrodden. One of those areas is Eorayeon, which literally means glittering like the scales of fish that swim and jump in the river. Eorayeon is not easily seen from outside, but if you are willing to take a winding ninekilometer walk up a mountain path to the top of a hill named Jatbong, you can see its hidden glittering charm. Another way to enjoy the beauty of Eorayeon is to raft far down the Donggang from the Joyanggang. The trip takes more than two and a half hours. These are the same waters where the rafts of old days once passed. Your eyes will bask in the natural serenity as no artificial structures stand on either bank. Floating between rocks the size of houses with names like Sangseonam, Jungseonam, and Haseonam is a delightful experience. Eorayeon is the perfect place for rafting.

1 Seonam Village is on a piece of land that is shaped just like the Korean Peninsula, sculpted by the water of the Seogang. 2 Cheongnyeongpo is a cape where King Danjong lived in exile after being deposed. 3 An old couple is plowing a field with their cow. This is an ordinary scene in Yeongwol, one of the backwoods counties.

travel information
what to eat Gondeure Namul Bap (rice cooked with Cirsium setidens) Gondeure namul bap is a specialty of Jeongseon and Yeongwol Counties. To prepare this special dish, rice is cooked with gondeure, a perennial medicinal herb. The rice is then mixed with radishes, bean sprouts, fiddlehead greens, and seasoned soy sauce. If you want to fully enjoy the bitter but soft flavor and texture of gondeure, just add seasoned soy sauce without any other vegetables. how to get there Car Gyeongbu Expressway (or Jungbu Expressway) Yeongdong Expressway at Singal Intersection (or Hobeop Intersection) Jungang Expressway at Manjong Intersection National Highway 38 at Jecheon Interchange Yeongwol Interchange (takes two hours) Bus Dong Seoul Intercity Bus Terminal Yeongwol Intercity Bus Terminal (runs 14 times a day; takes two hours) train Cheongnyangni Station in Seoul Yeongwol Station (runs six times a day; takes three hours)

Seoul
Yeongwol

in 1957, the Donggang

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29

festival

he Korea Speed Festival (KSF) is one of the largest auto-racing tournaments in South

A TOURNAMENT FOR PROFESSIONALS AND AMATEURS After Koreas hosting of international tournaments and as auto racing gained popularity, the number of teams with skilled drivers grew, and more and more amateur drivers began to take part in the tournaments. The Korea Speed Festival is the only tournament in the country that hosts races for both professional and amateur drivers. Three different tournaments are held at the KSF: the Avante Challenge Race, the Forte Koup Challenge Race, and the Genesis Coupe Championship. The two challenge races are normal car races in which most of the drivers are amateurs. To enter, you only need to be the owner of a Hyundai Avante MD 1.6 GDI or a Kia Forte Coup 2.0 that has been modified to meet the safety specifications of the tournament. The Genesis Coupe Championship is a singlebrand car race where only the best Genesis Coupe 380GT M/T drivers who passed the strict qualifying criteria of the KSF Office can compete. The professional drivers and their mechanical teams compete in the seven-round race at breakneck speed and excitement. The fourth round of the Genesis Coupe Championship will take place later this year from August 25 to 26 at Taebaek Racing Park as part of the Super Race Championship, another prominent auto race in South Korea. Drivers from 11 professional teams will compete in this round to win points for the ultimate finals to be held in October. Be sure not to miss the drift performance, kart racing, and upbeat concerts that will be held at the venue during the event.

Korea. The tournament first began in 2003 as the Speed Festival, and after eight successful years, the event was renamed the Korea Speed Festival. With eight new sponsors including Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, Shell Korea, and Hyundai Mobis, the KSF features dynamic races and events for racecar drivers and fans alike. A SHORT HISTORY The history of auto racing in South Korea is quite short. It began in 1987 with a rally organized by the Korea Sports Club when 15 drivers from amateur drivers clubs raced from Jinburyeong to Yongpyeong in the province of Gangwon-do. In 1993, the first paved circuit racetracks were built in Yongin/Gyeonggi-do, next to todays Everland Amusement Park. In 1995, the races were officially overseen by the Korea Automobile Racing Association. They slowly gained popularity and company sponsors, eventually becoming recognized as South Koreas major motorsport. This recognition later stretched overseas. In 1999, South Korea hosted the international Formula 3 Championship in Changwon, Gyeongsangnamdo, and since 2010, it has held the Korea Formula 1 Grand Prix in Yeongam, Jeollanamdo. There are now five major national tournaments throughout the year. From March to November, these races are held at Yongin Everland Speedway and Taebaek Racing Park almost every weekend, both of which are open to spectators.

Genesis Coupe Championship Round 4


Date August 25 - 26 Venue Taebaek Racing Park (visit www.racingpark.co.kr for location) Tickets Grand Ticket - 20,000 KRW / Premium Ticket 150,000 KRW (tickets are sold at the venue)

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now in korea

devised policies on relocation costs, housing, and farming skill training. Better prepared and supported, more people now succeed in starting new lives in the country. Kim Gi-won was a professor in computer science and the owner of a startup company in the area of ubiquitous computing, but his eyes were opened one day to the potential of agriculture. He took training courses on rural business management and ways to create added value through farming. He eventually moved back to his hometown where his parents were growing pears to start a pear orchard. Han Jeong-seop and his family settled in Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do four years ago. Before then, he was a wedding photographer. His oldest son was a sophomore in high school, preparing for the Korean college entrance examination. Financial stability
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Han also founded a company that gives children experience with nature and opportunities to lead healthy cultural lives by playing in the woods. The success stories of city-dwellers-turnedfarmers take many forms. Some grow limited varieties of special purpose crops; others grow many varieties in a small amount each and directly sell their produce to people living in cities without going through wholesalers and other retailers.

To those urban citizens who dream of rural lives, Park Ho-jin, who works for the Korean Back-tothe-Soil Movement Association, has an important piece of advice: Think about the role you should play in the rural community you want to join. You
3 1 Former city dwellers transplanting rice 2 Some city dwellers also want to raise livestock or go out to sea as fishermen rather than grow crops. 3 Potatoes cultivated by the peasantry returned to the soil

was still important, but he didnt expect his career would support him through the rest of his life. After thinking long and hard, he decided to move to the countryside. He also thought that giving his children an opportunity to experience nature would be better than immediate financial stability in the long run. He didnt take action right away. For half
In cooperation with references provided by the Korean Back-to-the-Soil Movement Association (www.refarm.org) and the Return to Farming Center (www.returnfarm.com)

Rushing Back to the Soil

Cultivating a New Life in the Country


The rapid industrialization and economic growth of Korea drove people en masse from the country to the cities, but today more and more city dwellers dream of new lives in the country. Lets have a brief look at this new great migration in Korea.
by Im Sang-beom

years later on in life dream of idyllic lives in the countryside. This isnt something thats totally new; it began about a decade ago, but has recently become much more pronounced. In 2011 alone, more than 6,500 households opted to leave the city. Many of those who initiated the movement back to the soil didnt understand life in the countryside very well and had to go back to the city after bitter failures. They failed to, among other things, adapt to the communityoriented lifestyle of rural areas or jettison their consumption-oriented urban lifestyles. As people started to move in droves to the countryside, systematic social support became necessary. Civic groups and environmental groups began to offer training courses, and the national, local, and municipal governments

any Koreans who are fed up with life in the city or who plan for more comfortable

a year, he searched the country to find an appropriate place to move to. When he chose Sancheong as a new place to settle down, he went there alone. He stayed in a farming house attached to a training center and farmed alone for the first year. His income for his first year was a paltry KRW 4 million (approx. USD 3,640). He was deeply disappointed, but rather than blame him for his decision, his wife decided to join him. Soon, his whole family came to Sancheong. Theirs support helped him regain his courage and make a fresh start. Today, the eggs he produces from hens free-range sell at high prices to a limited number of people registered with his farm.

should have a plan to revive the community through organic farming or ecological farming, and there has to be a plan for your childrens education. Its not only about buying a house and land in the country. When city dwellers go to the country and get their hands dirty with the soil, they are likely to cultivate new lives for themselves, breathe new life into the communities they join, and bring quality food to the dining tables of other city dwellers, creating a virtuous cycle for all, with luck, preparation and government support.

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sport

London 2012 Olympics. With 16,000 athletes from 204 countries and over 11 million visitors, the audience watched in awe as they walked through the history and culture of the United Kingdom in a three-hour showcase. ALL EYES ON KOREA Taking advantage of being in the host city of the Olympics, the Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK) has set out to grab the attention of Londoners and Olympic travelers by launching a 100-day summer festival entitled All Eyes on Korea. From June 1 to September 9, 2012, the cultural campaign will present an extensive series of cultural and entertainment programs throughout London to showcase modern and traditional Korean culture.

ll eyes were turned to London on July 27, for the opening ceremony of the

along with Life Life, Chois other exhibition that places 20,000 colored balloons in the trees around the Hungerford Bridge. Another Korean artist, Kim Beom, is holding an exhibition entitled The School of Inversion at the same gallery. Kim uses a variety of media including drawings, video, and sculptural installations to turn the conventional norms of a classroom upside down, making visitors reflect on their perceptions of a classroom. The display will continue until September 2 as part of the Southbank Centres Festival of the World. Korean artist Lee Bul also gave a lecture at the Hayward Gallery by participating as a teacher at Southbank Centers Wide Open School, which is an unusual experiment in learning. From June 11 to July 22, the gallery became a temporary summer school in which 100 artists from 40 different countries facilitated workshops, collaborative projects, lectures, and performances about subjects they were passionate about. On June 15, Lee gave a 90-minute lecture about her work processes and major projects displayed at her recent exhibition at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. The lecture was very well received by art lovers and professionals alike. The KCCUK is also running its own exhibition, Korean Funerary Figures: Companions for the Journey to the Other World. The exhibition showcases a traditional funeral bier along with wooden figures of a variety of people, including
4 5 1 Fireworks are seen during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, London, Britain, 28 July 2012. 2 K-Pop Academy students ride through London on a double-decker bus waving the Korean flag to kick off All Eyes on Korea. 3 K-supporters pose in front of the Tower Bridge during a street promotion of All Eyes on Korea. 4 Following ancient documents as a guide, the funeral bier was originally made to display the precious relics of the Kokdu Museum. The whole structure and shape are taken from the gorgeous and magnificent multi-level biers of the late Joseon Dynasty. 5 Green-colored plastic baskets cover the pillars on the balcony of the Hayward Gallery in the Southbank Centre in Choi Jeong-hwas exhibition Time after Time. 3

All Eyes Turn to Korean Culture in the Host City of the 2012 Olympics
While athletes from around the world compete for medals at the London 2012 Olympics this summer, the Korean government actively promotes Korean culture in the host city.
by Julianna Chung / photographs provided by the Korean Cultural Centre UK
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To date, Korean culture has mostly garnered international recognition for its pop music (K-pop) and television dramas (K-drama). To introduce and spread interest in diverse aspects of Korean culture and arts, the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) and KCCUK have organized programs under the categories of K-Arts, K-Music, K-Classics, K-Literature, K-Film, K-Fashion, K-Lecture, K-Food, and K-Culture. K-ARTS On June 1, Korean installation artist Choi Jeonghwa kicked off the All Eyes on Korea festival with the exhibition Time after Time. With the help of local supporters and volunteers, Choi covered 16 concrete columns of the Hayward Gallery balcony with over 5,000 green plastic baskets instilling life and fun in the gray building. Time after Time will run until September 9,

34 korea august 2012

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sport

clowns, noblemen, and mythological creatures, each of which serve as decorations for a funeral bier. At the exhibition, visitors will be able to explore the unique aspects of Korean folklore. The exhibition will continue until September 9. K-MUSIC The traditional music group Be-Being presented a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Center on July 23. Entitled Yi-myungong-jak , Be-Beings mask music project was inspired by the long history of Korean masks and their cultural aspects. The concert consisted of traditional Korean music of both original compositions and reinterpretations of various traditional Korean mask plays. The title of the concert, Yimyun-gong-jak, is a Korean expression that originally refers to an activity or action behind the scenes or wire-pulling in the background, which in this concert alludes to the symbolism of masks and the masquerades they offer in the context of traditional Korean mask plays. There was also a pansori concert at the Queen Elizabeth
1 3

poems including All the Garbage of the World, Unite! and Seoul, Korea in Korean followed by English translation. Kim is said to be one of the most important contemporary poets of Korea and was one of the first women to be published in a literary journal in Korea. K-FILM The festival also promotes Korean films by screening movies at the KCCUK and inviting film directors to attend the screenings and have a Q&A session. The Korean filmmakers featured first included Lee Jun-Ik of Battlefield Heroes and Lee Hyun-seung of Hindsight. Director Lee Yoon-ki of Come Rain, Come Shine and Jeon Kyu-hwang of Varanasi will visit London on August 30 and September 27 respectively to attend each movies screening and answer audience questions. On August 2, the KCCUK will screen K-CLASSICS Two of the worlds most celebrated Korean performers of Western classical music are Avery Fisher Prize laureate violinist Sarah Chang and Grammy Award-winning soprano Jo Sumi. These two musicians collaborated with the Helsinki Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Leif Segerstam at the Royal Festival Hall on July 31. At the concert Shining K-Classics, Chang performed the third movement of Max Bruchs Violin Concerto No. 1 and an arrangement of a suite from Leonard Bernsteins West Side Story, while Jo sang the song Ah! vous diraije, Maman from Adolphe Adams Le Toreador and the song Villanelle by Eva DellAcqua. The audience also had the luxury of listening to Jo sing Ahn Jun-joons arrangement of the traditional Korean folk song Arirang. K-LITERATURE From June 26 to July 1, Kim Hyesoon shared Korean literature with the public at the United Kingdoms largest ever poetry festival Poetry Parnassus. With poets from each competing Olympic nation participating, Kim recited K-FASHION On July 30, the gala reception Korean Shining Bright showcased the latest collections of Korean fashion designer Lie Sang Bong on the special runway of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The 300 invitees were mesmerized by the colorful prints and intricate construction designs, which were inspired by a classic Korean architectural element called dancheong (the traditional multicolored paint of Korean royal palaces). Korean culture supporters who attended a 12week K-pop academy course at the KCCUK were dressed in T-shirts designed by Lie Sang Bong while visiting major tourist attractions in London to promote the All Eyes on Korea events. K-FOOD AND K-CULTURE The All Eyes on Korea festival will draw to a close with an outdoor event at the 2012 Mayors Thames Festival on September 8-9. The event will stage comedy shows and display pieces of contemporary arts and crafts, a wide selection of food tasting stands, and live artist workshops in front of the Tate Modern, an art gallery in London. It will also showcase a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. To browse the list of All Eyes on Korea events and to find out which ones to get involved in, please visit the official website of the KCCUK at www.kccuk.org.uk.
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4 1 Gugak group Be-Being performs a Korean mask music project Yi-myun-gongjak at the Queen Elizabeth Hall of the Southbank Centre. 2 Pansori Project ZA performs at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. 3 Sarah Chang performs with the world famous Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. 4 Master Chef Tony Yoo demonstrates Korean cuisine at a K-Lecture class in the KCCUK. 5 The oldest surviving Korean silent film, Crossroads of Youth, is screened at the Barbican Centre Cinema with live musical accompaniment on August 2.

Purcell Room of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. The quartet played 30 types of instruments in this performance. Creating their own instruments specific to each desired sound, the group blends melody and rhythms with the power of Korean drums and the delicacy of their percussion.

K-LECTURES The KCCUK also hosted a series of lectures on topics ranging from Korean cuisine to Korean literature to Korean music. On July 18, Ralph Rugoff, the director of the Hayward Gallery, shared his experiences in curating contemporary art and Korean artists. On July 18, an introduction to easy-to-make Korean
5

Crossroads of Youth, South Koreas oldest surviving blackand-white silent movie, which will be accompanied by a narrator and live orchestra. The audience will be able to experience the film just as Korean audiences did when it was premiered in 1934.

dishes such as rice cakes and drinks was demonstrated by Master Chef

Tony Yoo. On July 20, Professors Keith Howard from SOAS, the University of London, and Professor Nathan Hasselink from the University of British Columbia lectured on the traditions, innovation, and identity of Korean music.

Hall on July 30. Pansori is

a genre of traditional Korean music (gugak) that features a vocalist who sings and chants a story accompanied by a percussionist and is officially recognized by UNESCO as an important piece of world culture. A group of performers, Pansori Project ZA, staged Pansori Brecht Sacheon-Ga, a work of modern pansori imbued with romantic love and satire. Its narrative style incorporates modern dramatic elements. On July 28, the K-Music festival featured another work of traditional Korean music with a contemporary twist through the concert Walkabout rendered
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by fusion gugak group GongMyoung at the

36 korea august 2012

SPECIAL ISSUE

he National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage began excavation of a prehistoric

site (Historic Site No. 426) in the village of Munam in Goseong, Gangwon-do Province in 2010. It is the earliest known evidence of huntergatherers settling down in permanent farming communities. A field, stone farming implements, and other remains have been discovered on the site. The recent discovery indicates that they began to practice agriculture as early as the mid-Neolithic Age, or between 3,600 BCE and 3,000 BCE. The sunken site of an old farmhouse was discovered by an excavation team led by archaeologist Cho Mi-soon. In addition to the outline of a house and the field, the team found a stone arrowhead and shards of pottery with short comb patterns (short, slanted lines) dating to this period. The field has two tiers, with the pattern of furrows in the upper level differing from that of the lower level. The upper level is 2.71 - 2.89 meters above sea level and the furrows are fairly typical of a farming field, but when compared with the farming fields of the Bronze Age, the furrows are not parallel and the widths of the ridges and furrows are also quite inconsistent. 1,500 YEARS EARLIER THAN PREVIOUSLY RECOGNIZED The latest discovery in the village of Munam is especially significant in that it proves conclusively that farming started on the Korean Peninsula in the Neolithic Age. It brought to a decisive end the debate over whether agriculture started on the peninsula during the Neolithic Age or the Bronze Age. Archeologists are now taking special interest in Korea since no similar sites have been unearthed in Japan or China. The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage is collecting more information about the farming site through analysis of its sedimentary strata, plant opals, and soil microstructures, as well as through other scientific methods. The water-flotation technique will be used to confirm the varieties of plants that were grown, while accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and optically stimulated luminescence (OLS) will be used to more precisely date the site. Heritage had over ten archaeologists specialized in the Neolithic Age meticulously investigate the site and is planning to report the recent findings to academic societies at home and abroad.
1 A farming field from the Neolithic Era in the village of Munam in Goseong, Gangwon-do indicates that they began to practice agriculture and settle down in permanent farming villages. 2 Residential areas No. 4 and 5 in the Neolithic Age. Upper and lower floors overlapped each other. 3 Four shards of pottery with a comb pattern are found on the ground of a dwelling area. 2 3

The lower-level field appears more rudimentary as it has irregular, complex compartments. The site of a house next to the lower field, which must have been a pit dwelling, produced four shards of pottery with a comb pattern dated to the mid-Neolithic Age. Nearby were the remains of a fire and charred millet. Before this discovery was made, the oldest farmland previously discovered on the Korean Peninsula dated back to the Bronze Age (1,500 BCE - 400 BCE), although there had been speculation that agriculture had been practiced at an earlier time on the Korean Peninsula. Such speculation was brought forth by the findings of stone implements including hoes, digging sticks, plowshares, grinding pestles, and saddle querns as well as charred grains of foxtail and common millet. No actual fields had been found, however. The National Research Institute of Cultural

A Farming Field from the Neolithic Era in Goseong


First Such Discovery in East Asia
Definitive proof of agriculture on the Korean Peninsula in the Neolithic Age has been found in Goseong on the east coast. This is a spectacular find and is of major interest to archaeologists worldwide.
by Yang In-sil / photographs provided by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Korea

Comb PottEry, A mAjor PottEry StyLE In KorEA DUrIng thE nEoLIthIC AgE
Comb pottery, dubbed combware or comb-pattern pottery, provides a key to understanding culture on the Korean Peninsula during the Neolithic Age. Comb pottery is believed to have served numerous practical uses including cooking, storing, and transporting food. It also sheds light on the aesthetic sense of the people who made and used it, the changes in lifestyle during the era, and even small behavioral characteristics connected with its use. Comb pottery unearthed from House Site No. 5 in the Amsa-dong prehistoric settlement site in Gangdong-gu, Seoul displays a high degree of artistic completeness featuring triangular patterns, lozenge patterns, patterns resembling the geometric frames of Korean traditional doors, and patterns resembling fish bones expressed only with simple dots and lines. Each pattern is placed beautifully in orderly shape and size, showing the creators superb spatial and aesthetic sense.

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global korea

KOREAN NGOS AND BUSINESSES JOIN FORCES Their desperate need for safe drinking water has prompted many of the businesses and NGOs of Korea to roll up their sleeves. World Vision Korea supports safe drinking water and sanitation projects to help supply clean water to people in many parts of Asia and Africa. The Korean partnership entity of World Vision International not only digs wells and installs water pumps in areas of water shortages but also helps the villagers independently manage and maintain the facilities. Good Neighbors, an international humanitarian and development organization headquartered in Seoul, is pressing ahead with the Good Water Project in 14 out of the 26 countries where it operates. The project is aimed at creating a safe and sanitary environment for children in extreme poverty suffering due to contaminated water, who have to walk three hours every day on average in hopes of getting
1 2

coffee) from a cafe, he or she can save about KRW 10,000 to donate to the campaign to give precious, safe drinking water and sanitation facilities to the children of areas beset by water shortages. Many Korean businesses support these NGOs safe water projects as part of their social responsibility programs, and other companies independently conduct their own projects. One such company is Woongjin Coway, the undisputed leader in the Korean water purifier market. The company launched a project to dig wells in Cambodia in 2006 and has so far dug 820 wells with the goal of reaching 1,000 by 2015. The infant mortality rate in Cambodia is 55.49 out of 1,000 infants, 13 times higher that of South Korea at 4.16. This high infant mortality is mainly attributable to unsafe drinking water. In 2004, the Korea Water Resources Corporation, a public service company dubbed K-water, formed the K-water Volunteers Group of employees and college students to install water supply facilities in villages suffering water shortages or contaminated water in countries like Nepal, Laos, and
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clean water. When their village gains access to a new well or drinking water pump, the children will need only walk 15 minutes to get their clean water and can spend more time in school pursuing their dreams for a brighter future. Korea Food for the Hungry International is proceeding with the One Liter of Life campaign to help develop sources of drinking water in areas of chronic water shortages. One liter of safe water is the minimum amount of water that an African child in a poor area needs every single day. If a Korean refrains from

Let the Children Smile

The Power of One Liter of Clean Water


Extreme droughts in Africa and Southeast Asia have caused famines and shortages in drinking water. Children suffer the most of all; some 15 million children die every year from contaminated water. by Lee Jeong-eun / photographs provided by World Vision Korea

1 Wells and water pumps are like lifelines for people in parts of Africa suffering from extreme droughts. 2 World Vision Korea digs wells and installs water pumps, and helps the villagers independently manage and maintain the facilities. 3 A girl smiling at clean water from a pump. In Southeast Asia such as Cambodia and Laos, many children die from contaminated water.

he people of the village of Lmisigiyoi in Samburu County, Kenya had to trek four

people in the world who are thirsty but unable to dig wells for themselves, especially in African countries, Cambodia, and other Third World countries. They struggle daily, facing severe shortages in food and drinking water. According to the United Nations, about 890 million people around the world have no access to safe drinking water, and some 15 million children die from contaminated water every year. The UN warns that the water supply per capita will decrease by over 60 percent in 20 years, and roughly seven billion people will suffer water shortages by 2050.

buying three cups of coffee (approx. a liter of

kilometers to fetch water from the Lmisigiyoi River. Most of the women and children of the village made the trek every single day bearing 20-liter buckets on their backs and heads. They strained under the weight of the drinking water on the way back. It was contaminated with soil and other foreign substances, and as a result the villagers frequently suffered water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever and dysentery. According to an old Korean saying, The thirsty fellow digs a well. Yet, there are

Cambodia, all at its own expense.


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40 korea august 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

Cultural and Artistic Performances at the Yeosu Expo


With the theme of Living Ocean and Coast, the International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012 will finish off its big 93-day run on August 12. Regarded as a success in the embodiment of the theme and the number of visitors, it has another success factor: quality cultural and artistic performances.
by Lee Jeong-eun / photographs provided by the Organizing Committee of the International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012

and artistic performances, showing that the organizers truly lived up to Yeosus declaration that the Yeosu Expo would not be so much about buildings and technology but instead focus on quality content and people. Some 400 programs and over 8,000 cultural performances and events will have taken place on and around the expo site when the 93-day expo finally ends. YEOSU EXPOS SIGNATURE BIG-O SHOW Every night, the waterfront stage of the Big-O, the major attraction of the expo, has communicated messages of peace and harmony and a future of hope and co-prosperity for all mankind through the fantastic media show named the Big-O Show. The screen for the show is a water curtain formed within a gigantic ring called the Big-O. The outer rim of the 47-meterhigh Big-O has water jets, mist generators, flame generators, light fixtures, and lasers to create a variety of special effects. THE BLOOMING SEA, A DRAMA WITH CIRCUS STUNTS IN THE AIR AND WATER The Blooming Sea is a drama that weaves highlevel circus stunts with a romantic story into an artwork of water. A pool in which you can dive from an over 20-meter-high platform instantly transforms into a stage on which performers

burning hat appear. A large tree moves across the water, and fireworks are set off to create a dreamy atmosphere of dense fog. SIMCHEONG, A BALLET ON AN OUTDOOR SEA STAGE Simcheong became Koreas first ballet performance that unfolds on an outdoor stage floating on the sea at the Yeosu Expo. The ballet Simcheong premiered in 1986 and has been staged more than 200 times in ten countries, building an international reputation as a ballet based on the traditional Korean folk tale of the same name. The decision to perform it on an on-the-sea stage at the Yeosu Expo was an ambitious step forward since the ballet dancers have to balance on their tiptoes in toe shoes. It has been a resounding success.
1 The Blooming Sea stuntmen pose for the camera under the large LED screen called the Digital Gallery. 2 A giant clown strides through the Expo arena while waving at Expo visitors. 3.4 The Wonder Girls (top) and MBLAQ (bottom) perform at the Expo Pop Festival of the Yeosu Expo.

can walk and act and even do acrobatics and folk dances. On the water stage is a boat where alike say that there has never been an expo more beautiful than Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea, says Secretary General Vicente Gonzlez Loscertales of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). When it comes to the embodiment of the expo theme, the satisfaction ratio is as high as 80 percent. The number of visitors is forecast to exceed the originally expected seven million. In particular, the Big-O Show has made a big splash for being so exciting; it has attracted throngs of visitors every day despite being held at night. The Yeosu Expo is a marine expo with a theme of the sea and coasts, but its also a cultural and artistic expo. Two-thirds of the events of the Yeosu Expo were cultural FRANCES OCEAN OPERA ON A SEA STAGE The sea is used as the stage. The actors and actresses walk on water using special surfboards and cycle on a bed while dreaming. A woman in a big skirt and a wizard wearing a
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is going to finish off its big 93-day run on August 12. Themed on the Living Ocean and Coast, the International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012 (abbreviated as Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea or more simply as the Yeosu Expo) has shed renewed light on the value of the sea and coasts as well as the global issues of climate change, resource depletion, and ecosystem destruction. It has been well received with regard to the composition of the expo site, the embodiment of the theme, and visitors participation.
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he International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012 started on May 12 and

12 performers dive without a hint of hesitation from 20-meter-high platforms on both sides of the stage. An 11-meter-tall marionette named Yeonani (meaning coast) appears with characters that brilliantly express a variety of marine creatures. Water boards and Jet Skis perform thrilling stunt shows on the water, while dazzling circus stunts using wire ropes and trampolines unfold in the air.
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Foreign visitors and BIE member countries

42 korea august 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

FLAVOR

Ssambap

Green Lettuce Wraps


Ssambap, also known as a lettuce wrap or green wrap, is a spoonful of cooked rice, a dab of ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste), and some gang doenjang (rich stew-like soybean paste), all of which are wrapped in a large leaf. You can also add a piece of grilled meat (bulgogi is the most popular
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choice) into the wrap, but for a simple vegetarian ssambap, all you need are some fresh green vegetables, freshly cooked rice, and a delicious bowl of gang doenjang for a mouthwatering wrap. It will revive your appetite on a hot summer day. Gang doenjang is a richer version of doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew)
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1 Around 10pm every night, DJ Dance Show takes over to electrify the audience with exciting music and spectacular lighting. 2.3 Many street performances are held at the Expo to entertain Expo visitors.

EXPO POP FESTIVAL FEATURING K-POP STARS Every night at eight oclock, the special stage of the Yeosu Expo heats up with the Expo Pop Festival featuring top K-pop stars. The singer Rain (aka Bi) was the first star of this hot festival who threw the audience into a wild frenzy on the night of June 16. Groups of young singers like Shinee, Super Junior, 2PM, Girls Generation, and Wonder Girls as well as singers loved by middle-aged fans including Kim Jang-hoon, Lee Seung-hwan, Lee Eun-mi, Insooni, and Sin Seung-hoon all followed suit. DJ DANCE SHOW MAKES SUMMER NIGHTS EVEN HOTTER At about 10 pm every night after the Expo Pop Festival has enthralled the audience, DJ Dance Show takes over to electrify the audience even more with exciting music and spectacular lighting. Shaking their bodies in delight to the music, people enjoy the Yeosu Expo as a festival of global villagers. In fact, I was surprised to see fewer foreigners than I expected, says Abigail (21) from the US. I toured the site today, and I think about ten percent of the visitors were foreigners. I love K-pop
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with less broth and more ingredients. Yeosu, I was able to see them singing and also enjoy the DJ Dance Show. It was so much fun. STREET PERFORMANCES FOR PEOPLE IN LONG QUEUES Numerous street performances at the Yeosu Expo certainly take the boredom out of waiting in long queues to enter pavilions or see shows. Wherever there is a long queue of people, a group of performers appears to render a surprise performance, making it a sheer joy to wait. Winners of the Daidogei World Cup, Japans world famous street performance festival, entertain visitors with very skillful juggling and rope walking. During a performance of Ganggangsullae based on the traditional Korean folk dance of the same name, the performers and visitors mingle and dance together. Famous groups of mimes silently amuse tired and bored people that are waiting in the streets under a roasting hot sun. All these street performances have been taking place from 9 am to 7:30 pm throughout the Expo.
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A combination of chopped shiitake mushroom, potatoes, young zucchini, onion, and soybean paste is simmered in anchovy broth until it is reduced to a thick paste. For the wrap, you can use ordinary lettuce and cabbage leaves, or the leaves of kale, chicory, romaine lettuce, and mustard greens.
by Chung Da-young photographs by Lee Jin-ha food and styling by Kim Young-bin with assistance from Noh Shin-young

singers very much, and here at

44 korea august 2012

MY KOREA

A smile And A dumpling


Mary-Jane from Australia shares her secret to being happily married to a Korean man with three children. by Mary-Jane Liddicoat / illustrations by Kim Yong-mi

start with a confession. I am without a doubt Koreas worst daughter-in-law. I know it. My

are my preferred options. Oops. When it comes to holidays, you are expected to spend every day preparing food, serving and cleaning up after an endless stream of visitors. No thanks. I prefer to rest and enjoy the holidays. So lets share the preparation, or go out. Oops. Most importantly, you should do everything your mother-in-law tells you to do, including how to furnish and clean the house, shop for and cook the food, raise and educate your children, look after your husband, where to vacation, and what to wear. I have been around for a few decades and I am quite clear on what I like, what is best for me and my family, and whether my feet are cold. Criticism is apparently a staple diet. No daughter-in-law ever seems to be good enough. I am grateful to my husband who showed me how to shut up, smile, nod and be a duck, letting the criticism and micro-management run off like water, and then go about doing what works for us. It took a few years to get the hang of it I admit, and Im certainly no master. Some people might call that lying; I consider it kindness. No point in telling people what they dont want to hear, and certainly no need for me to do things I know are not going to work and I dont enjoy. So its win-win for everyone. And rather than letting it get under my skin, I interpret it as a particular Korean version of caring. How does being a Korean daughter-in-law sound to you? Easy? Fun? When I arrived in Korea as a single 34-year-old diplomat I did not

husband, his family, and our local communities know it. And now you know it. By way of background, Im an Australian married to a Korean. Weve been together for 12 years, married for nine years, we speak to each other in Korean, and have three children who go to the local Korean primary and pre-schools. To gauge how truly terrible I am, youll need to know about widely held expectations. Traditionally, when you marry a Korean man, you cut all ties with your own family and move in to serve your husbands (while keeping your own surname). Even today, you dont just marry the man, you marry the family and are automatically slotted into your place in a specific hierarchy, at the bottom (unless theres a son younger than your husband, in which case, his wife is at the bottom). My husband is the youngest son, so I am right at the bottom. You are expected to tend to all the household needs. It was explained before we got married that I would be responsible for everything inside the house, particularly in the kitchen, while my husband would be the master of everything outside the house. I have always been an independent professional and not in the slightest bit interested in housework or cooking. Not that I cant do them very well (unlike my husband when I first met him: he couldnt make a cup of tea; now he can feed our kids for weeks at a time). I simply prefer to do other things. So sharing the load, outsourcing, and dining out

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MY KOREA

LEARn KOREAn

gratitude, and laughter. We are aware that we are starting from vastly different points of view, so we dont jump to conclusions. No conclusions means open minds. We are in allowance of our different points of view, so we dont fight to prove whos right. We are grateful for each others differences, knowing what a contribution this is to our family, and give each other the space to be and do what we each enjoy. Above all, we laugh a lot, which I have noticed sometimes annoys people. Just because someone tells you you have to be/do/have something, does that make it true? No. Your own point of view creates your reality. Our point of view is that life and having a family is an adventure to enjoy. So we smile and thank people for their points of view and get on with creating our family life as it suits us. Expectations? We replaced those with smiles a have marriage in mind, but I had consciously thought I would probably not date Korean men. Not that I didnt think some were devilishly cute. I had simply heard the rumors and thought it wouldnt work for me. Expectations, as they say, will always prove you wrong. And here I am, in a surprisingly happy Korean-Australian family, despite my appalling non-efforts at daughter-in-law. One irony appears to be that because I met no expectations and set the bar so low, now if I do anythinglike the time I gave myself RSI (repetitive strain injury) by spending the whole day making mandu dumplings for Lunar New Year celebrationsI am warmly thanked. My mother-in-law also laughs and tells everyone that my Korean language ability is
AbOut thE WRitER
Mary-Jane Liddicoat is a Certified Facilitator of Managed Wellness and a featured Lifestyle Coach on TBS eFM Radio 1013 Main Streets Better Living program. Read more at www.mary-jane.co and www.conscious-living.asia. Her husband is a sculptor whose stone Haechi sits in front of Seoul City Hall (www.zeeno.net).

I want to eat bIbImbap.

Have you ever eaten Korean food? If yes, what is your favorite? Lets go to a Korean restaurant and order some delicious Korean food.

A: ?

What would you like?

B: . ?

mwol deusigesseoyo?

I want to eat bibimbap. How about you, Chris?

jeon bibimbabeul meokgo sipeoyo. Chris-ssineunyo?


D: , . ! , .

C: . .

I want naengmyeon. Id like to have something cold.

long time ago. Is any of this limited to a Korean context? No. How many races, cultures, societies, cities, towns, villages, and families across the world have their own version of this? Most, if not all? At least in Korea its clear what the expectations are. So whats in store for Korea? Korea is famous for its ability to change and transform at a time of crisis. It acted to develop from having a GDP per capita poorer than Zimbabwe in 1960 to now being ranked the 15th strongest economy in the world. Given that more than one third of all new marriages in Korea are now international, and even if most of these new brides are from developing Asian countries and less able to voice their views than me, change is inevitable. The one thing I appear to have done well is to bear children. Korea has an unofficial point system for children, based on how many, what kind, and in what order you have them. I had a boy first followed by two girls, so apparently I get a Gold Medal. Tradition likes a boy-child first, but Koreans know its the girls who will look after parents in their old age. I wonder if thats why Ive been allowed to be so naughty?
. (go Korea) basic form

jeoneun naengmyeoniyo. siwonhan-geol meokgo sipeoyo.

Yes, thats good. Excuse me, well order one bibimbap and one naengmyeon.

ne, joayo. yeogiyo! bibimbap hana, naengmyeon hana juseyo.

- is used to express the subjects desire or wish to do something. It is attached to the action verb stem. In statements I is the subject of the sentence, and in questions you is the subject of the sentence.
speakers wish form (- ) . . (eat Korean food) Hanguk eumsigeul meokda. (I want to eat Korean food.) Hanguk eumsigeul meokgo sipeoyo. ? (Do you want to eat Korean food?) Hanguk eumsigeul meokgo sipeoyo? . . (learn Korean) Hangugeoreul baeuda. (I want to learn Korean.) Hangugeoreul baeugo sipeoyo. ? (Do you want to learn Korean?) Hangugeoreul baeugo sipeoyo? . (I want to go Korea.) Hanguge gago sipeoyo. ? (Do you want to go Korea?) Hanguge gago sipeoyo?

Lets practice
Look at the menu and order some food as the upper conversation.

(menu) charimpyo galbi bulgogi naengmyeon bibimbap 15,000 10,000 6,000 6,000

highly selective. Ill understand perfectly when dinner is served, but not when shes trying to explain how I should cook something for my husband (its not true; recipes can be very complicated). I am lucky that my mother-in-law has a cheeky sense of humor. So how have we thrived as a couple for so long surrounded by such strong points of view? Four simple words: awareness, allowance,

doenjang-jjigae 5,000

Hanguge gada.

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