The World Remembers Old Korean Medicine 9 - Korea.net

ISSN: 2005-2162 

Opening a communicative space 

between Korea and the world 

The World Remembers 

Old Korean Medicine 

Hangeul Brings New 

Life to Tribal Tongue 

9 

SEPTEMBER 

2009 

www.korea.net

CONTENTS 

SEPTEMBER 2009 

VOL. 13 / NO. 9 

06 38 48 

52 62 

Cover Photo 

The 25-volume Donguibogam 

represents 

the height of ancient 

Oriental medicine. 

Publisher 

Kim He-beom, 

Korean Culture and 

Information Service 

Chief Editor 

Ko Hye-ryun 

Editing & Printing 

JoongAng Daily 

E-mail 

webmaster@korea.net 

Design 

JoongAng Daily 

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발간등록번호: 11-1110073-000016-06 

06 

18 

Cover Story 

• UNESCO Honors Korean Medicine’s Ancient 

Ambitions 

News in Focus 

• Turning a Notorious Debacle into Hope for the 

Future 

• Lee hopes for thaw with North 

22 Obituary 

• A man whose name meant ‘democracy’ 

24 Diplomacy 

• Trade Agreement Broadens Horizon for Korea and 

India 

26 

Global Korea 

• 14 Volunteers Go Abroad to Bolster the Human 

Family 

• An Electricity ‘Control Tower’ 

• Hangeul Brings New Life to Tribal Tongue 

4 korea September 2009 September 2009 korea 5 

32 

Green Growth 

• Global Praise for Eco-Korea 

• Panel Discusses Green Policy 

• UN Honors Green Strategy 

35 Culture 

• Korean Wave Goes Literal in ‘Haeundae’ 

• Haiku’s Elegant Cousin 

• A Global Bridge of Words 

38 

42 

44 

47 

Korean Literature 

• Park Wan-seo: Stripping naked our modern 

hypocrisy 

Korean Artist 

• Korea’s Ambitious Phantom 

Science & Tech 

• Technology, Convenience, Culture on the 

Subway Rails 

Hidden Champions 

• Dogged Fighter Against Rotten Toothbrushes 

48 Sports 

• Taking Down the Champion 

• Fierce Midfielder Is Youngest Korean to 

Head to England 

• Korea Just Misses FIBA Berth 

52 Travel 

• The Luxuries of Time 

57 

Korean Food 

• Back to Basics, and Thank Buddha 

• The Secret to Family Cooking 

59 People 

• A Teenage Novelist’s Voyage 

• A New Shade of Korean Leader 

• Blazing a Trail in Hollywood 

• Discovering Musical Joy in the Fields 

66 

Foreign viewpoints 

• And Korea Transforms Yet Again: 

Alan Timblick

UNESCO Honors 

Korean Medicine’s 

Ancient Ambitions 

Cover Story | Korea, country of chroniclers 


[YONHAP]

Donguibogam, a 

comprehensive medical 

book, is made up 

of five categories: 

internal diseases, 

external diseases and 

somatology, other 

diseases in gynecology 

and pediatrics, 

medicinal decoction 

and acupuncture. 

Any Korean would be able to 

tell you this much: Donguibogam 

is an old book on diseases 

and cures, and its 

author is Heo Jun, a royal doctor during 

the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). 

But the details may be fuzzy for 

some. The book is in fact a 25-volume 

encyclopedia written in 1613, a compilation 

of all the Eastern medical principles 

and practices of the time. 

Still, there’s no doubt that, 

in Korea at least, Donguibogam 

is one of the lucky few 

books to enjoy high name recognition 

even though those who 

wrote it are long dead, the paper has 

discolored and the binding has worn 

out. 

And as of July 31, this ancient collection 

is no longer exclusively a Korean treasure, 

with the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration 

announcing that UNESCO has added the 

Donguibogam to its Memory of the World Register. 

There have even been novels and dramas 

based on the story of this famous book and its 

equally well-known author. A variety of editions 

are still available, with explanatory tomes and 

Web sites helping keep the encyclopedia’s legacy 

alive. 

And since 1991, Donguibogam has enjoyed 

more than simple name recognition. In that year 

the Korean government designated the book 

Korea’s National Treasure No. 1,085, endowing 

the book, if belatedly, with the official status it 

deserves. 

The original copy from the 17th century is 

currently under the care of two different organizations: 

the National Library of Korea and the 

The Donguibogam not only outlines the 

most advanced Eastern medical 

techniques of the time, it also showcases 

plans for a Korean public health system. 

Academy of Korean Studies. 

The content of the book is easy to understand, 

and sometimes quite specific. 

One section on internal diseases reads, 

“When people undergo significant emotional 

trauma, they may experience weakened heart, 

nausea and anxiety. If those symptoms continue 

for a long time, they could develop into amnesia. 

To cure amnesia, one should prescribe insingwisadan, 

which is made of cow’s gall bladder.” 

Another chapter, on somatology, suggests an 

affordable cure for stiffness of the neck. 

“Stiffness of the neck, front or back, is often 

caused by humidity in the body. A Chinese 

quince is effective when you cannot move your 

neck due to tensed muscles,” it reads. 

Discussions of folk remedies also abound in 

the volumes. “Inducing vomiting is one of the 

oldest medical practices. Renowned doctors 

from long ago have used it, along with inducing 

sweating and diarrhea. For patients in the early 

stages of disease, one should induce vomiting. 

But for patients in advanced stages of disease or 

for those who are old, weak and frail, do not 

induce vomiting.” 

Along with the Donguibogam, the United 

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 

Organization added 34 pieces of documentary 

heritage to its list in the ninth meeting of the 

UNESCO International Advisory Committee in 

Bridgetown, Barbados, held from July 29 to 31. 

The documents honored include Anne 

Frank’s diaries from the Netherlands, the Magna 

Carta from Britain and the Song of the Nibelungs 

from Germany, a heroic poem from mediaeval 

Europe and the basis for the famous operatic 

cycle by Richard Wagner. 

UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register 

seeks to preserve documents and library 

collections from around the world. Its 

International Advisory Committee meets 

every two years to assess nominations. 

Other selections on the list include the 

Vienna City Library’s Schubert collection, 

the manuscripts and correspondence of 

Hans Christian Andersen from Denmark 

and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The latest 

additions bring the total registered on the 

Memory of the World Register to 193 pieces or 

collections from 83 countries. 

According to officials at the Korean National 

Commission for UNESCO, “UNESCO showed 

its high regard for the Donguibogam as the compilation 

of all medical philosophies and treatments 

in East Asia at the time, mostly in China.” 

Along with the Ministry for Health, Welfare 

and Family Affairs; the Cultural Heritage Administration, 

and oriental medicine experts, the 

Korean National Commission for UNESCO has 

worked since 2007 to promote the medical book 

for inclusion on the esteemed list. 

The Donguibogam contains information 

broken up into five categories: internal diseases, 

external diseases and somatology, miscellaneous 

diseases in gynecology and pediatrics, medicinal 

decoction (extracting chemicals from mostly 

plants through boiling) and acupuncture. 

Officials at the Korean National Commission 

for UNESCO also noted that the UN agency 

praised the Donguibogam for “reflecting the 

state’s determination to document the principles 

of preventive medicine and establish a public 

health care system, ideas that in 1613 were centuries 

ahead of their time.” 

It’s true: The publication of the Donguibogam 

was a state-sponsored project — in fact quite 

a costly and drawn-out one. 


It was King Seonjo (1552-1608), 

Joseon’s 14th monarch, who ordered 

Heo Jun (1539-1615) to write the 

book. The death of people around 

the king, including his own children, 

to infectious diseases incurable 

at the time drove him to pursue 

solutions, so Seonjo collected a 

group of intellectuals to work for 

Heo, in what would be today’s version 

of a government committee or 

task force. 

According to historical records, 

their work consumed a great deal of 

time, materials and money even by 

today’s standards. 

The compilation alone took 

more than 10 years. Three more 

years were needed to engrave the 

text on wood blocks and print it for 

mass distribution. Experts estimate 

the work would’ve cost tens of billions 

of won, or tens of millions of 

dollars, in today’s money. 

Though King Sejong the Great 

(1397-1450) had introduced a 

unique Korean writing system, 

Hangeul, around 1443, Chinese 

characters still dominated Korean academia and 

literature, and Heo wrote Donguibogam in that 

alphabet, known here as hanmun. 

Yet three of the 25 volumes in the Donguibogam 

were translated into Hangul, a process 

that experts believe took place in the mid-19th 

century judging from the books’ grammatical 

characteristics. In fact, there seems to have been 

an effort to translate all 25 parts into Korean, but 

for some reason the project was never completed. 

These three Hangeul tomes are now historical 

artifacts in their own right, kept at the Academy 

of Korean Studies. 

But the addition of the Donguibogam to the 

UNESCO register was not without controversy. 

Choi Yeong-ho, an official with the Welfare 

Ministry who attended the IAC meeting in Barbados, 

said China was watching the process 

closely. He even said there was a possibility that 

country might raise objections about the sources 

From top, an 18thcentury 

edition of the 

Donguibogam from 

Japan; a 20th century 

version from China, 

and a 19th-century 

edition in the Korean 

langauge 


[YONHAP]

[JoongAng Ilbo] 

Although Heo Jun 

used Chinese medical 

books as reference, 

he modified the 

prescription and 

medicinal ingredients 

to befit Koreans’ 

physical constitution 

and local climate. 

behind the book, or claim larger ownership of 

Eastern medical principles and practices. 

After all, the Donguibogam was a compilation 

of the traditional medical philosophies and 

treatments in all of East Asia at the time, and 

these particularly prospered in China. In fact, 

the Korean encyclopedia used some 80 Chinese 

medical books as references. 

An official with the Korean National Commission 

for UNESCO also said that most of the 

work to add the Donguibogam to the UNESCO 

list were done in a low-key manner so as to avoid 

any confrontations with China. 

Park Seok-jun, the director of the Eastern 

Medicine Science Research Institute, argues that 

although Heo Jun did use Chinese medical books 

as sources, his work was certainly original to 

some extent, and that the prescriptions and 

medicinal ingredients were 

modified to fit the local climate 

and the physical constitution of 

Koreans. 

Also, over the centuries the 

Donguibogam has been a 

steady seller in neighboring 

countries like China and Japan, 

republished on numerous 

occasions in those countries — 

further testament to its value. 

While China and Korea 

argued over who could claim to 

have originated the techniques 

in the book, another controversy 

erupted around the validity 

of those techniques themselves. 

Oriental and Western 

medicine have conflicted for 

decades, of course, and shortly 

after the Donguibogam’s 

inscription to the UNESCO 

list, the Korean Medical Association 

released a statement 

that the registration did not 

mean that the world had 

acknowledged Oriental medicine 

as scientific. The listing 

recognizes the book as part of 

Korea’s documentary heritage, 

not for its scientific value. 

The association cited the inclusion in the 

book of what it calls “nonsensical medical practices” 

like “becoming invisible,” “how to see 

ghosts,” and “how to change a fetus from a girl to 

a boy.” 

Kim Nam-il, an Oriental medicine professor 

at Kyung Hee University, called for those odd 

sections to be understood in a cultural context 

and not a medical one. He responded that it was 

unlikely that Heo actually believed in those 

methods, instead including them in an effort to 

give hope to desperate patients. Of course, such 

an assertion is hard to prove. 

Regardless of UNESCO’s intentions, the listing 

of the Donguibogam has boosted efforts by 

the Korean government and local businesses to 

promote Korea’s traditional medicine. 

In 2006, the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine 

set up a committee to commemorate the 

upcoming 400th anniversary of the Donguibogam, 

and has been working on translating the 

text of the ancient medical book into English. 

“Work on the English translation is about 25 

percent done. We cannot be sure when it will be 

completed, though,” said Kim Seung-eon, a 

member of the committee. “We are also uncertain 

as to how we will introduce the Englishlanguage 

Donguibogam to the world — whether 

in publication, on the Web or in some other 

medium. In that sense we have a lot of work 

ahead of us.” 

Come 2013, when the anniversary arrives, 

the committee will also host the inaugural International 

Oriental Medicine Expo. The National 

Library of Korea, meanwhile, says it will hold a 

special exhibition on the Dong-uibogam in September 

along with some academic forums. 

UNESCO has accepted seven Korean treasures 

onto its Memory of the World Register. 

They include the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, 

the Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty, and 

the woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana. 

The country has the sixth-highest number of 

items on the list in the world, and the most in 

Asia. Germany has the most items on the register 

overall, followed by Austria and Russia. 

By Kim Hyung-eun 

A Joseon Doctor 

Braving War and 

Exile 

Heo Jun is perhaps the most well-known 

doctor in all of Korean history. 

The story of his life is dramatic — particularly 

the time and energy he expended authoring 

the Donguibogam, deemed his biggest achievement. 

The drama surrounding it has often been 

the inspiration for novels and television shows. 

(Of course, these adaptations often ratchet up 

the conflict for entertainment’s sake.) 

Heo was born in 1539 in Yangcheon County, 

Gyeonggi Province — today Deungchon-dong, 

western Seoul. His father, Heo Ron, was a military 

officer working for the government. His 

mother, a concubine known only as Kim, came 

from Yeonggwang, a county in South Jeolla. 

During the Joseon Dynasty, children of concubines 

were often ostracized, experiencing discrimination 

in everyday life and seeing their 

career choices sharply limited. Heo Jun was 

probably no exception — part of what makes his 

life story so appealing to people today. 

The genealogical records of the Heo family 

indicates that Heo Jun passed the state medical 

exam in 1574, although it’s uncertain when and 

how he became interested in that field. Heo 

became a doctor at the royal court some time 

after. Yu Hee-chun (1513-1577), a prominent 

scholar of the mid-Joseon era, recommended 

Heo to the government, records show. 


Heo Jun is one of the most renowned 

doctors in Korean history. 

Along with other royal doctors, Heo was in 

charge of the health and well-being of King 

Seonjo, and it seems he did his job well. In 1592, 

when the Japanese invaded, beginning the Imjin 

War, Seonjo took refuge in Uiju, in today’s North 

Korea, Heo stayed right beside the king, caring 

for him. In 1596, Heo cured Seonjo’s son, Gwanghaegun 

(1608-1623), of some kind of illness. The 

Annals of the Joseon Dynasty record that Heo was 

rewarded several times for these feats. 

Heo had certainly earned the king’s trust. In 

1596, Seonjo ordered Heo to author an extensive 

collection of medical books, vowing his full support. 

But the work was delayed as the Imjin War 

dragged on, and all seemed lost when Seonjo 

died and Heo was exiled as a result. 

In the novel Donguibogam, Lee Eun-seong 

writes that Heo’s mentor was a man named Yu 

Ui-tae. The part people remember most about 

this novel is how Yu later gets cancer and makes 

Heo conduct an autopsy of his body after death, 

in what the novel posits as one of Korea’s first. 

Although this would be quite striking if it 

were true, historians say that Yu is a fictitious 

character and that the author seems to have used 

Yu I-tae, also a prominent royal doctor of Joseon, 

as the inspiration for him. The actual Yu is known 

to have lived some time between the 17th and 

18th centuries, decades after Heo died. 


[JoongAng Ilbo]

Provided by Cultural Heritage Administration 

Of Ancient 

Gods and 

Governments 

In addition to Donguibogam: Principles and Practice of 

Eastern Medicine, which was added to UNESCO’s Memory of 

the World Register on July 31, there are six other pieces of 

Korean heritage honored by the organization. They are: the 

wood blocks of the Tripitaka Koreana and miscellaneous Buddhist 

scriptures (2007); Uigwe: The Royal Protocols of the Joseon 

Dynasty (2007); the second volume of Baegun hwasang chorok 

buljo jikji simche yojeol or The Anthology of Great Buddhist 

Priests’ Zen Teachings (2001); Seungjeongwon Ilgi, or The Diaries 

of the Royal Secretariat (2001); The Annals of the Joseon 

Dynasty (1997); and the manuscript of the Hunmin Chongum 

(1997). 


The Hunminjeongeum Manuscript 

This manuscript, published in 1446, first promulgated 

the Korean alphabet, Hangul, 

devised during the reign of King Sejong 

(1418-1450), the fourth king of the Joseon 

Dynasty (1392-1910), and completed in 1443. It was 

inscribed on the Memory of the World Register by 

UNESCO in 1997. 

The name Hangeul, a combination of han, meaning 

“the Korean people,” and geul, meaning “letters,” 

was given to the alphabet only in the early 20th century. 

The creator, King Sejong, was concerned that 

Chinese characters, which were widely used by Koreans 

at the time, were too difficult to learn. After all, 

they were designed to fit Chinese, a language completely 

different structurally from Korean. 

“Hunmin jeongeum” means “proper sounds to 

instruct the people.” The version in this book consists 

of 28 letters, but today’s Hangeul has 24. The king 

hoped, in creating it, to develop an orthography that 

perfectly represented the Korean language. 

King Sejong himself wrote a preface clarifying the 

origin and purpose of the new alphabet and giving 

brief examples and explanations of each of its letters, 

while he had the scholars at the Jiphyeonjeon, or “Hall 

of Worthies,” give detailed explanations and examples. 

The exact date of the publication of the Hunminjeongum 

is not clear. But in the annals of King Sejong, 

it is noted that the book was published in the ninth 

lunar month of 1446. This date was later converted to 

the solar date Oct. 9 and designated Hangeul Day. 

Another edition of the Hunminjeongum, which 

contains haerye, or commentaries, published about 

550 years ago, was long thought to have been lost, but 

a copy was found by chance in 1940 in an old house in 

Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, and is presently 

kept at the Gansong Art Museum in Seoul. In 

1958, it was designated a national treasure. 

This book consists of two parts. Part one is the 

main text written by Sejong himself. It contains the 

preface and explains the purpose of the new letters. It 

also presents the 28 letters — 17 consonants and 11 

vowels — and the way they are combined to make up 

Korean syllables. Part two, written by the scholars of 

the Jiphyeonjeon, contains the commentaries. 


By Limb Jae-un


Jikji: Teachings of Korean Buddhism 

Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol 

(Jikji for short) explains the essentials of Zen 

Buddhism. It was compiled by the priest Baegun 

in the late Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). 

The teachings of great priests were carefully selected 

for this book, to allow anyone to learn the core of Zen 

teachings. Jikji originally came in two volumes, but the 

first no longer exists. The second is preserved in the 

National Library of France. An inscription on the last 

page indicates Jikji was printed in July 1377, about 70 years 

earlier than the Gutenberg Bible in Germany. 

While some earlier examples are mentioned in Korean 

history, Jikji is now the world’s oldest existing book printed 

with movable metal type. Partly for this reason, it was 

inscribed on the Memory of the World register in 2001. 

Jikji was printed by Baegun’s students, Seokchan and 

Daldam, under the auspices of Myodeok, a nun, at 

Heungdeok Temple in present-day Cheongju, North 

Chungcheong Province. The tome contains historical 

biographies meant to be studied by student monks after 

they had attained the wisdom necessary to understand the 

essence of Zen, including the Buddha’s sayings from his 

Seungjeongwon Ilgi: The Diaries of the Royal Secretariat 

Seungjeongwon, the Royal Secretariat of the Joseon 

Dynasty (1392-1910), was in charge of not only 

important national events but also simple routine 

ceremonies as well. This office was responsible 

for keeping the Seungjeongwon Ilgi, the Diaries of the 

Royal Secretariat, a detailed record of daily events and 

official court schedules from the Joseon Dynasty’s first 

king, Taejo, to its last, Sunjong. Today 3,243 diaries still 

exist, which may seem like a lot — but it’s a small number 

compared to the number that were originally written. 

As the most extensive historical records kept at the 

time, the diaries from the late 19th century 

and the early 20th century provide 

an invaluable look at 

how Western influence 

first found its way into 

the Joseon Dynasty. 

Many of the diaries 

were destroyed in war and 

fire, or deliberately burned 

by the Japanese, but some of 

these have been restored. 

The diaries offer a look at 

last moments. Literature is also included, and 145 priests 

and monks from India, China and Korea are mentioned. 

The key words of the book’s title, “jikji simche,” were 

derived from the famous phrase, “Jikji insim gyeonseong 

seongbul,” meaning the attainment of an enlightened state 

by direct appeal to the mind. The idea was that when one 

comes to see through Zen what the mind is, then one comes 

to understand that mind to be that of the Buddha. 

By Limb Jae-un 

how old Korea collected historical data and stored state 

secrets, but also served a different purpose — to remind 

their descendants of the importance of preserving Korea’s 

history. The Seungjeongwon Ilgi, usually written by six 

secretaries and two scribes, is a vivid depiction of an Eastern 

monarchy, with its politics, policy making, and power 

structure, while at the same time being unique pieces of 

documentary culture. The size of the Seungjeongwon Ilgi 

is also unprecedented. 

The existence of these diaries is significant because 

they served as the primary source for the Annals of the 

Joseon Dynasty, making its value as great or even greater 

than that of the Annals themselves. It also makes possible 

the accurate comparison of lunar and solar dates, meaning 

it even has scientific and statistical value. The books were 

designated National Treasure No. 393 in 1999 and listed 

on the Memory of the World Register in 2001. 

The original Seungjeongwon Ilgi is housed in the 

Gyujanggak Library at Seoul National University, and 

public viewing is not allowed. But 141 photocopies have 

been compiled by the National History Compilation 

Committee and are available for public reference. 


By Yim Seoung-hye 

The Goryeo Daejanggyeong 

The Goryeo Daejanggyeong, which means 

Goryeo Dynasty Tripitaka, most commonly 

known as the Tripitaka Koreana, is a Korean 

collection of Buddhist scriptures that has existed 

since the 13th century. UNESCO launched the Memory 

of the World Program in 1997, calling for the preservation 

of valuable archival holdings and library collections 

all over the world, and the Tripitaka is undoubtedly one of 

Korea’s most important. 

Tripitaka means “Three Baskets,” and Daejanggyeong 

in Korean refers to a collection of Buddhist scriptures. It 

was commissioned under the Goryeo Dynasty (A.D. 918- 

1392) and consists of 81,258 wooden printing blocks. Currently, 

it can be found at the Haeinsa (Haein Temple) 

monastery in southwestern Korea. 

When Buddhism was first transmitted to East Asia 

through China, its scriptures were translated from various 

Indian and Central Asian languages to classical Chinese. 

Although there were several attempts by numerous countries 

to inscribe them in wooden printing blocks for distribution, 

the Tripitaka Koreana remains the only complete 

canon still extant on the mainland of Asia. In addi- 


Tripitaka Koreana, which consist of 

more than 81,000 wooden printing 

blocks, is kept at Haeinsa Monastry. 

tion to the Tripitaka, there are 5,987 miscellaneous wood 

blocks that were stored at the Haeinsa monastery and were 

presented as supplements to the Tripitaka. 

The woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana possess 

undoubtable cultural value and represent the best available 

printing and publishing techniques of the period. 

They are highly valued for their systematically prepared 

blocks and beautiful inscriptions. The pieces have endured 

for centuries, allowing paper scriptures to be produced 

from them continuously. 

Over many generations, the woodblocks of the Tripitaka 

Koreana were used as an outline of Buddhism itself, 

compiling scriptures, commentaries and history. 

These sacred collections have enabled many scholars 

to carry out extensive research and make new discoveries. 

Even today, Haein Temple prints copies from these 

woodblocks to distribute them whenever the need arises 

for research or education. Accordingly, Haeinsa has 

become the main locus for traditional Buddhist education 

in Korea, a center for the preservation of knowledge and 

scholastic research. By Hyon Mi-kyung 


Provided by Cultural Heritage Administration

Uigwe: The Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty 

During the 500-year Joseon Dynasty (1392- 

1910), Confucian rites and rituals were highly 

regarded. Therefore it was crucial to document 

the specific procedures, protocols, formalities 

and requirements needed to conduct important 

ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and banquets, 

along with the details of the construction of royal buildings 

and tombs as well as the various other cultural activities 

of the royal family. 

This obsession of the Joseon Dynasty with compiling 

records of its accomplishments led to the production of 

the book known as Uigwe, a collection of royal protocols 

that later generations could use as a guide to reproducing 

official ceremonies. 

Selected for the UNESCO Memory of the World list 

in June 2007, Uigwe comprises over 3,895 books uniquely 

categorized by time and theme. The collection is currently 

kept at the Institute of Korean Studies in Seoul National 

University and the Academy of Korean Studies. 

The value of Uigwe has been recognized not only 

among Koreans but also in the wider world because the 

collection made it possible for people to understand the 

changes that took place over time in royal ceremonies and 

allowed for detailed comparisons with other contemporaneous 

East Asian cultures. 

What makes the Uigwe especially valuable is its irreplaceability. 

Most of the volumes were hand-transcribed 

by professionals. Even if the content was the same, each 

copy of the Uigwe is one-of-a-kind. Of course, access to 

the originals is strictly limited. In fact, the general public 

has never been permitted to see the original Uigwe. The 

stack room where the Uigwe is stored is equipped with 

elaborate anti-theft systems and facilities to prevent damage 

in natural disasters. 

But Uigwe has been carefully photographed on microfilm, 

and the public can enjoy free access to these reproductions 

at their convenience through the Web sites of the 

custodian organizations. By Yim Seoung-hye 


This collection covers the over 472-year history 

of the Joseon Dynasty, from the reign of its 

founder King Taejo from 1392-1398 to the 

reign of King Choljong from 1849-1863. 

The annals comprise a whopping 1,893 volumes, and 

are believed to cover a longer period than any other collection 

of records regarding a single dynasty in history. 

The corresponding annals for the Chinese Ming dynasty 

record only 260 years and the reigns of 13 emperors, while 

those for the Qing cover 296 years. 

The Joseon collection is also one of the most exhaustive 

in the world. 

The Great Authentic Annals of Vietnam, recording the 

history of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), consists of 

548 books. At 2,964 volumes, the Ming Dynasty annals 

surpass the Joseon’s in number, but each volume is thinner, 

and where the former has 16 million characters, the 

latter has 64 million. The Annals of the Great Qing Dynasty 

are composed of 4,404 books and make up the world’s 


largest historical 

document in numbers 

of volumes, 

but it includes the 

same content in 

three different languages:Manchurian, 

Chinese and The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty was 

Mongolian. The kept at four libraries in different places 

Japanese Sandai for safety reasons. One, pictured above, 

Jitsuroku is small 

in comparison. 

was at Mount Odae. 

To broaden public access to the annals, the Korean 

government had them translated into Korean from the 

original Chinese. After 26 years of effort, the Korean edition 

was completed in 1993. A CD-ROM version was 

made in 1995, and this work has rapidly popularized the 

annals in Korea as well as in the broader global scholarly 

community. By Limb Jae-un 



[JoongAng Ilbo]

This aerial view of the Sinsi Island floodgate 

and the Saemangeum tidal embankment was 

taken Aug. 10 from a helicopter. 

[NEWSIS] 

News in Focus 

Turning a Notorious Debacle 

into Hope for the Future 

The Lee Myung-bak administration 

has finalized an ambitious 

development plan for the Saemangeum 

reclamation site 

along the nation’s southwestern coast, 

shifting the direction of land use from 

agriculture to a wide range of industrial, 

ecological and tourist programs with an 

aim to build a world-class waterfront 

city. 

In a meeting hosted by Prime Minister 

Han Seung-soo on July 23, the government 

adopted a new master plan for 

the project, which has been plagued by 

budget and environmental problems for 

years. 

Construction began at Saemangeum 

in 1991, aimed at building a 33-kilometer 

(20.5-mile) embankment to form a tidal 

flat of 28,300 hectares (69,930 acres) and 

a reservoir of 11,800 hectares, but the fate 

of the site was left up in the air after fierce 

protests by environmentalists. After 

more than four-and-a-half years of court 

battles, the Supreme Court ruled in 2006 

that the government could continue the 

multi-trillion-won (multi-billion-dollar) 

project. 

“Saemangeum is a development program 

on an enormous scale that requires 

50-year and 100-year plans,” said Kwon 

Tae-shin at the Prime Minister’s Office. 

“We will begin with building a worldclass 

city and further details will be finalized 

before the end of this year by listening 

to experts at home and abroad and 

collecting public opinion.” 

According to the government, the 

master plan includes eight multipurpose 

development programs, including construction 

of a new city. Although the initial 

plan called for the use of 70 percent 

of the 28,300 hectares for farming, the 

The Lee administration 

has 

plans to transform 

the Saemangeumproject, 

dogged by 

delays and 

budget overruns, 

into a 

Jeolla renaissance 

Lee administration has reduced that amount to just 30 

percent. 

The government said 23.8 percent of the Saemangeum 

land, near the center of the site, will be developed 

into a new world-class city based on the examples of 

waterfront cities such as Amsterdam and Venice. 

The administration now hopes to finalize a design 

for the city, which will be developed as a tourist, international 

business and foreign investment hub, before 

the end of this year. 

According to the Saemangeum Project Office, three 

designs are currently being considered, and the completion 

of the new city is scheduled for 2020. 

The three alternatives were presented by the Lee 

administration in July. The first design, titled “Sha-Ring 

City,” involves three urban blocs radiating out from a 

lake at the center, symbolizing Korea’s white porcelain 

and clean water, the government explained. The three 

blocks will each have distinct functions. 

The second alternative is the “Full Moon City.” The 

Lee administration said the design was meant to reflect 

Saemangeum’s transformation, just like the changing 

shape of the moon from a crescent to a shining orb. The 

outer part of the city will be designed to resemble the 

former shape, while the inner part of the city will be 

based on the patterns of Korea’s traditional window 

frames. The master plan also looks similar to a semiconductor 

wafer, one of Korea’s key export products. 

The third design, “Delta City,” takes into account the 

existing underwater terrain. With a lower-depth area to 

be located at the center, this city would look like a group 

of islets. A development axis would be created to connect 

the city to the sea, the government said, in order to 

strengthen the connection between the two and foster 

growth. 

“We will survey experts at home and abroad about 

their opinions on the three design alternatives. We will 

also hold public discussions and symposiums to collect 

opinions to modify the designs before making a final 

decision,” the Lee administration said in a press 

release. 

With a plan to build a waterfront city, the government 

decided that the water quality at the site should be 

18 korea September 2009 

September 2009 korea 19


Top to bottom, the design of the “Sha-Ring City,” the design 

of the “Full Moon City” and the design of the “Delta City” 

improved. Initially the plan called for agricultural water, but 

now Lee hopes to produce water suitable for tourism, leisure 

and residential buildings. The specifics of the water quality 

project will be finalized by the end of this year, the Saemangeum 

Project Office said. 

The Environmental Ministry will take the lead in ironing 

out the specifics, according to the office, in order to ensure the 

ecological preservation of the site. 

Under the new blueprint, 3,900 hectares will be used for 

industrial facilities while another 2,490 hectares will be used 

for tourism and leisure programs. The administration said 

5,950 hectares of land will be used for ecological parkland, and 

science and research facilities will be built on another 2,300 

hectares. 

The master plan also calls for an international business 

hub and the construction of the new city. Another 2,030 hectares 

of land will be used for an energy recycling project. 

With five key construction projects, the government finally 

hopes to resolve the nation’s concerns about the slow progress 

at Saemangeum. 

Reclamation of 100 hectares to begin development of the 

new city — called the “Gateway Project” — is the top priority. 

The government said it will come up with plans to attract 

investment and begin reclamation as soon as possible. 

The second project is the development of multi-purpose 

land near the tidal embankment. Reclamation of the 200 hectares 

along the embankment will be finished before the end of 

this year, and the government will raise the level of the roads 

along another embankment by 2010 in order to spur development 

in the region. 

Using a budget of 698.8 billion won ($561 million), the 

government will finish developing the 200 hectares first as a 

tourist venue, with construction to be completed next year. 

Ground will be broken on a 8.77-kilometer bridge linking 

the islands off Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, to Saemangeum 

will take place this year. The bridge will cost 257.6 billion 

won. 

The Lee administration also pledged to complete a survey 

before the end of this year to assess the amount of soil needed 

for the reclamation project and come up with a financially 

efficient plan. 

The fourth of the key tasks will be the construction of 

flood control embankments, and last, but not least, comes the 

preparation of a 10-year plan to improve the Mangyeong and 

Dongjin rivers and begin a water management program starting 

in 2011. 

The government said it will prepare a new public affairs 

strategy to promote the Saemangeum project to the world and 

attract foreign investment. An international symposium and 

promotion of the project in global media are being considered. 

The Lee administration pledged that the development 

program will be environmentally friendly. Under the nation’s 

strategy of low-carbon green growth, environmentally friendly 

transportation systems and renewable energy will be used 

to build this new city, the government said. By Ser Myo-ja 

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took the 64th 

anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule on 

Aug. 15 as an opportunity to urge North Korea to forsake 

its nuclear ambitions, proposing the two Koreas 

resume nuclear dialogue. He pledged various incentives if the 

North does so. 

“Nuclear weapons only aggravate the North’s future, instead 

of promising the country’s safety,” he said in an address at the 

annual ceremony held at the Sejong Arts Center near Gwanghwamun, 

central Seoul. “I hope North Korea will find ways to 

protect itself and bring prosperity to both the North and the 

South. If North Korea shows such resolution, the South Korean 

government will proceed with a new peace plan for the Korean 

Peninsula.” 

The president said such a program could involve international 

efforts to help North Korea’s economy develop and “dramatically 

improve” living standards. 

Lee carefully emphasized, however, that such incentives 

would be offered only if the North stops pursuing a nuclear program. 

The president’s remarks came at a time when there have 

been glimmers of hope for improved inter-Korean relations, 

which had been stalled since nuclear and missile tests by the 

North. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton made a trip to the 

North recently and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 

a successful bid to free two U.S. journalists. 

President Lee also presented proposals on domestic affairs in 

the speech. He said the government plans to reform the election 

system and administrative programs to root out long-standing 

News in Focus 

President Lee Myung-bak 

delivered his Liberation Day 

speech Aug. 15 at the Sejong 

Arts Center in central 

Seoul. 

Lee hopes for thaw with North 

President also pledges to end regionalism, corruption in annual speech 

regionalism, referring to the emotional feuds between people 

from the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces, and Koreans’ tendency 

to favor those who share their geographical origins. 

“At the root of Korea’s unproductive politics is regionalism,” 

Lee said, “Under the current electoral system, you can’t get away 

from regionalism. The old administrative districts that were 

formed more than 100 years ago are intensifying regionalism and 

hindering effective regional development.” 

He said that the National Assembly session next month will 

discuss the details, adding that the government intends to expedite 

reform by giving support to districts that decide to consolidate. 

Lee also emphasized “clean politics.” 

“I believe the key to making our politics meet world standards 

is in making them more transparent and productive. It is 

true that transparency has increased in this field throughout the 

years. But we still have a long way to go,” he said. 

Lee said he was the first Korean presidential candidate ever 

to receive no illegal money from corporations, ending the vicious 

cycle that had dominated Korean politics, and he again pledged 

that he would never take any illegal funds. The president also 

promised not to tolerate any special favors for his relatives, and 

to make sure that this pledge is carried out by reinforcing the 

supervisory system. 

“Special attention will be given to eradicating corruption that 

involves abuses of power and corruptive practices that have been 

established as the norm in certain regions,” the president said. 

By Seo Ji-eun 


[NEWSIS]

A man whose 

name meant 

‘democracy’ 

Dignitaries come from across Korea 

and the world to pay their respects 

after death of President Kim Dae-jung 

(1924-2009) 

A 

solemn Korea bid farewell to the 

late President Kim Dae-jung in 

a state funeral service on Aug. 

23, remembering a champion of 

democracy and peace. 

Kim passed away Aug. 18 at age 85 due 

to complications from pneumonia. He 

served as president from 1998 to 2003. It 

was only the second state funeral in Korean 

history. Former President Park Chung Hee 

was accorded the first state service in 1979, 

when he was assassinated while in office. 

The service for Kim took place at the 

National Assembly in western Seoul, the 

same place where he was sworn in as president 

11 years ago. About 24,000 political 

figures and friends and relatives of Kim 

endured the summer heat to pay respects to 

the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize winner. 

The hearse entered the parliamentary 

Top, mourners line the procession route as the funeral 

cortege of the late former President Kim Dae-jung reaches 

Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall in downtown Seoul on Aug. 

23, following rites at the national Assembly in Yeouido, 

western Seoul. Above, a portrait of the former president 

pays tribute to his memory. 


[KPPA] 

[NEWSIS] 

Obituary 

building about five minutes before the service began at 2 p.m. Following 

the national anthem and a moment of silence, a personal history 

of Kim was recited. Then Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, head of the 

committee organizing the funeral, delivered the memorial address. 

In his speech, Han called Kim “one of the greatest leaders in modern 

Korean history, recognized both here and in the international 

community. 

“President Kim dedicated his whole life to realizing democracy, 

peace and the reconciliation of the people,” Han said. “We should 

honor his last wishes and strive to overcome differences in regions, 

ideologies and generations.” 

In an emotional eulogy, Park Young-sook, a political contemporary 

of Kim’s, called the name Kim Dae-jung “synonymous with 

democracy” and said the former president left a lasting legacy with his 

pursuit of forgiveness and reconciliation. 

After the funeral rites and the playing of a video clip looking back 

on Kim’s life and career, Lee Hee-ho, the former first lady, stepped 

toward Kim’s portrait. She was joined by the other surviving members 

of the family in laying down flowers. 

President Lee Myung-bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok were next 

to pay their respects. Former presidents Chun Doo Hwan and Kim 

Young-sam and the former first lady Kwon Yang-sook, widow of the 

deceased former President Roh Moo-hyun, also took their turns honoring 

Kim Dae-jung. 

A children’s choir sang “Our Wish,” a Korean song about praying 

for peaceful reunification of the Koreas. It was a favorite of Kim’s, and 

during the historic summit between him and Kim Jong-il in 2000, 

officials from the two Koreas held hands and sang it at dinner. 

Kim’s political contemporaries from South Korea’s allies extended 

their condolences on the day of the funeral. Madeleine Albright, who 

was the U.S. Secretary of State during Kim’s tenure, arrived in Korea 

the evening before the funeral and attended it. Joining Albright were 

Yohei Kono, Japanese foreign minister during the Kim administration, 

and Tang Jiaxuan, China’s foreign minister from 1998 to 2003. 

Soldiers fired their rifles in a salute to signal the end of the service, 

and the hearse left the National Assembly and headed for Kim’s former 

residence in Donggyo-dong, western Seoul. The choir from Kim’s 

Catholic parish met the procession as it reached the home. 

The hearse then moved through the streets of Gwanghwamun and 

reached the plaza at Seoul City Hall, where hundreds of citizens and 

Democratic Party officials had taken part in separate rites to remember 

Kim. The procession reached its final destination, the Seoul 

National Cemetery in Dongjak-dong, southern Seoul, at 4:50 p.m. 

Kim was buried in a plot near tombs of two other former presidents, 

Syngman Rhee and Park Chung Hee as more rites were conducted 

with family members and close political aides. 

In the days leading up to the funeral, the organizers had said they 

would not allow street rites, or noje, so that Kim would be honored in 

a respectful manner. Lee Hee-ho, the former first lady, also asked for 

a modest ceremony. 

On the day of the funeral, the North Korean delegation that had 

visited Seoul to pay their respects to Kim had a 30-minute meeting 

with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. No details were not 

disclosed, with Cheong Wa Dae saying only that the two sides talked 

of improving relations, but it was the latest sign of a thaw — and perhaps 

a fitting tribute to the deceased president. By Yoo Jee-ho

Trade Agreement Broadens 

Horizon for Korea and India 

If Korea ratifies the Comprehensive Economic Partnership as planned, 

tariffs between the two nations could fall to 1% on average in 10 years 

Korean Trade Minister Kim 

Jong-hoon, second from 

right, and India’s Commerce 

and Industry Minister Anand 

Sharma sign the trade pact 

in Seoul Aug. 7. 

a historic day today,” said Kim 

Jong-hoon, Korea’s Trade Minister, 

on Aug. 7 after signing the 

“It’s 

Korea-India Comprehensive 

Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, 

with his Indian counterpart, Commerce and 

Industry Minister Anand Sharma. 

“Bilateral relations will be further solidified, 

and the CEPA sends signals to the world that 

the two countries are committed to free trade,” 

he said at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 

Trade building in central Seoul, adding that 

Korea will have a chance at access to one-sixth 

of the global market. 

Under the CEPA, which took three years of 

negotiations to finalize, Korea and India will 

eliminate or cut back tariffs on most goods over 

the next 10 years. The pact is similar in essence 

to the free trade agreements Korea has signed 

with the United States and other trading partners, 

but phases out tariffs more slowly. 

The deal is the first of its kind between 

Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, and a 

member of the “BRICs” group of fast-growing 

developing economies comprised of Brazil, 

Russia, India and China. The pact is expected 

to open the Indian market, with a population of 

1.2 billion people, to Korean companies. As of 

last year, India’s GDP totaled $1.2 trillion, making 

it the 12th-biggest economy in the world. 

“Economic ties between the two countries 

have great potential to grow in the future,” Indian 

minister Sharma said, noting that bilateral 

trade may double over the next 10 years. 

“That’s what we will be aiming at,” he said. 

“This is just the beginning.” 

After the accord takes effect — in January 

next year if the National Assembly ratifies it as 

planned — Korea will phase out or reduce tariffs 

on 90 percent of Indian goods over 10 years. 

India will eliminate or cut tariffs on 85 percent 

of Korean goods within the same period. 

Tariffs on Korean auto parts, the nation’s 

biggest trade item, are to be reduced to as low 

as 1 percent over an eight-year period from the 

current average of 12.5 percent. But both sides 

agreed to exclude fish and some agricultural 

products, including dairy, beef, and pork, from 

tariff concessions. 

In the service sector, India agreed to open 

its telecom, accounting, medical and advertising 

markets to Koran companies, while keeping 

Diplomacy 

mining restricted. Korean lenders will also be 

allowed to open branches in India. 

Korea will be able to invest in food processing, 

textiles, garments, chemicals, metals and 

machinery, according to the Foreign Ministry, 

which in the long run will encourage local businesses 

to take a chance on the subcontinent. 

Experts predict that makers of auto components, 

steel and machinery will benefit most 

from the agreement. Korean companies already 

export in large numbers to India, but further 

growth has been stymied by high duties. 

Korean firms sold $1.13 billion in car parts 

to India as of last year, but 12.5 percent was lost 

to tariffs. Under the agreement, those duties 

will decrease to between 1 and 5 percent over 

the next eight years. 

“[The CEPA] provides strong momentum 

to strengthen economic ties between Indian 

and Korean businesses,” said Sohn Kyung-shik, 

chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry, at a luncheon at the Millennium 

Seoul Hilton in downtown Seoul after the trade 

pact was signed. 

“This agreement will provide an institutional 

framework to enhance mutual cooperation 

in trade and investment and new business 

opportunities,” Sohn said, noting Korean 

investment in India has branched out from the 

manufacturing sector into service industries 

such as retail and financial services. 

“Many Korean companies such as Posco 

and Hyundai contributed to India’s economic 

growth. I hope companies of the two countries 

invest more in each other,” commented Sharma 

at the luncheon. Sharma made special note of 

investment in technology and agriculture. 

The agreement is expected to create more 

jobs in Korea in such areas as computer game 

design, IT and even yoga, according to a report 

by Kim Joon-sung, Yonsei University’s career 

center director. 

The report, titled, “The Impact of the 

Korea-India CEPA on the Local Job Market,” 

lists the 10 most-promising jobs in light of the 

agreement: computer game designer, film dealer, 

yoga instructor, auto parts maker, researcher, 

international electronics trader, liquid-crystal 

display engineer, IT consultant, medical clinic 

coordinator in charge of customer service, 

overseas construction bidding broker and 

international food trader. By Lee Eun-joo 


[YONHAP]

Children play in a meadow just outside a day 

care center on the outskirts of Ulaanbataar July 

21, as other children from the center watch with 

a group of Korean volunteers who traveled there 

last month. 

14 Volunteers Go Abroad to Bolster the Human Family 

People say it time and again: To 

be a developed country means 

more than to be wealthy. A 

developed society is one in 

which the spirit of giving and sharing is 

alive and active. 

And today many Korean citizens 

decide to go abroad to volunteer as a 

group. 

One of these, with help from Cooperation 

and Participation In Overseas 

NGOs, or COPION, stayed with orphans 

living in a national daycare center on the 

outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of 

Mongolia, for five days from July 18. 

It was made up of 14 members — 

four mother-daughter pairs, one father 

with his daughter, two sisters and two 

brothers — all from seven different 

ordinary families. 

COPION is a non-governmental 

organization under the auspices of the 

Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 

Trade, which aims to help establish a 

global civil society by regularly dis- 


patching Korean youth and senior volunteers 

to developing countries and 

offering financial assistance to start 

local NGOs there. 

The volunteers took care of and 

played with the orphans. 

“Because of our busy schedules at 

school and work, our family did not 

have much time to share common interests,” 

said Ryu Young-sook, 41, a member 

of the group. “But here my daughter 

and I are able to open our hearts to others 

and strengthen our bond while preparing 

for the volunteer activities.” 

The other families in the group also 

grew closer as they worked to assist the 

abandoned or orphaned children at the 

center. Most of the parents and children 

had already experienced volunteer work 

separately, but it was the first time all 

had gathered together to help out. 

What’s more, the group members 

said their familial foundation made 

them better able to care for the Mongolian 

children with warm hearts. 

On the third day at the center, volunteers 

prepared presents for the 50 

elementary school kids, putting a yellow 

T-shirt, colored paper and crayons on 

each of the 50 desks in the small wooden 

classroom. 

When Jo Kyeong, 41, a public official, 

and Park Ji-hyun, 24, a company 

employee, called all 50 kids to the classroom, 

they raced into the room with 

joy. 

The little ones soon became amateur 

designers, cutting the colored papers 

into shapes, drawing meadows and 

sheep to attach to their shirts. Some 

even drew their favorite soccer players 

on their shirts with the crayons. 

The children showed off their artwork 

to their classmates and their Korean 

helpers. 

The next day, the volunteers arranged 

an outdoor event for the children, dividing 

both the orphans and the volunteers 

into teams of two to compete in a threelegged 

race. Some cheered with loud 

voices, while others fell. But no matter 

who won or lost, everyone seemed to be 

having a good time. 

During snack time, the volunteers 

served the Mongolian children Korean 

food such as bulgogi (marinated beef), 

tteokbokki (sweet and spicy boiled rice 

cakes) and japchae (glass noodles mixed 

with fresh vegetables and sliced meat). 

The NGO members later said they felt 

their hearts ache as they watched the 

children eating so quickly. 

Soon the last day of the trip arrived, 

and the children at the center wept, asking 

the volunteers not to leave. Some of 

the kids even ran after the bus the workers 

rode on their way home. 

The volunteers also burst into tears 

as they waved goodbye to their temporary 

charges. 

But that wasn’t the end for this group 

of 14 kindhearted Koreans. 

When Kim Jeong-hui, 46, and Kwon 

Min-seong, 17, suggested sending books 

and other helpful materials to needy 

children inside Korea, all the members 

agreed. 

A week after the volunteers came 

back to Korea, all 14 gathered again. 

Shim Dong-hyun, 49, a company 

employee who went to Mongolia with 

his 16-year-old daughter, said he was 


impressed that his daughter devoted 

herself even more than he did to the 

children at the center. 

It was a turning point — reminding 

the Koreans of the importance of family, 

and what it means to be deprived of its 

warm embrace. By Lee Min-yong 

A group of Korean volunteers and children from the center pose for a group photo in a 

meadow in front of a day care center. 

September 2009 korea 27 

Provided by COPION

The Korea Electrical Safety Corp. is providing 

safety systems for this floating drill on the 

coast of Africa. 

An Electricity ‘Control Tower’ 

Korea’s power supply infrastructure 

has come a long 

way. It was just few decades 

ago that most households 

had to use candles or oil lamps, but 

today Korea is a fully developed country, 

with a reliable supply of electricity 

to homes and offices. Its safety systems 

have advanced significantly over the 

years as well. 

Now the Korea Electrical Safety 

Corp. is taking a step further, expanding 

into the global market. 


Since Rim In-bae was appointed 

president of the company in October, 

the organization has begun searching 

for a new growth engine. Tossing away 

past bureaucratic customs, the corporation 

has gone on the offense, investing 

in businesses abroad. 

It began providing consultation 

services to evaluate and check electrical 

safety in locations from the Middle 

East to the South Pole. 

The electricity safety consulting 

business is dominated by developed 

countries, since the sector is full of 

large-scale projects that require rigorous 

and thorough work. The opportunity 

to provide these services overseas 

came as the number of international 

orders won by Korean companies has 

increased significantly in recent 

years. 

Late last year the Korea Electrical 

Safety Corp. announced it would 

become a “world-class control tower 

for electrical safety,” utilizing its 34 

years of know-how and a global net- 

Provided by The Korea Electrical Safety Corp 

work that includes 15 major overseas electrical safety 

institutions such as the Fédération Internationale 

pour la Sécurité des Usagers de l’Electricité, or 

FISUEL. 

In the first half of this year the Korean organization’s 

revenue from overseas business amounted to 2 

billion won ($1.6 million). It’s hoping to raise that 

revenue to 3 billion won by the end of this year. 

The Korea Electrical Safety Corp. marks as its 

latest achievement the signing of a technology cooperation 

agreement on electrical safety July 20 with 

Mongolia, which is one of the world’s 10 most 

resource-abundant countries. 

Rim forged the agreement with Mongolian Minister 

for Mineral Resources and Energy Dashdorj 

Zorigt. It calls on the Korea Electrical Safety Corp. 

to provide inspections of major public facilities as 

well as a wide range of consulting services, including 

training Mongolian public servants and cooperating 

on research into electrical fires. 

“Through this agreement Korea’s advanced technology 

in electrical safety will be transferred to 

Mongolia, and we expect Korea to have the advantage 

in the Mongolian market once its outdated electrical 

facilities are replaced,” said Rim at the signing 

ceremony. 

“We will provide safety checkups so that all Mongolians 

enjoy electricity safely,” Rim said. “Also Korea 

will aggressively adopt positive points from Mongolia.” 

He added that the Korea Electrical Safety Corp. 

will not hesitate in providing advanced technologies 

to ensure electrical safety in any country. 

Over three weeks in March, technicians from the 

Korea Electrical Safety Corp. trained 90 electricity 

technicians from VietNam Electricity on safety 

inspections. The Korean company plans to use that 

event to help expand its consulting businesses in 

Southeast Asia, which lags in terms of electrical 

safety. 

The Korea Electrical Safety Corp. also conducted 

inspections of the expansion of the King Sejong Base 

on the South Pole, of the Agbami FPSO drillship 

built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering 

in Nigeria and of the Sohar Aromatics Project in 

Oman. 

The Korean organization not only provides consulting 

services to public companies abroad. It also 

services private companies. Last month the group 

won a safety testing contract with a petrochemical 

plant that is under construction in Qatar jointly with 

ABB Korea. 

The contract is worth 700 million won and is the 

biggest single safety-related project that the Korea 

Electrical Safety Corp. has won. The company will 

Rim was proud 

to sign an 

agreement to 

provide 

inspections of 

Mongolia’s 

power system. 


perform safety tests over a period of 

one year. 

The aggressive changes at the Korea 

Electrical Safety Corp. were largely the 

result of the “one-second” management 

style practiced by the organization’s 

president. 

Rim recently published a book 

about speedy management, in which 

he claims that a company, particularly 

in times of crisis, must act in a split 

second. That means quick management 

decisions must be realized a split 

second faster than rivals, all while 

maximizing services offered to customers. 

By Lee Ho-jeong 

Top, Rim In-bae, head of the KESC, right, holds a memorandum of understanding 

signed with Dashdori Zorigt, minister of minerals and energy of Mongolia. Above, 

KESC engineers check electrical systems on an oil prospecting ship off Angola. 


Hangeul Brings 

New Life to 

Tribal Tongue 

An Indonesian language in danger 

of extinction will adopt the Korean 

alphabet as its writing system 


A 

Korean academic group’s long-held ambitions 

are being realized, as a native minority 

in a small Indonesian city agrees to adopt 

Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, as its written 

language. Some villagers started learning it late last 

month. 

It was the first time that a foreign population had 

designated Hangeul as its official writing system. The 

Cia-Cia tribe has its own spoken language, but the 

absence of an official alphabet has made it difficult for 

them to preserve it, according to the Hunminjeongeum 

Society. 

The society, a private academic group devoted to 

studying Hangul, says the minority tribe with a population 

of 60,000 in Bau-Bau, the main city on Buton Island, 

Sulawesi Province, concluded a memorandum of 

understanding with the society last month to transcribe 

their language into Hangeul. The Korean society originally 

made the offer. 

Starting July 21, 40 elementary school students 

began learning the Korean alphabet from a textbook 

developed by society members for four 

hours a week. The textbook deals with 

the language and culture of the tribe, its 

history and local folk tales of the island. 

The book also includes a traditional 

Korean fairy tale called “The Rabbit.” 

Bau-Bau plans to begin building a 

Korean language center in September 

and train Korean language teachers to 

spread Hangeul across neighboring 

regions. The city government will display 

Hangul and the Roman alphabet together 

on signposts and is considering publishing 

history books and folktales in 

Hangeul. 

Linguists here expressed hope that 

the case will become a stepping stone to 

spread and promote the Korean alphabet 

globally. The Hunmin Jeongeum Society 

had attempted to convince minority 

populations overseas to transcribe their 

Left, an Indonesian teacher instructs children in the Korean alphabet, after it was 

adoped as the official written script of the Cia-Cia tribe. Above, students listen to 

their teacher reading Hangul from a textbook, above right, specially created by a 

Korean society to promote the script. 

language using Hangeul before, but to no 

avail. 

Hunmin jeongeum, made up of four 

Chinese letters meaning “correct sounds 

to instruct the people,” refers to the first 

instruction book on Hangeul, published 

in 1446 by King Sejong the Great. The 

king was the creator of Hangeul characters. 

“Successful adoption of Hangeul 

among Bau-Bau residents over the next 

five years will determine whether our 

Hangeul globalization project can prosper 

in other regions in the world,” said 

Kim Ju-won, a society member and a 

professor of linguistics at Seoul National 

University. 

According to the Summer Institute of 

Linguistics International, there are 6,912 

languages currently in use, 2,500 of which 

lack an alphabet. King Sejong intended 


to create a new language to differentiate 

Korean from Chinese. 

Writing Chinese characters was considered 

difficult for the common people 

during the Joseon Dynasty in that only 

privileged aristocrats — normally male 

— could read and write fluently. The 

majority of Koreans were effectively illiterate 

before the invention of Hangeul, 

according to historians. Organized into 

syllabic blocks, each consists of two or 

more of the 24 Hangeul letters, which 

represent 14 consonants and 10 vowels. 

These blocks take on the shape of how 

each is pronounced, and can be arranged 

both horizontally and vertically. 

The relatively simple and flexible 

structure of Hangeul makes the alphabet 

easy to learn. Thanks in part to this efficient 

writing system, the illiteracy rate in 

Korea is near zero. By Seo Ji-eun 


[YONHAP]


Global Praise for Eco-Korea 

Cheonggyecheon, four rivers win admiration of New York Times, others 

The Lee Myung-bak administration’s “low-carbon 

green growth” policies and several related projects 

are attracting the attention of foreign media. 

The New York Times spotlighted the Cheonggyecheon 

restoration project in a July 17 article titled “Peeling 

Back Pavement to Expose Watery Havens.” The project was 

conducted between 2005 and 2007 under the leadership of 

Lee, who was the mayor of Seoul at that time. 

The project turned the stream, which had been polluted, 

then paved over and forgotten in the postwar era, once again 

into a verdant and refreshing place to stroll and gather. 

“The restoration of Cheonggyecheon is part of expanding 

environmental efforts in cities around the world to ‘daylight’ 

rivers and streams by peeling back pavement that was built to 

bolster commerce and serve automobile traffic decades ago,” 

the article said, pointing out that residents’ groups and some 

elected officials in Los Angeles are looking anew at buried or 

concrete-lined creeks, “inspired partly by Seoul’s example.” 

The open watercourses are intended to handle heavy rain 

better than buried sewers and cool off areas overheated by 

sun-baked asphalt, luring wildlife and pedestrians. According 

to the article, the stream has achieved many of its goals. 

A new analysis by researchers at the University of California, 

Berkeley, found that replacing a highway in Seoul with a 

walkable greenway caused nearby homes to sell at a premium 

Cheonggyecheon in central Seoul 

was crowded with people who came 

there to cool off on a hot summer 

Sunday in early August. Several 

foreign media including New York 

Times carried articles introducing 

the stream restoration project as a 

representative green policy of Korea 

in June and July articles. 

after years of going for bargain prices in comparison with 

outlying properties, it said. 

“Efforts to recover urban waterways are nonetheless 

fraught with challenges, like convincing local business owners 

wedded to existing streetscapes that economic benefits can 

come from a green makeover,” the article said. “Yet today the 

visitors to the Cheonggyecheon’s banks include merchants 

from some of the thousands of nearby shops who were among 

the project’s biggest opponents early on.” 

Le Figaro, a leading French newspaper, wrote in a July 8 

article about green growth policies that the Korean government 

is trying to find opportunities from the current economic 

crisis through its “ambitious” Green New Deal. 

Meanwhile El Mundo, the second-largest daily newspaper 

in Spain, wrote July 5 that Korea has already shown its ability 

and will to tackle challenges through various forest restoration 

projects and Cheonggyecheon’s recovery. The newspaper 

also carried details of a speech by President Lee. 

The Asahi Shimbun of Tokyo wrote in a column that it 

hopes that Korea and Japan will be well-intentioned rivals in 

green growth and in overcoming the economic crisis. 

Singapore’s Strait Times and Russia’s Rossiiskaya Gazeta 

newspaper also carried articles about Cheonggyecheon, the 

four-river refurbishment project and Korea’s green growth 

Green Growth 

Panel Discusses Green Policy 

Since President Lee Myung-bak 

was sworn into office, he has 

emphasized the importance of 

the government’s vision for 

“low-carbon green growth.” 

“Green growth” refers to sustainable 

growth that not only helps reduce greenhouse 

gas emissions and pollution, but 

also creates new growth engines and 

jobs in technology R&D and energy. 

Government officials describe 

“green technology” as a combination of 

IT, communications, biotechnology, 

nanotechnology and culture, transcending 

them all. 

This trend was even on display at the 

Korean Political Science Association’s 

World Congress for Korean Politics and 

Society 2009 at COEX in southern Seoul 

from August 20 to 22. 

The main theme for the Congress 

was “Korea at the Crossroads,” and over 

500 local and international experts in 

political science, public administration 

and the other social sciences attended. 

A panel titled “The Environment, 

Energy and Green Growth in Korea” 

was held on Aug. 21 at the congress. 

At the panel, Yoo Beom-sik, an official 

on the Presidential Committee on 

Green Growth, praised the government’s 

green growth policies, while 

Matteo Fumagalli, a professor at Central 

European University in Budapest, Hungary, 

shared his thesis, “Middle Powers 

and the International System: South 

Korea’s Quest for Energy Security and 

Regional Competition in Central Eurasia.” 

Choi Hyun-sun, professor at the 

University of North Florida, gave his 

views on climate change with his thesis, 

“Integrating Green Growth and Economic 

Development: Korea’s Climate 

Change Adaptation as Top-Down 

Approach.” Choi explained how economic 

development and an environment-friendly 

approach can be integrated 

as an economic strategy. 

Heike Hermanns, a professor at 

Seoul’s Inha University, also presented 

his thesis, titled “South Korea: An Early 

Mover in Environmental Policies?” 

Hermanns’ thesis read, “Some of 

Lee’s plans focus on projects involving 

the construction industry (e.g. new 

nuclear power plants, river renewal 

projects), leading critics to surmise that 

‘green renewal’ is just a strategy to overcome 

the current economic crisis rather 

than revealing environmental concerns.” 

He asserted Korea has been slow in 

embracing international efforts to 

address global climate change, citing the 

fact that though Korean has signed the 

Kyoto Protocol, it is not obliged to cut 

greenhouse emissions at present as it is 

categorized as a Non-Annex 1, or developing, 

member. 

As Korea is not an “early mover,” 

Hermanns urged the country to respond 

more quickly on green issues as a way to 

boost its international profile. 

By Kim Mi-ju 

The World Congress for Korean 

Politics and Society 2009, held by the 

Korean Political Science Association, 

met from August 20 to 22. 

vision in their June issues. By Koh So-young Provided by KPSA 

32 korea Sptember September 2009 September 2009 korea 33

Green Growth 

UN Honors Green Strategy 

International conference on green industry will come to Seoul in 2010 

Korea’s green growth strategies have added environmentalist 

credentials to the international 

respect the country gained for its miraculous 

economic growth, and it was honored by the 

United Nations for these efforts last month. 

The United Nations Environment Program has selected 

Korea as the next venue for an important international 

conference on the environment, the B4E Global Summit. 

On Aug. 20, Achim Steiner, executive director of the program 

and a UN undersecretary general, signed a memorandum 

of understanding with Korea’s Environment Minister 

Lee Maan-ee finalizing Korea’s hosting of the meeting 

in 2010. 

The B4E, or Business for Environment Global Summit, 

is a gathering of leaders from businesses, governments and 

civic groups across the 

world to discuss ways to 

make industry sustainable 

and environmentfriendly. 

The annual 

conference will be in its 

fourth year in 2010, and 

will be held in Seoul 

April 22-23. 

“The country is considered 

as one of the 

leading proponents of 

the Global Green New 

Economy, making it a 

very relevant host for 

these two UNEP events,” 

the UNEP wrote in a 

statement announcing 

the decision. Seoul will 

also host the ceremony 

for the Champions of 

the Earth Award, which 

recognizes environmental 

leaders and is held 

together with the B4E 

Summit. 

Starting late last year, 

the Lee Myung-bak 

administration has gram Executive Director Achim Steiner in Seoul. 

announced a series of measures to support a low-carbon, 

resource-efficient industrial base including the 50 trillion 

won ($40 billion) Green New Deal. These measures were 

combined in July as the 107 trillion won “Green Growth 

National Strategy” along with a pledge that the government 

would implement it over the next five years. That 

sum is roughly equivalent to around 2 percent of Korea’s 

GDP over those years, the government said. 

In an interview with the JoongAng Daily in May, UNEP 

executive director Steiner applauded Korea’s efforts and 

called it an example for the world to follow, a tone he kept 

in his visit to Seoul last month. 

“The Republic of Korea’s strategy cuts across a wide 

swath of sustainability challenges from renewable energy 

and waste to transport, freshwaters and forestry,” Steiner 

said while participating 

in the MOU ceremony 

with the environment 

ministry. The strategy, 

Steiner added, was “a 

vision of green economic 

growth, underlining a 

new and dynamic strategic 

direction and journey 

that we are delighted 

and excited to share.” 

During Steiner’s visit 

to Seoul, the UNEP also 

announced the result of 

its examination of the 

Korea’s green growth 

policies. 

“The Korean government 

has presented 

its Green Growth Strategy 

as an innovative 

development approach 

involving a fundamental 

shift in the country’s 

growth paradigm, from 

Environment Minister Lee Maan-ee(right) poses with UN Environment Pro- 

[NEWSIS] 

‘quantitative growth’ to 

‘qualitative growth,’” the 

overview read. 

By Moon Gwang-lip 

It’s pandemonium as a massive tsunami slams into the southern port city of Busan in the summer 

blockbuster Haeundae. 

Directed and written by Youn JK, the film is a smash hit across Asia 

Green Growth Culture 

Korean Wave Goes Literal in 

‘Haeundae’ 

August is the hottest month of the Korean year, and 

Haeundae, the country’s most famous beach, located 

in the southern port city of Busan, is without 

doubt the most sought-after destination for summer 

vacationers. Around 1 million of them show up every 

year. 

But this summer another “Haeundae” was the talk of the 

town, with the film of the same name drawing an impressive 10 

million moviegoers from its release July 22 until Aug. 24. 

The film also made headlines in late July when production 

company CJ Entertainment announced that it would be released 

soon in local theaters across China and other Asian countries, 

including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. 

In fact, even before its release at home, Haeundae was 

exported to 23 countries around the world through the European 

Film Market at the Berlin film festival and the Cannes 

Film Market earlier this year. 

So what is so special about the movie that it manages to 

attract local and foreign audiences alike? 

Many critics and viewers attribute the film’s audience appeal 

to its exciting story line, which focuses on how various characters 

played by seasoned actors such as Sul Kyung-gu, Ha Ji-won 

and Park Joong-hoon respond during a tsunami. It also makes 

use of eye-catching advanced computer-generated graphics, 

which accounted for a big part of the movie’s 13 billion won 

($10.6 million) budget. 

Director Youn JK, who also wrote the film, said he was stay- 

ing in his hometown of Busan when he first heard about the 

tsunamis that hit Southeast Asia in December 2004. 

“I conjured up a dramatic image of the million or so people 

who visit Haeundae Beach on holiday suddenly getting swept 

up in a tsunami, and that initial idea translated into this film,” 

the director said. 

That means that it took almost five years from the initial 

conception of the idea for the film to its completion. In fact, 

writing the script was as hard as making the computer-generated 

tsunami itself, the director said. To come up with the “right” 

three main couples for the film, Youn said he created stories for 

hundreds of potential characters over more than two years. 

“I wanted to avoid the over-redundant heroism that is often 

found in Hollywood disaster movies,” the director said. “Rather, 

through the film I tried to show how important and valuable 

human relationships are.” 

Reportedly it cost about $5 million for Youn to work with a 

Hollywood staff on computer-generated special effects to create 

a tsunami in the movie. Hans Uhlig, who was the CG supervisor 

for Hollywood blockbusters such as “The Day after Tomorrow” 

and “The Perfect Storm,” participated in the filmmaking 

process. 

“Special effects are difficult for sure, but they’re worth a try. 

I learned through making Haeundae that nothing in the world 

is impossible, and I have gained confidence that Korean disaster 

films can develop their own style,” Youn said. 

By Park Sun-young 

34 korea September Sptember 2009 


Provided by JK film


Haiku’s 

Elegant 

Cousin 

Korea scholars ramp 

up campaign 

to promote sijo 

David McCann, a professor at Harvard University, 

has loved sijo poetry since he was a 

Peace Corps volunteer in Korea in 1966. 


Most Americans are 

familiar with the 

Japanese poems 

known as haiku. In 

fact, it may be the extent of their 

knowledge about Asian poetry. But 

this may be a good thing for Korea, 

too, paving the way for a similar 

genre from these shores known as 

sijo. 

Pronounced 

shee-jo, this form’s 

roots can be found in 

the Goryeo Dynasty. 

Though Koreans are 

very proud of these 

three-line compositions 

that consist of 43 

to 45 syllables, sijo 

have been mostly 

unknown to those 

outside the country 

— until now. 

May saw the Harvard Manhae 

Sijo Festival take place at Harvard 

University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Leading it was David McCann, 

the Korea Foundation professor of 

Korean literature at Harvard University. 

McCann, 64, is a sijo enthusiast 

on a campaign to popularize them. 

He first became interested in the 

poetry form in 1966, when he came 

to Korea as a member of the Peace 

Corps after graduating from Amherst 

College. He was teaching English at a 

high school in Andong when he 

came upon a book of Korean poetry 

translated in English. Since then 

McCann has been studying, teaching 

and translating sijo. 

But McCann isn’t the first to 

attempt to bring sijo into a foreign 

land. In 1992, Larry Gross, a Florida 

poet who had found sijo translations 

in a poetry book published in India, 

established a journal called Sijo West 

in 1996 with fellow poet Canadian 

Elizabeth St. Jacques. 

Like a haiku, a sijo is composed 

of three lines, but though the former 

follows a strict 5-7-5 syllable rule, the 

sijo writer has more space and freedom 

for expression, with each line 

made up of 14 or 15 syllables. Sijo can 

also be written in a string of four 

phrases, each with three, four, or five 

syllables. They were originally meant 

to be sung, and some were written to 

be part of a larger work. 

“Sijo is much more flexible than 

haiku,” said Heinz 

Insu Fenkl in an interview 

with the Boston 

Globe in late June. 

Fenkl teaches creative 

writing and Asian literature 

at the State 

University of New 

York, New Paltz. 

“If you have 15 

syllables per line, that’s 

much more than the 

haiku. What it allows 

for is something haiku 

can’t do, which is the formation of 

narrative inside the poem. You can 

express complicated things. At the 

same time, they sound very natural.” 

Last year, Bo-Leaf Books published 

a book of English sijo by 

McCann titled “Urban Temple: Sijo, 

Twisted & Straight.” 

It seems McCann and Fenkl’s 

efforts are bearing fruit. In April, the 

Sejong Cultural Society, Chicago in 

the U.S.A announced a sijo writing 

competition for middle and high 

school students. The organization, 

which was founded in 2004 to promote 

Korean culture, sent 20,000 fliers 

to English teachers and principals 

in 20 states this year. Last year, it only 

sent a quarter that amount. 

At Marist School in Atlanta, 

Georgia, 120 students who studied 

sijo in their literature classes submitted 

poems to Sejong. 

“The sijo was really fun and different,” 

said Tracy Kaminer, a teacher 

at Marist, in an interview with the 

Boston Globe. 

“I think sijo is an elegant form of 

poetry.” By Lee Hae-joo 

A Global Bridge of Words 

The Korea Literature 

Translation 

Institute has 

helped speakers 

of many different languages 

— such as English, German, 

Chinese, French, Japanese, 

Russian, Dutch, Polish, 

Rumanian and Vietnamese 

— enjoy Korean literature. 

The institute’s certified 

professional translators 

strive to communicate both 

accurately and in culturally 

appropriate ways the cultural 

and historical background of 

Korea. While working to 

keep pace with the latest literary 

trends, they provide 

material for people overseas 

interested in Korean literature. 

Nobel Prize nominee Ko 

Un tops the list for number 

of books translated with 51, 

including his bestsellers Ten 

Thousand Lives and Maninbo, 

out in 15 foreign languages. 

Recognized as the 

greatest living Korean poet, 

Ko has produced a mountain 

of poetry over the years, 

and his new volume, “Songs 

for Tomorrow: A collection 

of poems 1960–2002” selects 

work from his entire career, 

translated from Korean into 

English by Brother Anthony 

of Taizé, Young-moo Kim, 

and Gary Gach. 

Another classical Korean 

poet, Jung Geuk-in, has published 

his poems in English, 

increasing Western awareness 

of the classical form of 

Korean poetry called the 

Culture 

The Korean Translation Institute brings local literature to world readers 

gasa, along with knowledge 

of the country’s past and culture. 

Translators of this book 

paid particular attention to 

the synchronization between 

the Korean gasa and the 

English version, trying to 

sustain the verbal echoes 

and rhythmic beats in the 

original text. 

Scale and stairs: Selected 

Poems of Heeduk Ra is 

another set of poems translated 

into English. Heeduk 

Ra has published five books 

of poetry and two of prose, 

Clockwise from left: Songs 

for Tomorrow is the latest 

in a long string of translated 

works by Ko Un; the original 

author and publication date 

of Chunhyang are unknown, 

but that hasn’t stopped it 

from being translated and 

read around the world, and 

The Land by Park Gyung-ri is 

shown here translated into 

Chinese. 

for which she has received 

many honors. She teaches 

creative writing at Chosun 

University and is regarded as 

one of Korea’s best poets. 

Her poems are filled with a 

sense of contrast between 

image and idea, sound and 

sense. She tries to create a 

path from the visible world 

to the invisible. Her work 

portrays the ever-shifting 

border with the unknown. 

Also among the most 

popular Korean authors 

abroad are Lee Chung Joon, 

Provided by Korea Literature Translation Institute 

Hwang Seok-yeong and 

Choi In-hoon. Portraying a 

peculiar side of Korean society 

are Yi Mun-yol’s novels, 

which have been published 

in 16 different languages. All 

these works and more can be 

found at the Korea Literature 

Translation Institute. 

Thanks to the popularity 

of Korean pop culture in 

Asia, the institute believes 

that it is now time to expand 

the scope of their work and 

improve the current state of 

literary translation. Literature 

helps readers discover 

more about the country of its 

origin: its people, language 

and culture. It even plays a 

political role, serving as a 

mediator between societies. 

With the support of talented 

translators, a number of 

excellent Korean textbooks 

have been published for 

many people overseas who 

are interested in Korean literature. 

The driving mission of 

the Korea Literature Translation 

Institution is to provide 

an entrancing experience to 

foreigners through translations 

authored by native 

speakers of the target language. 

Also, the translator 

will usually be a specialist in 

a particular area, such as scientific 

or political terminology. 

This leads to translations 

that are comprehensible, 

relevant, and culturally 

sensitive. You can make an 

order through www. amazon.com 

By Hyon Mi-Kyung 


Major works 

The Naked Tree 

(Namok, 1970) 

The Beginning of Days Lived 

(Sarainneun nareui sijak, 1980) 

Mama’s Stake 

(Eommaui malttuk, 1982) 

Warm Was the Winter That Year 

(Geuhae gyeoureun ttatteuthaennae, 1983) 

The Woman Standing 

(Seo inneun yeoja, 1985) 

Illusion 

(Mimang, 1990) 

My Beautiful Neighbor 

(Naui areumdaun iut, 1991) 

The Dreaming Incubator 

(Kkum kkuneun inkyubaeiteo, 1993) 

Such a Lonely You 

(1998) 

Source: Korea Literature Translation Institute 

38 korea June September 2009 2009 


Park Wan-seo 

Although Park Wan-seo, born 1931, 

did not begin her literary career 

until she was almost 40, she has since 

become one of the most prolific and 

popular authors in Korea. Since her debut in 

1970 with The Naked Tree, Park has been showered 

with numerous honors, including the Lee 

Sang Prize for Literature in 1981 and the Korean 

National Literature Award in 1990. 

A storyteller of considerable gifts, Park is 

noted for her skillful employment of concrete 

details and compelling episodes drawn from 

everyday life, as well as her verbal dexterity and 

the natural flow of her narratives, which renders 

her works both accessible and engaging. 

Park experienced the tragedy of the Korean 

War firsthand. Raised by a strong mother who 

was determined to give her the best education, 

Park entered Seoul National University as a student 

of Korean Literature. But the outbreak of 

the war and the death of her older brother cut 

her education short just a few days after she 

entered university, and Park was forced to support 

her family. The tragedy of families torn 

apart by the Korean War and the heavy price the 

war continues to exact from its survivors is 

commemorated in such works as The Naked 

Tree, Warm Was the Winter That Year, and Who 

Ate Up All The Shinga. 

Park’s works also target the hypocrisy and 

materialism of middle-class Koreans. Identical 

Apartments features apartments of the same 

size with the same furnishings and decorations 

— symbols of their inhabitants’ identical lives, 

intent on gaining material gratification. In A 

Reeling Afternoon, a marriage of convenience 

brings about atrocious results. In these works, 

individual avarice and snobbery are linked to 

larger social concerns — the breakdown of ageold 

values and the dissolution of the family 

which are the byproduct of the rapid industrialization 

of Korea. 

Since 1980, Park has shown great interest in 

the problems afflicting women in this patriarchal 

society. Perhaps the most notable of her 

works focused on feminist issues is The Dreaming 

Incubator, which features a woman who is 

forced to undergo a series of abortions until she 

produces a son. Quite literally, a woman’s body 

becomes a mere “incubator” for male progeny 

in the male-centered Korean society. The way 

this objectification of the female body is perpetuated 

or condoned is given no room for justification 

in Park’s razor-sharp prose. 


Stripping naked our modern hypocrisy 


Translation index 

A Very Old Joke 

(Aju oraedoin nongdam) 

This entertaining and 

thought-provoking novel 

examines human nature, corrupted 

by money and power, 

and the place of women in a 

patriarchal society — two 

topics that have consistently 

engaged Park’s imagination 

throughout her literary 

career. 

The protagonist, Sim 

Yeong-min is a renowned 

physician. His brother-inlaw, 

a son of a wealthy businessman, 

is dying of cancer, 

but is himself unaware of the 

gravity of his condition. His 

family’s refusal to apprise the 

patient of his impending 

In Who Ate Up All The 

Shinga?, referring to the plant 

whose stalks Park chewed in 

North Korea as a child, Park 

narrates the events of her life, 

from her happy childhood in 

Kaesong in the 1930s to her 

twenties, spent in wartorn 

Seoul in the 1950s. A novel of 

growing up as well as a personal 

testimony to the hor- 

death is not motivated by any 

concern for his emotional 

state, but by their desire to 

prevent him from giving away 

his inheritance. As a result, 

the man dies without having 

received proper treatment for 

his cancer, and his wife, the 

sister of the protagonist, is left 

without a penny to her name. 

The funeral of the dead man 

turns into a showy display of 

the family’s power and 

wealth. 

While the solemnity of 

death is thus marred by greed, 

birth is deprived of its sanctity 

and joy by the obsession 

with male offspring which 

Who Ate Up All the Shinga? 

(Geu mandeun singaneun nuga da meogeosseulkka) 

rors of war, Who Ate Up All 

The Shinga? represents the 

author’s attempt to work 

through her traumatic memories. 

Even for a writer famed 

for her ability to paint with a 

varied palette in her fictional 

works, the novel is remarkably 

vivid; its descriptions of 

wartime events make us feel 

as though we are watching a 

characterizes a patriarchal 

tradition. Sim’s wife, already 

a mother of two beautiful 

daughters, believes that her 

status as a wife of a prominent 

doctor is not secure until she 

bears a son. Pregnant once 

again with a daughter, she 

undergoes an abortion and 

with the help of her obstetrician, 

she finally succeeds in 

giving birth to a son. Park’s 

examination of human relations 

corrupted by the evils of 

capitalism and patriarchy 

poses a difficult question 

about the feasibility of real 

love in this hypocritical 

world. 

documentary. Recreating 

herself as a girl who came of 

age in a time of fear, Park 

offers an indictment against 

ideological strife and warfare 

that all is deeply personal 

and enormously compelling. 

In the sequel Was the Mountain 

Really There? Bak 

recounts her life in postwar 

Korea. 

Book Title Year of publication Genre 

Translator 

Three Days In That Autumn 

2001 

Novel 

Ryu Suk-hee 

My Very Last Possession and Other Stories 1999 

Novel 

Jun Gyung-ja 

A Sketch of the Fading Sun 

1999 

Complete Collection/Anthology Lee Hyun-jae 

The Naked Tree 

1996 

Novel 

Yu Young-nan 

List of Park's books translated into English by the Korea Literature Translation Institute 

Novel by Park Wan-seo 

Below are two excerpts from Who Ate Up All the Shinga? that 

showcase Park’s delicate and piercing literary style. 

(1) 

…If kids are playing house and one suddenly asks, “Who wants 

to play hide-and-seek?” the others scramble after her. In exactly 

the same vein, when anyone suggested a trip to the outhouse, 

we’d all follow. We’d squat together, our round bottoms exposed, 

and strain in unison, even if we didn’t have to go to the bathroom. 

Back then, little girls wore “windbreaker knickers,” with an 

opening underneath to make squatting easier. Even at midday, the 

outhouse was dark, and the girls’ white bottoms looked pale and 

blurry, like unripe gourds on a roof beneath a hazy moon. 

Although we exposed our bums, it wasn’t a big deal if we didn’t 

have to move our bowels. Crouching side by side and chatting was 

fantastic fun. As we squatted in our dim hideaway, excreting little 

corn ears of dung to mirror what we’d eaten, our trivial tales called 

forth flights of fancy and elicited histrionic “oohs” and “aahs.” 

“Did you hear about Kapsun’s dog? It had six puppies, but listen 

to this! The dog’s yellow, but no puppy was yellow — just black 

ones, white ones, and white ones with black spots.” 

(2) 

The bare, enervated ridge in Seoul made me think instead of a dying 

old man. To relieve my loneliness on my daily climb, I dwelled 

in memories and found excuses to look down on my peers in 

Seoul. They could never know the translucent blue of the dayflower’s 

petals or the beautiful music that lurked within its leaves. 

Or how if you carefully scratched away the thick, gleaming flesh, 

you’d discover veins that were thinner and more delicate than 

summer silk. Or the sound the veins gave off when you vibrated 

them against your lips. I could barely get a noise to come out, but 

some kids could make beautiful, plaintive melodies. 

After the cherry blossoms fell in Sajik Park, acacia flowers came 

into bloom. They permeated the whole of Mount Inwang with a 

nauseating milky smell. Packs of boys would travel from ridge to 

ridge, hunting for branches laden with blossoms, and then harshly 

snap them off so they could eat the petals. 

Watchmen patrolled the forest. If they spotted boys snapping 

large branches, they’d rush over and wring their wrists until they 

cried out in pain. Most of these kids came from our poor district 

of Hyonjo-dong. At their age, three meals a day wasn’t enough to 

fully satisfy their hunger, but they seemed to break the branches 

more for the thrill of it — getting caught, fleeing, being yelled at 

by the watchmen. After the boys swept away, acacia branches 

with withered flowers would be strewn about the ground like 


rags. 

That year was the first time I saw acacias and their blossoms. I 

learned that children in Seoul could also draw snacks from their 

surroundings. The more experienced ones would take a bunch of 

acacias and pluck one flower after another, savoring them like 

grapes. Once I surreptitiously tried a bunch, afraid I might get 

caught, but their milky, tepid, sweet taste made me nauseated. 

Only something fresh, I thought, could settle my stomach. 

Suddenly shinga came to mind. In the countryside, they were as 

common as dayflowers, growing everywhere, at the foot of hills 

and along roadsides. They had jointed stalks and were at their 

plumpest and most succulent about the time wild roses came into 

bloom. We’d snap the reddish stalk, peel the skin, and eat the 

tangy inner layer. I thought their puckering tartness would be the 

perfect antidote for acacias. 

I combed the hill frantically. I was like an animal looking for grasses 

to rub against a wound. But I couldn’t find a single stalk. Who ate 

up all the shinga? The Seoul ridge had run together in my mind 

with the hill behind our village. I retched until I was dizzy. 

Excerpted from Who Ate Up All the Shinga? by Park Wan-seo. 

Translated by Yu Young-nan and Stephen J. Epstein . Copyright 

© 2009 Columbia University Press. Used by arrangement with the 

publisher. All rights reserved. 


Provided by Woongjin Books

Yang Jun-mo has spent the last two years 

performing in small theaters — but his career’s 

about to get a big boost. 

Provided by Seol & COMPANY 

Korean Artist 

Korea’s Ambitious Phantom 

He’s spent years hiding in small Seoul theaters. Now it’s time to emerge 

The Phantom of the Opera 

by Andrew Lloyd Webber is 

the longest-running Broadway 

musical ever. 

Even before the official cast of The 

Phantom of the Opera was unveiled, 

rumors were swirling that Yang Jun- 

Mo would play the title role. And 

nobody doubted that he would be perfect. 

The 30-year-old actor has had a very busy and 

fulfilling year. He was a happy April groom 

and heard the news about Phantom on his 

honeymoon. Yang then played Prince Hyemyung 

in The Kingdom of the Wind until July. 

Now he is practicing for his biggest role of the 

year. 

His career as a lead is already five years long, 

but not many people recognize Yang’s face, 

perhaps because he mostly worked at local 

theaters and in Japan for the first few years, 

finally breaking onto the Seoul scene in 2007. 

When he made his debut in 1999 at the age of 

20, it was as a classical baritone. But later, as a 

senior in college, he performed in the musical 

Kumkang based on the work of the famous 

poet Shin Dong-yeop in a production to mark 

the five-year anniversary of the June 15 Joint 

Declaration between North and South Korea. 

It opened in Pyongyang. 

“I was practicing with so many great actors, 

like Jang Min-Ho, Se Hee-seung, Yang Eunkyoung 

and Kang Sil-il. It made me so nervous 

even to practice my lines,” Yang said. 

Yang was impressed by the excited and passionate 

reaction of the North Korean audience. 

It was very different from the “respectable” 

atmosphere of classical opera. That was 

when Yang decided to aim for a career in 

musicals. He gave up on studying abroad in 

America and came back to Seoul to start 

over. 

Yang has devoted all his time and energy to 

musicals since then. Starting with Ggokdobyulcho, 

Yang performed in many shows 

including The Last Empress, Winter Sonata, 

Claw of Angel and Sweeney Todd. 

But the role of the Phantom will finally give 

Yang a chance to shine and get mainstream 

attention. That doesn’t mean his devotion will 

waver, however. 

“People think that I made my debut with 

Sweeney Todd and rocketed to a title role. But 

for my entire musical career, my interest has 

never been the fame or even winning awards,” 

says Yang in a recent interview. “I only wish to 

be a better actor. That is all. I have been planning 

my life as an actor and hoping to fulfill 

my dream step by step.” 

Yang has been performing in small theaters 

during the two years since Sweeney Todd, 

which first disseminated his name among the 

public. He could easily have aimed at bigger 

and bigger roles, but instead, Yang chose to 

practice his acting skills. 

During 2008, Yang performed both leading 

and supporting roles in Evil Dead, See What I 

Wanna See, Last Five Years, and Island — all in 

small theaters. 

“I know many had doubts about my role 

choices following Sweeney Todd. The reason 

is simple. I just wanted to show them who I am 

as an actor. I am ambitious, but I’m ambitious 

about the character rather than the piece of 

work itself,” says Yang. 

Thus, Yang is more excited about the character 

he is about to play than the big name of the 

musical itself. 

“I think trying the role of the Phantom is a 

kind of my duty as an actor. I am very happy,’’ 

Yang said. 

“The Phantom has an omnipotent view, looking 

at people’s lives from the cellars of the 

opera, but at the same time he sees the ugliness 

of himself deep inside. I would like to try and 

express the humane side of the Phantom,” 

Yang continued. 

Starting as a classical baritone singer, Yang 

Jun-mo is now an irreplaceable part of the 

Korean musical theatre world. 

The Phantom of the Opera will open September 

23 at the Charlotte Theatre in Jamsil, 

Seoul. It has been eight years since the musical 

was last performed in Korea. 

42 42 korea September 2009 



By Susan Yoon

caption 

Technology, Convenience, 

Culture on the Subway Rails 

Seoul’s new line No. 9 makes a world-class transit system even better 

Top, Express Bus Terminal Station is one example of the newly-opened 

high-tech line No. 9. Above, a new train runs on 

the line. 

Science&Tech 

When foreign tourists and expatriates in Korea 

chat about the top 10 things that impress 

them about the Land of the Morning Calm, 

there’s one that always comes up: Korea’s 

public transportation. 

Especially impressive is the Seoul subway system, made 

up of nine lines that tie together neighborhoods of the capital 

and its outskirts in Gyeonggi Province. 

According to Seoul city government statistics, about 6.2 

million people use the nine subway lines every day. That 

figure is 59.4 percent of the capital’s population. 

Seoul’s subway stations are generally clean without the 

unpleasant odors and trash found in some other world cities. 

(Some countries do not even have air conditioners in their 

subways, which forces commuters to endure the sizzling 

summer heat.) 

Seoul’s subway marked the 35th anniversary of its launch, 

with line No. 1, on August 15. It was good timing, with the 

city starting operations on its brand new ninth line on July 

24. The new trains run 25.5 kilometers (15.8 miles) from 

Nonhyeon in southern Seoul to Gimpo International Airport 

in western Seoul. 

The debut of the new subway line reflects the system’s 

continuous development in technology and design to serve 

commuters and visitors better. And subway line No. 9 brings 

more to the table than shiny new stations and train cars. The 

line also — for the first time here — offers express trains, 

running from Gangnam in southern Seoul to Gimpo International 

Airport in just 30 minutes. Even better, the basic fare 

is the same as the regular subway: 900 won. An additional fee 

of 100 won is added on for every five kilometers past a certain 

distance. 

Park Jeong-yeon, a resident of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, 

was the first passenger to use the new line when it 

opened. 

The 27-year-old librarian commutes to work at a staterun 

children’s library in southern Seoul. Before the subway 

line was built, Park said she had to leave home at 6 a.m. and 

board a bus for a 40-minute ride into the capital, only then 

to transfer to another bus to southern Seoul. 

It took her more than four hours to perform one round 

trip, Park recalled. 

She said it was nightmare when the weather wasn’t good. 


[NEWSIS] 

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Above left, all stations on subway line No.9 are equipped with sliding glass doors on the platforms. Top right, children’s bathrooms are another 

innovation on line No. 9. Above right, the new line’s Dangsan Station has the country’s longest escalator at 49 meters. 

Rain slowed traffic to a stop, delaying 

her return home. 

“I have so many reasons I’ve been 

longing for the new subway line,” Park 

said. “Now I can arrive at work before 

9 a.m if I take an express train at Gimpo 

International Airport station at 8:10 

a.m. Now I can leave home an hour 

later than I used to.” 

To ensure the safety of commuters 

and to deter suicide attempts, all stations 

on subway line No. 9 are equipped 

with sliding doors on the platforms. 

Seoul government officials say the 

doors also reduce the noise when the 

subway arrives at the station. The doors 

are also now being installed on the 265 

stops on the other eight existing subway 

lines, with renovations at some of 

the stops already completed. 

Trains on subway line No. 9 also 

offer lower handles inside the subway 

to enable children or shorter passengers 

to hold on without difficulty. 

The exits at line No. 9’s Heukseok 

Station even have the world’s first canopies 

with roofs that automatically 

open and close in heavy rain or snowfall. 

Station exits at 

Heukseok are 

equipped with 

canopies that 

extend in 

heavy rain or 

snow — the 

first in the 

world. 

The new line’s Dangsan Station has the country’s 

longest escalator at 49 meters long and 24 meters 

high. 

There are Internet cafes at Nodeul and Yeomchang 

stations, while other locations have concert 

venues and art galleries that offer not only a pleasant 

trip but great opportunities for artists and musicians 

to promote their work to the public. 

Seoul government officials also stress that the 

other eight existing subway lines are also undergoing 

a transformation, while they are already equipped 

with facilities such as convenience stores, cosmetics 

shops, art galleries and concert spaces. 

For example, Gyeonggbok Palace Station on line 

No. 3 has an art gallery inside the station, where passengers 

waiting for their friends to arrive can take a 

look at displays. 

Shindang Station on line No. 2 features different 

exhibitions with different themes throughout the 

year. From July to August, the station contained an 

exhibition on live insects and reptiles that let passengers 

actually touch them. 

“It’s a nice occasion to bring my son to the nearby 

subway station,” said a housewife surnamed Park. 

“My boy is taking his summer break, and I didn’t 

know where to take him because my husband couldn’t 

take any summer leave this year. I’m glad that at least 

I can show my son something even without traveling 

too far.” By Kim Mi-ju 

[NEWSIS] 

Science&Tech 

46 korea September 2009 September 2009 korea korea 47 

[Provided Provided by HJC company 

Helmet] 

Hidden 

Champions 

Esencia 

Has 40 percent of the world 

market for toothbrush sterilizers 

Dogged Fighter Against 

Rotten Toothbrushes 

All moms impress on their 

children the importance of 

brushing one’s teeth every 

night. And getting those 

toothbrushs bacteria-free is just as 

important — or you may end up scrubbing 

your pearly whites with the very 

bugs you’re trying to eliminate. 

Esencia, founded in 1989, dominates 

the global market for toothbrush 

sterilizers. According to Ministry of 

Knowledge Economy data, Esencia’s 

global market share in the sector in 

2007 was roughly 40 percent. 

In Korea Esencia’s products 

account for 70 percent, and in the Japanese 

market it has a share of 60 percent. 

In the U.S. the firm’s share tops 30 

percent, with all its products approved 

by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

And Esencia conquered the market 

quickly. A year after it was founded, 

Esencia released the world’s first toothbrush 

sterilizer. Since 2000, the company 

has turned its eyes to the global 

market, participating in various events 

including international invention 

competitions in Switzerland and China. 

In 2000 Esencia set up its first overseas 

office in Tokyo. 

The company grew rapidly, setting 

up export networks in six countries by 

the second half of 2003. In 2006, it further 

expanded its network to the U.S., 

Canada, Vietnam and Thailand. In 

every market Esensia went multimedia, 

marketing on TV and online. 

The company now exports to 

almost 30 countries, including huge 

markets such as Russia and China. 

Shin Choong-sik, president of 

Esencia, says that the company was 

able to penetrate fastidious European 

markets by meeting export standards 

like ISO9001, UL, CE, JIS and CCC. 

He credits the achievement to development 

and production know-how 

accumulated over two decades. The 

company holds some 100 patents. 

Shin also attributes Esencia’s success 

to the adoption of automatic production 

facilities that lower cost and 

increase efficiency. 

Chinese manufacturers have copied 

the company’s sterilizers and sold 

them at much lower prices, but these 

copies were only 80 percent as effective 

or less than Esencia products. 

Shin said that the competition with 

low-priced products in the past 10 

years helped raise Esencia’s quality. 

Instead of using fluorescent-like sterilizing 

lamps it developed cold-cathode 

tubes. It expanded the life of its sterilizers 

10 times over previous goods and 

maximized its sterilization rate to 99.9 

percent. Shin, who suffered from constant 

tooth pain, began developing 

toothbrush sterilizers after seeing a 

roach sitting on this toothbrush in the 

late 1980s. 

Although Shin faced difficulties, 

particularly when he first began selling 

the sterilizers, he is a strong believer in 

never giving up hope. 

By Lee Ho-jeong

Yang Yong-eun, center, celebrates his win at 

the Hazeltine National in Minnesota Aug. 17, 

while Tiger Woods, right, drops his head. The 

obscure Korean beat the superstar golfer, 

who bogeyed the final two holes. 

[AP] 

Taking Down the Champion 

Relative unknown becomes the first Asian man to win a major PGA title 

‘I wasn’t that 

nervous, 

because it’s a 

game of 

golf... the 

worst I could 

do was just 

lose to Tiger.’ 

Yang holds up the trophy he received for winning his first PGA championship. 

A 

previously unheralded Korean golfer 

pulled off one of the greatest upsets in 

PGA history at the Hazeltine National 

in Chaska, Minnesota on August 

17, when Yang Yong-eun became the first Asian 

male to win a major PGA title. 

All the more impressive was the manner in 

which the 37-year-old Jeju native clinched the 

PGA Championship. 

Yang, ranked 110th in the world, had been 

trailing Tiger Woods by two strokes heading into 

the final day of play before taking the tournament 

by three strokes, shocking the world’s best golfer. 

Woods, who has 14 major titles and 70 PGA 

wins to his name, is invincible in his career lead 

with 54 holes at PGA majors. The 33-year-old 

American golfer was on pace to win his 15th 

career major and the first of the season. However, 

Yang was calm and calculating in upsetting one of 

the best clutch golfers in history. 

Yang took the lead for the first time when he 

eagled on the 14th by chipping in from an area just 

off the green. He then went on to birdie the final 

hole by hitting a three-iron shot from 210 yards 

out and then connecting on a 10-foot putt. He 

ended the day with a two-under par 70, and was 

eight shots under par for the whole tournament. 

48 48 korea September 2009 


Sports 

“This means the world to me right now,” said 

Yang to a group of reporters after clinching the 

win. “I wasn’t that nervous because it’s a game of 

golf. It’s not like you’re in a cage match [for mixed 

martial arts] where you’re fighting against Tiger 

and he’s going to bite you or swing at you with his 

nine-iron. The worst I could do was just lose to 

Tiger and go a few ranks down in the final scoreboard.” 

Woods, on the other hand, had an uncharacteristically 

poor finish with bogeys on the final 

two holes. His poor putting was the biggest reason 

for his loss. “I was certainly in control of the tournament 

for most of the day, but just didn’t make 

anything. I did everything I needed to do except 

for getting the ball in the hole,” Woods said to the 

press. 

With the win, Yang improved his ranking 

from 110 to 34 and has secured a spot on the 

Internationals team for the President’s Cup 

matchups between American and non-European 

golfers, to begin in San Francisco on Oct. 6. 

A relative unknown, Yang comes from a 

humble background. His family are farmers, and 

he is said to have practiced his golf swings with 

metal pipes on the farm after picking up the sport 

at the age of 19. By Jason Kim

Fierce Midfielder Is Youngest 

Korean to Head to England 

Lee Chung-yong left FC Seoul for the Bolton Wanderers on Aug. 13 

Lee Chung-yong, one of Korea’s 

most promising midfielders, 

became the seventh and the 

youngest Korean to join the 

English Premier League, agreeing to a 

contract in late July. The 21-year-old 

midfielder left Korea to join the Wanderers 

in Bolton, Manchester on August 

13. 

“I will approach the new venture 

overseas with the thought of starting 

over,” said Lee prior to leaving Korea 

for Britain. “Much like those ahead of 

me paved the way and made this opportunity 

possible for me, I will try my best 

to do the same.” 

Lee is headed off to join the 

Wanderers, an English Premier 

League club. The 21-year-old was 

chosen as one of the world’s most 

promising midfielders by ESPN and 

the English daily newspaper The Times 

last year. 

Lee is expected to contribute considerable 

playing time for Bolton, 

which finished 13th in the English 

league last season with a record of 11 

wins, eight draws and 19 losses. 

With strong dribbling skills, good 

speed and wide vision, he is considered 

the most gifted offensive Korean player 

to join English Premiership. Known to 

get easily agitated with defenders, his 

fiery temperament, when channeled in 

the right direction, can serve to motivate 

his teammates. Having played 

both the center midfield and right 

winger positions, Lee has 

notched two goals and four assists for 

FC Seoul this season. 

Lee’s skill set was recognized early 

on, and he dropped out of middle 

school to join the lower professional 

ranks of Korean football. 

He was able to earn a spot on FC 

Seoul’s roster when Senol Gunes 

spotted the youngster in 2004. 

Since being added to the national 

team by manager Huh Jung-moo, 

Lee has improved his play by 

leaps and bounds. He and 

his FC Seoul teammate, 

Ki 

Sung-ryeung, 

made up half of the national 

team’s midfield crew, which 

includes Manchester United’s 

Park Ji-sung and the Wigan Athletics’ 

Cho Won-hee. 

Right, Lee Chungyong 

dribbles the ball 

in a game for FC 

Seoul. 

By Jason Kim 


Korea entered the 2009 Fédération Internationale de 

Basketball Amateur Asia Championship in Tianjin, 

China from August 6 to 16 with a clear goal 

— to finish among the top three in order to secure 

a berth in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey. 

Having won the East Asia Championship in Nagoya, 

Japan in June, the team was confident about its chances of 

securing its first World Championship spot since 1997 but 

came up short. Korea failed to make the final four of the Asia 

Championship for the first time in tournament history, losing 

in the quarterfinals to Lebanon 68-65 on August 14. The team 

lost to Taiwan the following day and defeated the Philippines 

82-80 on August 16 to finish seventh overall. 

“We will use this experience to improve in time for the 

Asian Games next year. We need to reflect on our shortcomings 

and at the same time work on the positives to prepare for 

next year,” said head coach Hur Jae. “I want to congratulate 

our players for playing hard despite the difficult circumstances.” 

Under the rookie national team head coach Hur Jae, Korea 

had gone undefeated in the East Asia Championship and had 

50 korea September 2009 September 2009 korea korea 51 


Sports 

Korea’s youth basketball 

team, left, won the East 

Asian FIBA championship 

but lost to several teams in 

the Asian tournament. 

Korea Just Misses FIBA Berth 

Team couldn’t extend East Asia win to triumph over Iranian powerhouse 

won its first five games without much problems. In the preliminary 

round and much of the second round featuring 

teams from East Asia and Southeast Asia, Ha Seung-jin, Kim 

Joo-sung and Kim Min-soo were able to provide strength 

inside the paint and Yang Hee-jong and Yang Dong-geun, 

among others, were able to ease the burden on the frontcourt 

with timely shooting from the perimeter. 

However, as expected, teams from the Middle East caused 

Korea problems. In the quarterfinals, Korea had more steals 

(11-7) and fewer turnovers (19-12), and it shot poorly from 

the field (38.1 percent) and from the free throw line (41.2 

percent). 

In the final game of the second round against Iran on 

August 12, Korea was dominated by the Iranian frontcourt, 

which featured Hamed Ehadadi of the Memphis Grizzlies. 

Iran out-rebounded and outscored Korea in the paint, 44 to 

30 and 26 to 11, respectively. 

Iran defended its 2007 title with a win over the home team 

China (70-52), and Jordan defeated Lebanon (80-66) in the 

other semifinals. 

By Jason Kim

The Luxuries of Time 

Mansions of old offer respite from the exhaustion of today 

Its rational design and flawless maintenance 

make Myeongjae Gotaek a must-see site for 

architects. 


Provided by Myeongjae Gotaek 

Travel 

We urbanites lead a fast life in an unstable 

world. It has its advantages, but 

sometimes we long for something 

old, something constant — something 

that stays in one place. 

Fortunately, that’s a perfect description of the traditional 

homes that have been tucked into the Korean 

mountains for hundreds of years. These old mansions 

offer comfort and familiar hospitality, just the thing for 

the burned-out desk jockey. 

At one of these traditional mansions scattered 

across Korea, visitors can refresh both body and soul. 

Lay down on the wooden floor of the open hall, overlooking 

a garden full of scarlet flowers — crape myrtles 

and garden balsams — and bathe in the clean air. 

One of the best regions to experience this old-fashioned 

living is Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, 

home to 47 traditional houses of various sizes. Nearly 

50,000 tourists, including 8,000 foreigners, visited the 

town in 2008 and stayed at one of the old mansions 

— some of them head houses of local clans — to experience 

the traditional Korean lifestyle. The homes in 

Andong can accommodate about 1,800 guests per day 

in a total of 303 rooms. 

About half of the 635 old mansions in Korea are 

located in North Gyeongsang Province, and the provincial 

government is working on a 600 million won 

($477,000) project to promote these mansions as a 

national tourist attraction. One of these efforts to boost 

tourism was the recently-held North Gyeongsang 

Province Head House Forum. 

One of Andong’s most famous old homes is 

Imcheonggak, located on the way to the Andong Dam, 

once the residence of Seokju Lee Sang-ryong, who 

served as the first prime minister of the Provisional 

Government of the Republic of Korea. The 99-room 

wooden house was built in 1519 in the mid-Joseon 

period (1392-1910), and is considered a world-class 

piece of architectural heritage. In 2004, Imcheonggak 


was opened to public view. The complicated layout is 

both open and closed, with the inner house, middle 

house and guest house flawlessly connected to a series 

of gardens. For a relaxed stay in a serene environment, 

Imcheonggak is the perfect spot. 

To cool off the heat of a summer night, take a walk 

across Wolyeong Bridge, overlooking the picturesque 

lake near Andong Dam. The octagonal pavilion and 

observatory in the middle of the bridge offer a fantastic 

view of the illuminated lake and its colorful fountains, 

making it a favorite date spot for couples. 

Right next to Imcheonggak is Chilcheungjeontap, 

a seven-storied brick pagoda designated National 

Treasure No. 16. This structure, the oldest and biggest 

brick pagoda in Korea, was built in the Unified Silla 

Period. 

Imcheonggak hosts guests in seven rooms in the 

main house and guest house, and a stay includes access 

to the gardens. For reservations and detailed information, 

please visit www.imcheonggak.com or call (054) 

853-3455. 

Nongam Jongtaek, the head house of the Yeongcheon 

Yi clan, is the birthplace of poet Nongam Lee 

Hyeon-bo (1467-1555), whose most notable work is 

“The Fishermen’s Song” (not to be confused with The 

Fisherman’s Calendar by Yun Seon-do). This is one of 

the most well-known traditional houses in Andong, 

and the descendents of Lee’s direct line have been living 

in the house for over 650 years. 

The mansion boasts a spectacular view of the fabulous 

gorges of Mount Cheongryang and the silvery 

sand along the Nakdong River. The remote location, 

far from the national highways, offers a quiet vacation 

for those looking to relax. Nongam Jongtaek has 20 

rooms for guests, including an annex for a more private 

stay. You can also enjoy rafting on the river during 

the summer. While at Nongam Jongtaek, make sure to 

taste traditional local cuisine, such as the sweet rice 

drink sikhye, songpyeon rice cakes made with potatoes 

and Andong noodles. For more details, visit 

www.nongam.com or call (054) 843-1202. 

A stay at a traditional mansion runs from 50,000 to 

150,000 won during high season. Twenty-one museums 

and exhibition halls can be found all over Andong, 

so a tour will give you insight into local treasures and 

cultural properties. The Andong Folk Museum features 

an exhibit on the traditional gwanhonsangjae, the 

four major ceremonies that Koreans used to go through 

from birth to after death: the coming-of-age ceremony, 

wedding, funeral and ancestor worship service. The 

museum also showcases traditional food, clothing and 

shelter as well as folk religions and games. 

Not all the mansions are self-containted: All of 

Hahoe Village, the one-clan community of the Pungsan 

Yu family, has been designated Important Folklore 

Material No. 112. Here national and folk treasures wait 


The interior of Parkjinsa Gotaek located 

in Gosung, South Gyeongsang 

Province is another fine look at the 

lives of Korea’s old rich and famous. 

Hundreds of soybean paste jars line the terrace of the manor at Seon Byeongguk 

Ga-ok. 

behind every corner. 

Andong Dam, built to control flooding 

on the lower Nakdong River, maintains 

a lake filled with 1.25 billion tons 

of water, which means cruises and fishing 

are close by. 

Myeongjae Gotaek in Nonsan, South 

Chungchung Province, was the residence 

of Myeongjae Yunjeong (1629- 

1714), a great Joseon scholar, and is visited 

by some 30,000 tourists every year. 

The structure was designed and built 

over 300 years ago, but the rational 

design and flawless maintenance make 

it a must-see site for aspiring architects 

Provided by Seon Byeong-guk Gaok 

and those interested in feng shui, according 

to the current master of the house, 

the 12th-generation descendent of Yun 

Jeong. In 2008, former Soviet leader 

Mikhail Gorbachev visited the mansion. 

Situated at the foot of Mount 

Noseong, Myeongjae Gotaek is an 

82-room building built in the square 

layout that is typical of the Chungcheong 

provinces. It consists of a main house, an 

annex, a guest house, a storehouse and a 

shrine. The mansion’s celebrated scientific 

design brings in the fresh air longer 

during the summer, drawing it into the 

open space between the main house and 

the storehouse, while blocking the wind 

during the winter for added warmth. 

The main doors to the guesthouse 

slide and turn on hinges at the same 

time, rare for the time. The daecheong, 

the open wooden floor that played the 

role of a living room, is elevated so that 

the mistress of the house could look out 

across the village. The serene pond in 

front of the gorgeous guesthouse is surrounded 

by centuries-old crape myrtles 

and Japanese cornelian cherries. 

Myeongjae Gotaek operates various 

programs such as coming-of-age cere- 

Seon Byeongguk 

Gaok is 

still home to 

its 21st-generation 

mistress, 

Kim Jeong-ok 

— a sign of 

continuity in a 

chaotic land. 

Andong noodles 

Travel 

monies and tea ceremonies, and you can even have a 

traditional wedding there. The annex has six rooms for 

guests, each room ranging from 60,000 won to 110,000 

won depending on the size. For more information and 

reservation inquiries, please visit www.yunjeung.com 

or call (041) 735-1215. 

Seon Byeong-guk Ga-ok, the 99-room head house 

of the Boseong Seon Clan in Bo-eun, North Chungcheong 

Province, is situated in the middle of a thick 

pine grove. A hundred years ago, the then-master of 

the house, who was a seafood merchant, recruited only 

the best carpenters from all around the country to 

build this architectural masterpiece out of red pine 

trees from Mount Songni. The great labor took 23 

years to complete and has been designated Important 

Folklore Material No. 134. A typical house of the landlord 

class, Seon Byeong-guk Ga-ok features spacious 

rooms and higher ceilings compared to other traditional 

houses, illustrating the changing hanok style in 

the late Joseon period. The site of the house was 

thought to be propitious, since it is shaped like a lotus 

flower floating on water. 

Originally, the house was built on a vast 24-acre 

site, with 134 rooms in the main house along with a 

guest house, shrine, gatehouse, servants’ quarters, 

kitchen garden, a terrace for spice jars and a garden, 

but it was partially destroyed during the Korean War. 

Last year, the mansion was visited by over 30,000 

tourists. The hundreds of jars with pepper paste, soy 

paste and soy sauce lined up on the terrace are a fasci- 


provided by Korea Tourism Organization

nating sight. The 21st-generation mistress 

of the house, Kim Jeong-ok, says 

that she makes a paste of dates, the specialty 

of Bo-eun, in addition to the traditional 

pepper paste. The date paste is 

naturally sweet and nutritious and 

appeals to young people more than the 

sometimes hard to swallow traditional 

concoctions. 

The region is known for producing 

many notable scholars, so many students 

studying for national examinations 

come here for an extended stay, 

inspired by that reputation. The house 

offers five rooms, including a family 

room and a group room, for tourists, 

and the guesthouse serves as a tea house. 

Rooms range from 50,000 to 120,000 

won. The group room can accommodate 

up to 30 people for 240,000 won. 

The house’s Web site is www.adanggol. 

com, or call (043) 543-7177. 

Seongyojang in Gangneung, Gangwon 

Province, was the first civilian 

house to be designated as a national cultural 

property. It is a must-see tourist 

attraction for those visiting Gangneung, 

one of the most popular vacation desti- 


nations in Korea. Over 300,000 tourists 

stop by the magnificent mansion, which 

includes 10 buildings on a site of 24 

acres. Alongside the main house sits 

large and small guest houses, servants’ 

quarters and a pavilion. Built in 1703, it 

is the biggest civilian house in Korea, 

and the term manor or villa would perhaps 

be more appropriate. 

Centuries-old pine trees line the 

rear of the house, and red lotus flowers 

blossom on the pond near the pavilion. 

Ultimately, the only way to understand 

why Seongyojang is called “the most 

beautiful house in Korea” is to see it for 

yourself. 

According to Kim Bong-ryeol, professor 

of architecture at the Korean 

National University of Arts, Seongyojang 

is a perfect example of the characteristics 

of traditional Korean architecture, 

with a garden laid out in multiple 

layers and walls wrapped around the 

inner houses. Even the servants’ quarters 

are lined up in a row to project a 

grand and solemn beauty. 

Currently, the mansion can accommodate 

180 guests in over 50 rooms. 

Left, buildings sprawl across the grounds at 

Seongyojang in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. 

Top and above, visitors can experience 

cultural programs like making rice cakes, eating 

local food and playing folk games. 

The main floor is used as an educational 

center, and there is an outdoor playground 

and grass field. Folk games such 

as shuttlecock kicking, swings, seesaws, 

the arrow throwing game of tuho and 

the board game yutnori are played frequently 

here. Traditional music is performed 

every Saturday. You can even 

take classes in wood crafts or experience 

a tea ceremony or local cuisine tasting, 

all for a price comparable to other mansions. 

For more information about visiting 

Seongyojang, visit www. knsgi.net or call 

(033) 646-4270. 

Kevin Edwards, 45, from Britain, 

visited Seongyojang in July 2009 and 

said he fell completely in love with the 

indescribable charms of Korea after the 

visit. He said he would bring his entire 

family back to the manor. 

No visit to Seongyojang is complete 

without viewing a sunrise over the East 

Sea from nearby Gyeongpodae Beach 

— the ultimate reminder that, no matter 

what we city slickers do, the Earth continues 

to chart its slow course across the 

cosmos. By Hong Jin 

Provided by Seongyojang 

Bae Han-chul, kitchen director at the 

Grand InterContinental Seoul in the 

southern part of the capital, is a leading 

culinary figure involved in promoting 

Korean food worldwide. Recently, he visited Paris to 

create Korean dishes for the “Soirée Coréenne” 

(Korean Night), an event organized by the Korean 

government and the private sector that provided 

300 French artists, politicians and business managers 

with a taste of Korean food. 

The chef ’s active role as an ambassador for 

Korean cuisine is simply part of his food philosophy. 

He says there’s one simple fact in the world of 

dining — tastes change constantly. What’s hot one 

day can go the way of tuna and noodle casserole in 

the blink of an eye. 

“Today, the consumer palette is increasingly 

shifting from sophisticated, complex tastes toward 

simple and healthy food, like Korean [cuisine],” he 

Korea’s Taste Masters Travel 

Back to Basics, and Thank Buddha 

Chef says the trend toward simple food is good news for Korea 

These are just a few of the dishes included in the set 

menu at Sanchon, a traditional temple-food restaurant 

in Insa-dong, central Seoul. [JoongAng Ilbo] 

said in a recent interview at the hotel. “Complex 

times call for simpler foods,” he said. 

And as part of this back-to-basics food trend, 

many people are looking for meals that don’t contain 

additives or growth hormones. Bae, who has 

been exploring the culinary scene for three decades 

since embarking on his career as a chef in 1979, said 

Korean food fits perfectly with consumers’ tastes 

right now. 

For the best traditional Korean meal, Bae recommends 

the well-known Sanchon restaurant, a 

temple food eatery in Insa-dong, central Seoul. 

Sanchon, which in Korean means mountain village, 

is run by a former Buddhist monk named Kim Yonshik 

who has spent 30 years studying vegetarian 

temple dishes, ever since he entered the temple at 

age 15. 

The restaurant serves a unique style of hanjeongsik 

featuring rice, stew and more than two 

dozen side dishes including japchae (glass noodles 

mixed with fresh vegetables) and seasoned deodeok 

(a type of root with a pungent taste). The menu 

changes seasonally. 

Normally, a Buddhist temple style recipe would 

exclude the five spices including garlic, green 

onions, red spices and — of course — any 

artificial seasonings, but Sanchon sometimes 

uses the spices for those visitors 

who are unfamiliar with temple dishes. 

A set lunch is 22,000 won including 

tax, while the dinner set is 39,600 

won. 

To visit, take subway line No. 3 to 

Anguk Station, exit 6. For more 

information, call (02) 735- 

0312 or visit www.sanchon. 

com. Hours are from 11 

a.m. to 10 p.m. Traditional 

performances are 

staged at the restaurant 

from 8 to 8:45 p.m. every 

day. 

By Lee Eun-joo 

Bae Han-chul 


Korean Food 

The Secret to Family Cooking 

It’s a common assumption that most ambitious cooks 

improve with age, working out their kinks, controlling 

their jitters, tempering the vanity that breeds bad 

judgment. Common, but not really correct anymore 

for the taste buds of Koreans — or a Vietnamese woman 

who was entranced by her Korean mother-in-law’s secret 

recipe. 

Lea Huyonh Nho, who came here from Vietnam and 

married a Korean husband, received indispensable cooking 

lessons from her Korean mother-in-law. To Lea, the 

author of the book The Taste of Mother’s Secret Recipe, this 

Korean woman was a gem of a cook: modest, penny-wise 

and brought up in austere surroundings. 


While living with her, the author compiled not only 

lists of ingredients but also her thoughts and feelings 

towards each and every Korean dish she learned. 

Of course, not every foreign wife living in Korea has to 

learn to cook Korean cuisine, but the author hoped to 

share part of her story living in an unfamiliar place and 

trying to please her husband in order to bridge the gap 

between their two different cultures. 

Simple dishes such as kimchi jjigae and dwenjang jjigae 

seemed to require no special techniques. Yet, Lea said, the 

results of her mother-in-law’s cooking and her own were 

never the same. The secret lay, Lea decided, in the extra 

ingredient: a mother’s sincerity. 

She said that she was pleasantly surprised to discover 

how much devotion a Korean mother puts into one dish. 

She calls this “mother’s secret recipe.” 

In order to utilize this secret recipe, Lea says, first one 

needs to let go of one’s obsession with making delicious 

food every time. What one truly needs is an understanding 

of the basic essence of making Korean food, the author 

argues. 

In this book, Lea hoped to present the image of one 

Korean mother, because, she says, it’s crucial to understand 

the mind of the Korean mother in order to under- 

stand what Korean husbands want from their foreign 

wives. 

The book contains recipes simple to sophisticated that 

Korean mothers can cook for big family dinners, or even 

for a husband with no appetite. The author relates Korean 

customs and manners to their eating and 

drinking habits. Therefore, Lea says, if 

one keeps pace with Koreans’ innate 

characteristics, you can never disappoint 

your husband’s taste buds. 

Your work might turn out subpar 

at first, but that’s OK, Lea says — 

once you understand the basis of 

cooking Korean food, you will 

be able to cook perfect cuisine 

with very few ingredients. 

provided by Korea Organization of Information Service A Vietnamese wife shares what her Korean mother-in-law taught her 

In her book, Lea Huyonh Nho shares her experience learning 

Korean cooking from her mother-in-law. 

And that will enrich more 

than just your diet; it’ll spice 

up your family life as well. 

By Lim Seung-hae 

Lea Huyonh Nho 

Author of The Taste of 

Mother’s Secret Recipe 

People 

A Teenage Novelist’s Voyage 

‘Everything 

about my 

book is great, 

except the 

words “gifted 

girl” on the 

cover.’ 

Lee So-young wrote a 608-page historical novel about the ancient Roman Third Servile War. Here the middle 

school student stands in front of Roman ruins in Italy. 

Lee So-young is 15 — and she’s a published 

novelist. And not a sappy 

romance novel, either: The ninth grader 

at Daechi Middle School recently 

authored Rebellion, a 608-page piece of historical 

fiction. Even more incredible, she wrote it 

entirely in English. Lee liked writing short English 

stories growing up, but this is her first time 

completing a whole book, not to mention seeing 

it published. 

“I think everything about my book is great, 

except the words ‘gifted girl’ on the cover,” Lee 

said. “I wanted [the publishers] to erase it but 

they wouldn’t approve. It’s kind of embarrassing 

when there are many other students that 

have exceptional English skills. They just don’t 

have the time to sit down and write an entire 

book.” 

Setting the plot during the Third Servile 

War (73-71 B.C.) in Rome, about which very 

little is known, Lee invested all the devotion she 

could muster in Rebellion. It took her around a 

year-and-a-half to finish the book, writing two 

to three hours daily. She verified historical facts 

online, constantly leafed through encyclopedias 

and even saw several documentaries to 

ensure she wasn’t inserting any errors. 

Lee took on another challenge by deciding 

to use Spartacus, the courageous gladiator who 

led a slave rebellion against Rome, as her main 

character. Lee first became interested in the 

ancient civilization when she received a pet 

parrot named Caesar. But the more she learned, 

the more she felt it would be hard for her to 

depict the real Caesar as a character. 

“If you have too much information when 

you’re writing fiction, it doesn’t really help,” the 

author recalled. 

In addition to her one-year stay in France, 

the elementary education she received when 

she lived in the U.S. for a little over three years 

made it easier for Lee to write and read in English 

than to do the same in Korean. She also has 

a strong passion for writing, saying, “Writing is 

different from plain studying. What I gain from 

aceing tests is temporary, but what I gain from 

my writing is everlasting.” Lee added that she 

still can’t help but beam whenever she looks at 

her book.When the book was honed to Lee’s 

satisfaction, she sent excerpts to some 40 different 

foreign publishers and received one reply 

requesting the manuscript. In the end, Korean 

Ilsong Books was the lucky publishing company 

to sign a contract with Lee. Editorial 

supervisor Oh Young-sook said, “Combining 

all her assets as a young and aspiring author, I 

believe the term ‘gifted girl’ was made for girls 

like her.” By Carol Park 


[joongAng Ilbo]

A New Shade of Korean Leader 

People like Lee Charm, German-born head of the Korea Tourism 

Organization, make their love for Korea felt in culture and business 

In this mostly ethnically homogeneous country once 

called the “hermit kingdom,” Lee Charm is one of a 

kind. 

Born Bernhard Quandt in Germany, Lee came to 

Korea in 1978 and, enamored with his adopted home, became 

a Korean citizen in 1986. His first Korean name was Lee Hanwoo, 

literally meaning “helping Korea.” He adopted his current 

name in 2001. 

Lee’s love affair with Korea has led to various opportunities. 

He has appeared in Korean television dramas and hosted TV 

and radio programs. 

Lee Charm, born Bernhardt Quandt, 

is the first foreign-born person to be 

head of a Korean state agency. 

But none is as big as his latest assignment: Lee was named 

the head of the Korea Tourism Organization in July, becoming 

the first foreign-born person to be named to a leadership position 

in the Korean government. 

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, which oversees 

the tour organization, explained the hiring of Lee expressed 

the Korean government’s willingness to open doors for all, 

regardless of their ethnicity. 

“Our society is becoming more open and more internationalized,” 

the ministry said. “And the public sector has been considered 

conservative and closed. But this move shows the gov- 


ernment is prepared to open up.” 

The emotional Lee said he felt obligated 

to let the world in on his adopted 

homeland. 

“I feel that if people around the world 

knew Korea as I do, many people would 

visit Korea,” Lee said. “Over the last 30 

years I have been in Korea, I have come 

to know Korea. And with that I feel a 

sense of duty that I can and should share 

this with others.” 

‘If people around the 

world knew Korea as I 

do, many... would visit.’ 

And Lee isn’t the only startling recent 

appointment. The Korea Meteorological 

Administration in early August hired 

Ken Crawford, professor of meteorology 

at the University of Oklahoma, to head a 

newly formed nine-person unit to pursue 

accurate weather forecasts. The 

administration called Crawford the first 

foreign national — Lee Charm is, after 

all, a Korean citizen — to be hired as a 

high-ranking public servant in Korea 

after the law on their hiring was amended 

to expand opportunities for them. 

Crawford had a 28-year career with 

the National Weather Service in the 

United States and will be charged with 

trying to improve Korea’s weather forecast 

capabilities. The Korean administration 

said Crawford is signed through 

2012, and its expectations for him are 

such that Crawford will be paid $260,000 

Ken Crawford Guenter Reinke An Son-jae Suzanna Oh 

a year, about twice the salary of the Korean 

president. He will also be provided 

with an apartment and a sedan car. 

Korea has gradually opened its public 

institutions and private sectors to foreigners. 

And regardless of their positions 

and ranks, these international figures 

share one thing in common — their 

unabashed love for Korea. 

Suzanna Samstag Oh is the only 

American among the Korean conglomerate 

Daesung Group’s top officials. She 

has been a senior adviser on energy and 

culture since 2006. 

Oh, who arrived here as a U.S. Peace 

Corps volunteer in 1980, fell in love with 

the traditional Korean percussion form 

called samulnori after attending a show 

by the troupe of the master Kim Duk-su. 

She offered to help the troupe and was 

later hired as its overseas manager. She 

went on global tours with them and 

arranged workshops for foreigners following 

performances. 

Since he became chief executive of 

Boehringer Ingelheim Korea in 2005, 

Guenter Reinke has tried to assimilate 

himself into Korean culture. The German 

native builds Korean traditional 

kites, and his love for the Korean culture 

has led to Boehringer Ingelheim’s sponsoring 

of the Seoul Traditional Artist 

Awards, which started in 2007. 

“Young Koreans should realize that 

Korea’s rich traditions and culture formed 

the basis of its remarkable economic 

growth,” Reinke said. “They should take 

more interest in trying to preserve and 

inherit these traditions.” 

There are those who exert themselves 


People 

in learning the Korean language and 

extol the virtues of their new tongue. 

After arriving in Korea last fall, Christian 

Schindler, the German-born general 

manager of Lufthansa Korea, started 

picking up the new language, believing 

simply that he ought to learn the language 

of the country in which he was 

working. 

“By learning the Korean language, 

I’ve developed a better understanding of 

the Korean culture and sentiments,” 

Schindler says. “I am amazed by the logical 

and scientific structure of the language.” 

Others, such as Brother Anthony of 

Taizé, a professor emeritus of English at 

Sogang University, are trying to spread 

the news about Korean culture. The professor, 

who has Korean citizenship under 

the name An Son-jae, has translated a 

swath of Korean books. 

He began translating modern Korean 

literature in 1988 and has been honored 

with the Republic of Korea Literary 

Award in the translation category, the 

Daesan Award for Translation and the 

Korea PEN Translation Prize. 

American Maureen O’Crowley, 

meanwhile, is trying to promote Seoul as 

a tourist attraction. She is head of the 

Seoul Convention Bureau at the Seoul 

Tourism Organization. After running 

her own tour agency in California, she 

developed her Korean ties by working at 

the Los Angeles bureau of the Korea 

Tourism Organization in 2006. 

“Korea is my passion,” she said. “I 

love Seoul. That’s why I am working 

here.” By Yoo Jee-ho 

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Blazing a Trail in Hollywood 

Korean actors find their place amid the samurai and kung fu fighters 

As you watch the latest crop of 

Hollywood action movie 

trailers, you may notice 

something unusual, something 

some said would never happen — 

more and more Korean faces in lead 

roles. 

The year 2009 has been an especially 

fruitful one for the Korean actors who 

have made it in American film, though 

no one knows how long their luck will 

last. 

My Sassy Girl heroine Jun Ji-Hyun 

starred in her first international action 

movie, Blood: The Last Vampire, which 

was released in June in Korea. In the 

action flick, Jun plays the role of a humanvampire 

hybrid named Saya. 

Famous Korean Wave actor Lee 

Byung-Hun also made his Hollywood 

debut in the big-budget G.I. Joe: The Rise 

of Cobra, which opened in August. In this 

theatrical and colorful action movie, Lee 

plays Storm Shadow, a Korean martial 

arts fighter and a member of the villainous 

organization of the title. 

And even more big-budget Holly- 

wood movies with Korean actors in the 

lead roles are coming soon. In The Warrior’s 

Way, Jang Dong-gun plays an Asian 

warrior who has been hiding in a small 

American town in his first American 

film. Pop superstar Rain already made 

his debut in Hollywood in a supporting 

role in Speed Racer in 2008, but now he is 

ready to come back as the lead character 

in the new movie Ninja Assassin. 

This huge list may seem an unqualified 

success for Korean actors, but bigger 

problems often crop up after they land on 

the shores of L.A. 

As the previous attempts by Korean 

actors to break into the American film 

industry show, the biggest obstacle to 

overcome is the language barrier. The 

ability not only to read the lines fluently, 

but also to communicate with the director 

and the staff members is crucial for a 

successful actor. 

At a recent interview on May 12 in 

Seoul, Jun explained the issues she had to 

deal with while shooting Blood. 

“I remember the first shoot very vividly. 

I could only perform two lines of the 

script, and I couldn’t understand what 

the producers wanted from me,” she 

said. 

Because language is a major difficulty 

for foreign actors, it is inevitable 

that Korean actors not fluent in English 

will have limited options for possible 

roles. Most of the time, Korean actors 

choose action films and play very dynamic 

characters, expressing themselves with 

movement rather than verbally, through 

lengthy conversations or monologues. 

Although Lee has a quite big role in 

G.I. Joe, his character is built up through 

set pieces and visual qualities rather than 

lines. Of course, the blockbuster is an 

excellent start for Lee’s career, raising 

awareness of him worldwide. 

However, the question remains: After 

the movie’s success, will Lee be able to 

keep up with the fast pace of Hollywood 

and take it to the next level? The test for 

every Korean actor is to be more than just 

an exotic Asian face and continue to 

make films. 

Being able to speak fluent English is 

a big plus, but it is also something Korean 

actors have to overcome in order to take 

that next step in Hollywood. 

Another reason Korean actors have 

limited role options in action movies has 

to do with stereotypical ideas about 

Asians in Western society. Japanese samurai 

or Chinese kung fu fighters are still 

the commonly accepted images of Asian 

culture, particularly Asian men.Films in 

genres that average Americans identify 

with the most, like drama or romance, 

seldom have Asian characters in leading 

roles. 

Stereotypes are unquestionably negative, 

as they come from the commodification 

of one’s culture, but they have 

helped shape individual countries’ identities. 

Samurai have become representative 

of Japanese culture, and likewise for 

kung fu and China. But Korea has no 

such quick fit in the Western world. Thus, 

often roles for Asian characters tend to go 

to Japanese or Chinese. In fact, Jun’s film 

Blood is based on a Japanese anime. 

Meanwhile, Rain’s character, Taejo 

Tokokan, and Lee Byung-Hun’s character 

Storm Shadow were originally Japa- 

nese, but they both asked the filmmakers 

to change the nationality of the characters 

since they are Koreans. Although a 

lot of the characters’ features may still 

remind viewers of Japan, that effort 

should be acknowledged. 

It might be inevitable for Korean 

actors to start their Hollywood careers 

playing stereotypical Asian characters, 

but in time the best will be able to build 

up their own identities. Perhaps the best 

known example of this is Yunjin Kim, 

who played a complex and nuanced 

Korean character on the American 

television show “Lost.” 

Establishing a positive 

and strong Korean identity 

that can be differentiated 

from previously built 

images is the key to the 

globalization of Korean 

culture — and its biggest 

challenge. 

By Susan Yoon 


People 

From opposite left to below: Jun Ji- 

Hyun in Blood: The Last Vampire, 

Rain in Ninja Assassin, Jang Dong-gun 

in Laundry Warrior, and Lee Byung- 

Hun in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra 

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Kim Back-keun, 46, plays a 

concert in Gwangmyeong, 

Gyeonggi Province in 2008. 

Discovering 

Musical Joy 

in the Fields 

Kim Back-keun once dreamed 

of being a star. Now he farms, 

but that dream never died 

At first glance, Kim Back-keun may look like 

an ordinary Korean farmer (except for his 

long ponytail). Kim, like his father, grandfather, 

great grandfather and three more generations 

before, has spent most of his life in the small 

village of Garakgol in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province. 

Waking up before dawn every morning, Kim 

spends the day tending rice on his 13-acre farm, watering 

or sowing seeds for cabbage, radish, cucumber and 

other seasonal vegetables, or experimenting on new cultivars. 

But when the day is over and night sets in, the 

46-year-old heads to a makeshift studio in his home and 

picks up a guitar. 

He plays the songs he’s written, reliving old dreams 

of rock stardom. And Kim has indeed become some- 

Provided by Kim Back-keun 

thing of a small celebrity in this largely 

rural community, performing at various 

province fairs and events. He even 

released his first album in April. In his 

songs, Kim croons about passion for 

rice, awe at Mother Nature, love for his 

family and friends, artistic brooding 

and just about anything else he feels in 

everyday life. 

“My whole family has lived in this 

village for the past seven generations 

— for more than 100 years,” Kim said. 

Born in this small town, he was meant 

to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors, 

taking even deeper root in this 

tight-knit rural community and 

becoming a farmer. 

But as a teenager in the 1970s, Kim 

was mesmerized by something else: 

rock music. The sound of his brother’s 

guitar and of Elvis Presley on the transistor 

radio fascinated him. Soon Kim 

found himself glued to the little box 

every night, listening to the likes of Led 

Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad and 

Pink Floyd, while playing his brother’s 

guitar all day long with other music 

buffs. 

After Kim graduated from high 

school in Seoul, the long-haired young 

rocker joined a small band as guitarist 

and performed around college campuses 

in downtown Seoul for about 

three years in the early 1980s. But life 

as a hungry artist wasn’t for him. 

“It was simply impossible to get by 

just by doing music full-time,” said 

Kim. 

After three years, the band broke 

apart, and hungry and desperate Kim 

decided to return to his hometown to 

become a farmer, and perhaps practice 

his music part-time after work. Life as 

a farmer, however, was no easier than 

his career in music had been. 

Kim struggled for years until he 

adjusted to the rural life, getting to 

know how to sow seeds, tend the rice 

fields, harvest and sell the crops and 

‘Music is like 

an everyday 

habit to me. 

Farming and 

music are the 

two pillars of 

my life.’ 

Top, Kim cares for his vegetable 

garden. Above, Kim 

sings on a poster for one of 

his concerts. 


People 

maintain the farmland on sunny, rainy, windy, snowy 

and all other days. 

But during all these trials, Kim’s passion for music 

remained. 

“Music is like an everyday habit to me. Farming 

and music are the two pillars of my life,” said Kim, 

now married with three children, including two teenager 

daughters and a 10-year-old son. 

So he built a small music workshop in his house, 

paneling the walls with more than 1,000 small paper 

egg-packaging boxes to make it soundproof and filling 

the room with guitars, drums, flutes and other 

musical instruments he bought or made himself. 

Surrounded by instruments and more than 1,000 of 

his favorite LPs, collected over three decades, Kim 

finally began writing his own songs again. 

“It’s okay you’re rustic / It’s okay you’re rough / 

The humble and proud people who have silently soldiered 

on with their lives … You can be thirsty / You 

can be hungry / The people who live along with 

nature have no laments,” Kim sings in his song titled 

“The Farmer’s Mind.” 

He also praises rice as “nature’s gift / nature’s lifeline 

/ for all the people / now and forever,” in his song 

titled “Rice.” 

“No matter how good you are / No matter how 

bad you are / All the lives in this world look for something 

to eat,” Kim croons. 

With the help of old friends, Kim managed to 

hold his first solo concert in downtown Gwangmyeong 

last October, before even releasing his first 

album, with seven tracks, in April this year. About 

600 copies have been sold so far — much better than 

Kim expected. 

“I’m grateful I can play in front of people who 

appreciate my music,” he said. For Kim, farming and 

music share certain common elements — complete 

unpredictability and catharsis. 

“You can never guess what this year’s harvest will 

be like, since it can change depending on the weather, 

environmental changes and all the other frivolity of 

nature,” he said. 

Whereas in music, Kim said, there are certain 

unanticipated, hard-to-come-by moments of inspiration, 

which suddenly open doors to new melodies 

and creative rhythms. 

“It’s a moment of catharsis, and you can sometimes 

meet a moment like that when farming crops 

in nature,” he said. By Jung Ha-won

Foreign Viewpoints 

And Korea 

Transforms 

Yet Again 

I thrive on surprise, which 

makes this land — always 

changing, achieving goals no 

one would think possible — 

perfect for me. 

Alan Timblick is head of the Seoul Global 

Center at the Seoul Metropolitan Government. 

Previously he served as the head of 

Invest KOREA and senior vice president of 

KOTRA. Until he joined the Seoul Global 

Center, he was a senior advisor at Invest 

KOREA. He has lived in Korea for 23 years. 

From 1968 to 1995 he worked with Barclays 

Bank as an economist, a high street banker 

and an international corporate banking 

specialist, with resident country manager 

responsibilities in Sweden, Finland, Belgium, 

Luxemburg and Korea. After that, he 

worked with the executive search firms, AM- 

ROP International and subsequently Korn/ 

Ferry International as a managing director. 


Since I have spent half of my adult life 

in Korea, it should be an easy matter 

to write a column about life as a 

foreigner in this country. But in fact I 

find it a bit difficult. Like the expression, “He 

can’t see the forest for the trees,” one can get 

so used to something that we don’t notice 

how it can appear to those unfamiliar with it! 

So let me write about what I enjoy. My character 

is one who dislikes monotony, the routine 

and the predictable. I don’t like watching 

movies when the plot is obvious and the ending 

is no surprise. So the delight I get from 

living here comes from the constant flow of 

surprises and unexpected events. 

For a start, the topography is a surprise. They 

say that 70 percent of Korea’s land is mountains. 

Any drive into the countryside will confirm 

this. The other day I drove on a newlyopened 

stretch of expressway between Seoul 

and Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon 

Province. As you pass through tunnel after 

tunnel, burrowing through the landscape like 

a high-speed mole, the road bursts into the 

open displaying wide vistas of steep hillsides 

green with forests, winding silver streaks of 

rivers and white rushing waterfalls. Again, on 

a more recent journey southwards, a rolling 

mountain meadow, worthy of a scene from 

“The Sound of Music,” came into view, complete 

with bales of harvested hay — even 

though these were wrapped in shining white 

plastic! This was unlike any scenery I had ever 

seen in Korea before. 

Even the city scene provides eye-openers on 

the daily commute. Just a week ago Seoul 

opened up a brand new boulevard right in the 

middle of the ancient center of the 600-yearold 

capital. I had been driving daily past the 

screens that concealed the on-going works for 

a few months, and I knew what the planned 

Gwangwhamun Plaza was supposed to look 

like when it was completed. But I was totally 

unprepared for the visual effect of the wide 

open space, the floral arrangements, the 

water streams and the fountains, and I was 

above all astonished by the crowds of people 

— families with young children, pensioners, 

dating couples and foreign sightseers — who 

stroll along the plaza as if they were at their 

favorite beach resort, oblivious of the traffic 

flowing to either side. 

Seoul used to be a city where the pedestrian 

was treated almost like a second-class citizen, 

with priority given to getting the vehicles 

through as fast as possible. Now it has become 

a walker’s delight, with controlled crossings, 

wide sidewalks, tree-shaded rest areas 

and floral gardens nestling among the highrise 

office blocks. Even pavement cafes have 

appeared along the Cheonggyecheon rivulet 

which runs through the city where a four-lane 

overhead throughway once stood. 

I am sure that my former fellow expats from 

the 1970s would be struck dumb with amazement 

at the transformation of the city within 

such a relatively short span of time. 

The removal of the squalid, the shabby, the 

confusing, the disorderly and the dirty has 

been progressively achieved over the past decade 

or less, and is evidence of how quickly 

the Korean people are able to change and to 

accept new ideas. What is worrying is when 

the new is considered better than the old 

without proper evaluation. And the gradual 

disappearance of many of the old-style, authentically 

Korean buildings might be seen as 

“throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” 

So I get particular satisfaction when I see areas 

of preservation, such as the Bukcheon area to 

the north of the city center, or of re-creation, 

such as at the Museum of Korean Furniture in 

Seongbuk-dong, on the slopes of Mount Bugak. 

The shape of the tiled roof, in particular, 

on the traditional hanok home carries a grace 

in the upward and outward curvature, which 

is absent in both Japanese and Chinese traditional 

architecture. 

But amidst the constant flow of surprises that 

strike me living in Korea, maybe the most astonishing 

is the national trait of the Korean 

people that makes them propel themselves 

constantly to improve, to make next year better 

than last, and to rise up in the ranks of 

nations in a whole range of activities — science, 

technology, sport, performing arts: The 

list goes on. 

Living in Korea is sometimes like being in a 

state of perpetual crisis. But the people seem 

to thrive on crisis. And it is more than merely 

fun to observe the fighting spirit. (Koreans 

regularly use the exclamation, “Fighting!” to 

encourage one another.) Seeing them constantly 

overcoming adversity is nothing short 

of an inspiration. And that is the real reason I 

enjoy living here.

KOIS 

15 Hyoja-ro, Jongno-gu 

Seoul (110-040) 

Republic of Korea 

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