Seoul Lights Up for the Holiday Season - Korea.net

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TRAVEL Daegwallyeong Snow Festival Goseong Myeongtae Festival The Daegwallyeong Snow Festival, arguably the biggest winter festival in Korea, will take place in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do, in January. More than 20 events will be held, including ice fishing, hunting, dog sleigh rides, igloo experiences and half-naked marathons. More than a hundred snow sculptures will be displayed all over Daegwallyeong. There will also be events at sheep ranches nearby. The festival runs from Jan. 15 to 19. For details, call (033) 330-2761 or visit www.snowfestival.net How to Get There: By bus or train, get off at Hoenggye Bus Terminal. It takes about two and a half hours from Seoul. Daegwallyeong Snow Festival A participant enjoys dog sleigh ride in Daegwallyeong Snow Festival A snow sculpture at Mt. Taebaek Snow Festival Taebaeksan Snow Festival Taebaeksan Snow Festival Various events will be held in the highlands of Taebaeksan, 800 meters above sea level, at Taebaeksan Provincial Park, Hwangjiho and the city of Taebaek, Gangwon-do. The 16th Taebaeksan Snow Festival includes a snow sculpture exhibition, an outdoor concert and a fireworks show. It also offers various familyfriendly programs such as dog sled rides, a curling competition and snow train rides. The festival runs from Jan. 30 to Feb. 8. For more information, call (033) 550-2081, 2828 or visit festival.taebaek.go.kr/part2/home/html/ main.html How to Get There: By train or bus, get off at Taebaek. It takes four and a half hours by train and three and a half hours by bus from Seoul. Goseong Myeongtae Festival The Goseong Myeongtae Festival is to be held around Geojin harbor, the only Myeongtae fishing spot in Korea, located northeastern Gangwon-do. Myeongtae, meaning Alaskan pollack, is a fish mostly caught during the winter season. The festival is all about myeongtae, promoting events like the myeongtae throwing game, a street parade with people wearing costumes made of myeongtae and the myeongtae tower game. The festival’s edge comes from the beautiful scenery of the winter sea. It will have a fireworks show by the sea each night, creating a romantic mood for couples visiting Geojin harbor. The festival will operate free boat rides. It runs from Feb. 21 to 24. For more information, call (033) 680-3221 or visit www.myeongtae.com ■ How to Get There: Take a bus to Geojin terminal. It takes about four hours from Seoul. Kids hold up Myeongtae they fished at the Goseong Myeongtae Festival Goseong Myeongtae Festival Goseong Myeongtae Festival 50 KOREA DECEMBER 2008 DECEMBER 2008 KOREA 51
EVENTS Daegu Photo Biennale 2008 1 “Gyeongbok Palace,” 1888 2 “The Night Prior to an Event,” Yang Jae-kwan 3 “Another Episode,” Liu Lijie 4 “The Three Fates,” Yanagi Miwa Visitors look at photos at Daegu Biennale “Women with Updo Hairstyle in front of a Folding Screen before 1901,” Louis Marin Collection, Musee Guimet Daegu Biennale Shows Charms of Photography BY PARK MIN-YOUNG STAFF WRITER The international Daegu Photo Biennale 2008 photo festival ended on Nov. 16 after a 17-day run. It placed the spotlight on Asia, featuring some 1,500 photos by 200 leading photographers from 10 countries. “We have a lot of interest in Western photos but don’t really know about Asian photos, even though we live in Asia,” said Koo Bohn-chang, the biennale’s artistic director. The biennale attracted more interest this year as Koo is one of Korea’s top photographers and is a wellknown figure around the world. “This biennale focused on three Asian countries — Korea, China and Japan — and it provided a chance to learn about them,” he said. The main exhibition looked at the artistic trend of modern photographers as well as documentary photos in Asia. Under the theme “Then & Now — Memories of the Future,” the biennale sought a balance between the two roles of photography: art and record. “Memories of the Future,” one of the two main expositions, held 400 works by modern Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese photographers at the EXCO in Daegu. Each had a unique theme related to the countries’ socio-cultural backgrounds. “The Sensibility of Life: The Reconfigured Eye” is an exhibition of 12 Korean photographers who offered incisive commentary on modern Korean society. In “The Night Prior to an Event,” Yang Jae-kwan criticized Korea’s tendency to put too much emphasis on the cause and result of an event without trying to understand the details or procedures. 1 Fifteen Chinese and Taiwanese photographers expressed their unique thoughts about life in the exposition “While Alive.” The photos reflect the various changes China went through in the last 20 years. Liu Lijie expressed her feelings about the miscellaneous and seductive world in the series “Another Episode.” In the exhibit “Body Images in Digital Era,” 12 Japanese photographers displayed bold and provocative photos. In “The Three Fates,” Yanagi Miwa visualized the Moirae, who are the three sisters of Greek mythology in charge of fate. The oldest, Cloto, spins human life out of her hair but grows old and miserable because she can no longer control her ever-growing hair. “Photographs from 100 Years Ago,” the other main exhibit at the EXCO, displayed 350 rare photos of the three Asian countries back when cameras were just introduced. The unfamiliar faces and forgotten backgrounds in the black-and-white photos remind viewers of the importance of using photos to record and remember. However, the Korean section seemed too brief due to the dearth of old photos. “There weren’t many photos of Korea from that time that we could collect. Actually, I wanted the viewers to realize that,” Koo said. “The original role of photography is to record. If we can’t see that, then in another 100 years we might still be lacking photos.” Some of the Korean photos came off as quite a discovery. The panoramic photo of Gyeongbok Palace taken in 1888 was shown to the public for the first time. More exhibitions were held throughout Daegu. “Changing Social Landscape: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 1950-2008,” at the Daegu Culture and Arts Center, showed pictures of people and landscape in North Korea. They were taken by 12 well-known photographers, including Margaret Bourke-White, a former photographer for Life magazine. “The last 10 years have been a very progressive time for Korean photography,” said Wendy Watriss, a reviewer of this biennale and one of the founders of FotoFest, an internationally known photographic arts and education organization based in Houston. “The biennale exposes many photos that show an Asian perspective, which was not seen outside of Asia.” ■ Louis Marin Collection, Musee Guimet 2 3 4 52 KOREA DECEMBER 2008 DECEMBER 2008 KOREA 53
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Page 19 and 20: CULTURE Hanbok Artist Makes Style S
Page 21 and 22: PEOPLE Moon Young Doo Credia Japane
Page 23 and 24: ART A scene from “A Ballerina Who
Page 25: TRAVEL Inje Ice Fish Festival Night
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Page 31 and 32: SPECIAL SERIES they are perceived a
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Seoul Lights Up for the Holiday Season - Korea.net

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