Whom do you think of first if you are asked about Korea’s most famous and greatest diplomat? It might be easier to think of another country’s diplomat. Have you ever heard of Seo Hui? Seo Hui is a famous historical figure who was a great diplomat and politician in the early Goryeo Dynasty. Seo Hui entered government service though the state examination and was promoted quickly. He was soon in charge of a department, which was like today’s Ministry of National Defense. He was sent to Song as an envoy. His career gave Seo Hui the ability to understand well international situations. He played an
Have you been to Pohang? If you want to have a relaxing time and experience the sea and mountain, Pohang is the perfect place. There is the sea to the east of Pohang and mountains to the northwest. Expecially, there are great sights near Bogyeong Temple. Most people who have been to Bogyeong Temple first talk about the twelve waterfalls and pinewood rather than the temple. It is a nice relaxing area. If you are worn out from daily life or just want to go somewhere that has a spring breeze, you should go to Pohang. Before you arrive at Bogyeong Temple, you can see that the beautiful cherry blo
Many people wish to go an historical spot. So, there are many places that reconstruct historical facts. If you want to see Korean traditional lifestyle, you can see it at the Korean folk village. There are many traditional things from life's vestige to culture. But, if we want to see Korean modern lifestyle, where can we go? We can go to Buchon Fantastic Studios. Fantastic Studios is the place where we can experience the old streets and the old buildings of Seoul from the 1930's to the 1970's. From the 1930's to the 1970's, Western culture came to Korea in the form of lamps, electric railways,
Do you often go to theatres? Do you get satisfaction from movies? Hollywood movies are flowing over the brim in theatres. Do you hope to see a different kind of movie? If you do, I would recommend visiting Dongsung Art Hall. I frequently see these scenes in other theatres: people eating popcorns, waiting for the next movie and crowded box-offices. I don't see these typical scenes in Dongsung. Sometimes there are just ten of us in the theatre. I feel the hall is just for me.Dongsung Art Hall is the only cinema in Daegu that shows only art movies. It also belongs to Art Plus Cinema, the associat
A marathoner breasted the tape in first place in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He just stepped off the track with his face drooping. He didn't express the pleasure of the winner even on the platform and stared down at the ground with sad eyes. Why did the winner seem to be sad? He had the Japanese flag on, but he was not Japanese. He was Korean, under the colonial control of Japan. This man was Sohn Kee-chung. He resisted Japan in his own way, and made Korean people feel big pleasure even if it was for a short time.At that time, the “Dong-a Ilbo” had his picture in the newspaper showing him on the
Mysterious Sounds Made By Two Strings “Haegeum”Haegeums are stringed musical instruments that produce sound by rubbing two strings with a bow. Haegeums have characteristics of both wind and string instruments. It can be defined a wind instrument by its structure and a string instrument because of its two strings. Haegeums can be played solo or as part of an ensemble. They usually play folk music and wanderer's music and also accompany singers and dancers.Haegeums have many unique characteristics. Haegeums are about 66cm in length and have two strings. Though they have only two strings, they ha
During the last five months, many people have crowded around the Kyobo Building intersection in Seoul. Why did this congestion happen? This reason is that famous actors such as Jang Dong-gun, Ahn Sung-kee, Park Joong-hoon, and Lee Jun-ki and directors demonstrated against the government's plan to halve the screen quota. The Korean government announced the reduction of the screen quota on January 26. The screen quota is that theaters should show Korean movies for a designated number of days. In Korea, the screen quota has been carried out since 1967 and has been 146 days since 1985. Han Duk-soo
Positive understanding about organ donation is spreading in Korean society lately. This social phenomenon was partly affected by a section, “Open the Eyes,” of the MBC TV program “Exclamation Mark,” televised on Saturday night. This program offered eyesight-disabled people cornea transplants and made more people interested in organ donation. Last September, Beobjang, a monk, donated his body after he died. Because of that, Buddhists’ donation rate is getting higher. A public advertisement (KOBACO) shows the people who got organ transplants and a chance to live new lives. Kim Sang-jin, an ordin