Donate
Join

Category: Arts & Culture

Author Talks: Hwang Bo-reum

Posted on by Yurim Oh

 

The charming slice-of-life novel Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by debut novelist Hwang Bo-reum became an instant smash hit with Korean readers. Now, the irresistible bestseller is available to English readers for the first time with an effervescent translation by Singaporean translator Shanna Tan.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop brings to life the escapist fantasy of ditching the corporate grind in pursuit of passion, daring to ask the question that all book lovers dream about: what if I quit my job and opened a bookstore?

In this episode of Author Talks, Hwang Bo-reum discusses her career and her English debut.

 

Author Talks: Hwang Bo-reum

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

 

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

About the Speaker:

Author photo credit: Seong Ji Min/Clayhouse Inc. | 

Hwang Bo-reum studied computer science and worked as a software engineer. She wrote several essay collections: I Read Every Day, I Tried Kickboxing for the First Time and This Distance is Perfect. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is her first novel, which has sold over 150,000 copies in Korea and has been sold into nine territories.

 

Concrete Utopia: A Director’s Talk

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Image credit: Lotte Entertainment | 

The story begins in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophic disaster. What if our apartment complex is the only building left standing after a devastating earthquake? Produced by Climax Studio, the production house known for their creative storytelling and exceptional directing in Netflix’s Hellbound and D.P., Concrete Utopia is “a dystopian disaster movie with a difference” that makes you think, “if I were in this movie, what would I do?” – Variety

Concrete Utopia begins as survivors from the hellish outside world converge at Hwang Gung Apartments, the only building left standing in Seoul after a disastrous earthquake. As everything collapses and a brutal cold snap takes hold, desperate survivors seek refuge in Hwang Gung Apartments, posing a threat to the original residents. Starring Korean superstars Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game, Mr. Sunshine), Park Seo-jun (The Marvels, Itaewon Class), and many beloved character actors, the film “[shapes] familiar genre tropes into a brutal study of class warfare and the stifling of pity… [where] human kindness [is] the first casualty of social disorder.” – The New York Times.

Director Um Tae-hwa discusses his award-winning film.

 

 

Concrete Utopia: A Director’s Talk

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

 

 

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

About the Director:

Um Tae-hwa is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Um made his directorial feature debut with Ingtoogi: The Battle of Internet Trolls (2013) and received the Best New Director Award at the 54th Grand Bell Awards for Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned (2016). In 2023 his film Concrete Utopia was selected as South Korean entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards after winning numerous accolades, including the Best Picture Award at the 59th Grand Bell Awards and the Best Director award at the 44th Blue Dragon Award.

Author Talks: Bora Chung & Anton Hur

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Author photo: ©HyeYoung | 

 

The author and translator of Cursed Bunny, a National Book Award and International Booker Prize Finalist, are back with a new collection of short stories.

A rising star of Korean literature, Bora Chung burst onto the American literary scene last year with the publication of her astounding debut, Cursed Bunny: Stories, translated by Anton Hur. Met with universal praise, these surreal, chilling fables that take on patriarchy, capitalism, and the reign of big tech were a National Book Award Finalist for Translated Literature and shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Chung and Hur returns with her striking sophomore collection, Your Utopia: Stories.

Filled with Chung’s inimitable blend of horror, absurdity, and dark humor, and set in near and distant futures that reflect our deepest fears and desires, the stories in Your Utopia take place in different, off-kilter yet sometimes uncannily familiar settings. With Your Utopia, Chung hopes to provide readers with “a collection of stories that explore the limits of humanity to re-discover what it means to be human. Like all other works of science and speculative fiction, Your Utopia is ultimately about human beings: who we are and what we will be as the Anthropocene era reaches its peak and eventual demise.”

In this episode of Author Talks, Bora Chung is joined by Anton Hur to discuss her latest English publication.

 

Author Talks: Bora Chung & Anton Hur

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

 

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

Jian Yoo | Iridescent Hue

Posted on by Yurim Oh

January 25 – April 18, 2024 |

Working in the precise and fine medium of mother of pearl – “jagae” in Korean – Jian Yoo’s iridescent art bridges historical and contemporary, nature and artificial, arts and crafts. Made of thousands of mother-of-pearl pieces layered in intricate patterns, Yoo’s art respectfully acknowledges the long tradition of master craft workers while reinventing the genre with distinctively modern sensibilities.

The Korea Society Gallery is open only by appointment. The appointment must be made at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled visit. To make an appointment, please contact info@koreasociety.org.

Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday 10 AM-4:30 PM
By Appointment Only

Click here to make an appointment

 

 

 

New York Asia Week Reception

Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 5-7 PM (EDT)

 

@ The Korea Society 
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor, NYC

**Pre-registration is now required for all Korea Society events, and an ID is required for security.**

For more information, please contact info@koreasociety.org or call (212) 759-7525.

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Jian Yoo is a contemporary mother-of-pearl artist residing and working between Korea and the United States. While studying Interior Design at Pratt Institute of New York, Yoo chose mother-of-pearl—or “jagae” in Korean—as her medium, inspired by her father, a master of “najeonchilgi” or Korean nacre lacquerware who ran his own studio throughout her childhood. Returning to Korea in 2013, Yoo embarked on pioneering the modern mother-of-pearl art while establishing her own studio, ARIJIAN.

Yoo designed the trophy for the first Seoul Smart City Prize, and her artwork was chosen as the Presidential State Gift for the South Korea-US Summit of 2023 and 44 other heads of state and foreign dignitaries. She held a solo exhibition at the Andaz Hotel Gangnam in Seoul, Lotte Hotel Seoul, Culture Object in New York, and was featured in exhibitions at, among others, Downtown Design Dubai, UNESCO Headquarter in Paris, and National Folk Museum of Korea, which also acquired her artwork. Jian Yoo has also collaborated with brands such as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Cartier, Blancpain, Girogetti, and many others.

 

 

Jian Yoo | Iridescent Hue

Posted on by Yurim Oh

January 25 – April 18, 2024 |

Working in the precise and fine medium of mother of pearl – “jagae” in Korean – Jian Yoo’s iridescent art bridges historical and contemporary, nature and artificial, arts and crafts. Made of thousands of mother-of-pearl pieces layered in intricate patterns, Yoo’s art respectfully acknowledges the long tradition of master craft workers while reinventing the genre with distinctively modern sensibilities.

The Korea Society Gallery is open only by appointment. The appointment must be made at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled visit. To make an appointment, please contact info@koreasociety.org.

Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday 10 AM-4:30 PM
By Appointment Only

Click here to make an appointment

 

 

 

New York Asia Week Reception

Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 5-7 PM (EDT)

 

@ The Korea Society 
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor, NYC

**Pre-registration is now required for all Korea Society events, and an ID is required for security.**

For more information, please contact info@koreasociety.org or call (212) 759-7525.

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Jian Yoo is a contemporary mother-of-pearl artist residing and working between Korea and the United States. While studying Interior Design at Pratt Institute of New York, Yoo chose mother-of-pearl—or “jagae” in Korean—as her medium, inspired by her father, a master of “najeonchilgi” or Korean nacre lacquerware who ran his own studio throughout her childhood. Returning to Korea in 2013, Yoo embarked on pioneering the modern mother-of-pearl art while establishing her own studio, ARIJIAN.

Yoo designed the trophy for the first Seoul Smart City Prize, and her artwork was chosen as the Presidential State Gift for the South Korea-US Summit of 2023 and 44 other heads of state and foreign dignitaries. She held a solo exhibition at the Andaz Hotel Gangnam in Seoul, Lotte Hotel Seoul, Culture Object in New York, and was featured in exhibitions at, among others, Downtown Design Dubai, UNESCO Headquarter in Paris, and National Folk Museum of Korea, which also acquired her artwork. Jian Yoo has also collaborated with brands such as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Cartier, Blancpain, Girogetti, and many others.

 

 

An Evening of Korean Traditional Dance

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Join us for an enchanted evening of Korean traditional dance performances. Kim Myoseon, Master Instructor of Seungmu (monk’s dance), the 27th Important Intangible Cultural Property of the Republic of Korea, and her company present a series of dance performances and provide a fascinating account behind the formation and evolution of Korean dance.

 

 

An Evening of Korean Traditional Dance

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 | 6:30 PM (EST)

 

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speaker:

Renowned dancer Kim Myoseon was designated as Master Instructor of Seungmu, the 27th Important Intangible Cultural Property of Korea, in 2005. She is Chief Artistic Director of Balim Dance Company and Chair of the Ubong Imaebang Dance Preservation Association, which was founded to preserve the legacy of her late teacher Lee Mae-bang. Kim also served as an exchange professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and has established 13 Kim Myoseon National Intangible Cultural Heritage Seungmu Training Centers globally, located in Los Angeles, Houston, Washington, New Jersey, Tokushima, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Okayama, Incheon, Busan, Mokpo, and Seoul. Among many honors and awards she has received are the 2021 Korea Arts and Culture Achievement Award and was the Grand Prize at 33rd Korean Traditional Music Awards.

Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation Series on Ethics & Common Values Inaugural Lecture by Dr. Jim Yong Kim

Posted on by Yurim Oh

With the ever-growing need to understand ourselves and humanity as a whole, it is necessary to examine the concepts of morality, ethics and universal values as guiding principles of the human condition. With generous support from Y.T. Hwang Family Foundation, The Korea Society is launching a new lecture and conversation series titled Series on Ethics and Common Values.

This series promotes the understanding of central themes of our human existence – morality, ethics, personal responsibility, compassion and civility – through a series of lectures by distinguished speakers and conversation with extraordinary individuals who exemplify the universal values in line with the mission of Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation and The Korea Society.

The Korea Society and Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation is proud to present Dr. Jim Yong Kim, who will deliver the inaugural lecture of the new series.

 

 This program is made possible by the support from Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation

 

Y. T. Hwang Family Foundation
Series on Ethics & Common Values
Inaugural Lecture by Dr. Jim Yong Kim

Wednesday, January 10, 2024 | 6 PM (EST)


 The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speaker:

Jim Yong Kim, M.D., PhD, is Vice Chairman and Partner at Global Infrastructure Partners, a fund that invests in infrastructure projects across several sectors around the world.From July 2012 to February 2019, Kim served as the 12th President of the World Bank Group.

A physician and anthropologist, Dr. Kim’s career has revolved around health, education, and improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable. He was born in South Korea to parents who had fled the violence of the Korean War and grew up in Iowa, where his father was a practicing dentist and his mother was a philosopher and theologian. Kim graduated from Brown University, then became one of the first students to study jointly for a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in anthropology at Harvard University.

While at Harvard, Kim co-founded Partners In Health, a non-profit medical organization that provides healthcare to poor communities on four continents. From 2003 to 2005, Kim served as Director of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS department. Following his service at WHO, Kim was Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard School of Public Health. In 2009, he was named the 17th President of Dartmouth College, where he served until he was nominated by President Barack Obama to lead the World Bank Group.

He received a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, was recognized as one of America’s “25 Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report, and was named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

 

The Korean Wave: Where did it come from, and where is it going?

Posted on by

The world is captivated by Korean culture. This fascination and popular interest, once focused on K-drama and K-pop, have now extended into fashion, food, fine art, classical and various genres of music. So much so that various institutions are pondering the question: what is the secret of Korea’s cultural success?

To answer this question, Korea’s Ambassador for Cultural Cooperation Sohn Jie-ae, a former CNN Seoul correspondent, explores the basic values and thoughts that lie behind the strength of Korea’s cultural wave in her conversation with Vivian Lee.

 

The Korean Wave: Where did it come from, and where is it going?
A Conversation with Korea’s Ambassador for Cultural Cooperation Sohn Jie-ae

Friday, December 8, 2023 | 11:30 AM (EST)

 

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

About the Speaker:

Sohn Jie-ae is the Republic of Korea’s Ambassador for Cultural Cooperation. She is also an invited professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University, focusing on international communications. From 1995 to 2010, Amb. Sohn was CNN’s bureau and correspondent based in Seoul, Korea. She provided continuous coverage of both South and North Korea for the global news network. During these years, she reported on the political and economic development of South Korea, and North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. From 2011 to 2014, she was the President of Arirang TV and Radio, Korea’s only English-language international broadcasting station, available in over 188 countries. With this, she became Korea’s first female head of a major broadcasting company. Previously, Amb. Sohn was the Presidential Secretary of the Office of Overseas Public Relations, working for the former South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak. In 2010, she served as the spokesperson of the Presidential Committee for the G20 Seoul Summit. Amb. Sohn continues to provide communications consultancy services for several international organizations such as the World Bank and the Asia Foundation. Amb. Sohn is married with three daughters.

 

About the Moderator:

Vivian Lee (she/her) (she/her) is an Emmy-winning TV journalist, public speaker, moderator and director/producer in New York. She is currently a correspondent with Asian American Life, a production of CUNY-TV. Vivian also co-hosts a podcast called The 5 Of Us that examines issues affecting women who work. Before that she was an anchor, show host, and reporter for Spectrum News NY1.

Vivian has received numerous awards recognizing her industry and community contributions, including the New York Women’s Foundation’s 2021 “Pillars of Courage” award, shared with four of her former NY1 colleagues. She also received KAFSC’s 2019 Lifetime Engagement Award. A featured speaker on numerous panels and workshops discussing ageism, gender discrimination and Asian American identity, Vivian currently serves as co-chair of KoreanAmericanStory.org and lives in New York with her husband and two daughters.

TAKE ME HOME

Posted on by Yurim Oh

The Korea Society is thrilled to sponsor the screening of the award-winning short film Take Me Home, followed by a Q+A with director Liz Sargent and the film team at Marlene Meyerson JCC.

Anna is an adult with a Cognitive Disability living with her mother in Midland Florida. When her mother is unresponsive, she calls her sister for help, but without the language to be believed, Anna is brushed aside. Emily returns home and is immediately engulfed in a futile struggle for medical information, while Anna’s world is deconstructed. In this sadness, Anna sees the bigger picture and with a straightforward strength, Anna holds her own. The uncertainty for the sisters’ future independence remains but they are now a team against all odds.

Take Me Home is a film drenched with love: unexpected, fulfilling, and necessary love that comes with growing up, maturity, and realizing your own potential.— AWARDS DAILY

WINNER: Golden Reel Best Short / Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (Academy Qualifying)
WINNER: Special Jury Best Short / deadCenter Film Festival (Academy Qualifying)
WINNER: Best Film / Cinema Touching Disability
WINNER: Special Jury / Desertscape Int’l Film Festival
WINNER: Best New Actress / Anna Sargent / New York Shorts Awards

 

Reserve Tickets Here

This screening is partly supported by JP Morgan Chase & Co.

 

TAKE ME HOME
Screening & Q+A

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | 7 PM

@ Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan L2 Auditorium
334 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY, 10023

 

 

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

About the Director:

Photo credit: Erica Urech

Liz Sargent is a Korean American Adoptee whose award-winning work explores themes of adoption, disability and family. As a Writer/Director she incorporates her background as a choreographer into visual storytelling that channels complex human emotions that are an extension of her experience as the middle child of eleven and an exploration of her intersectional identity.

You May Also Enjoy:

The Films of Kim Ki-young Specially Processed American Me K-Content on the World Stage: Emergence, Explosion, and Staying Power with Steve Chung Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV

The Korean Cookbook with Chef Junghyun Park

Posted on by Yurim Oh

Photo by Peter Ash Lee

Acclaimed two-Michelin-starred chef Junghyun (JP) Park invites you to discover the delicious and joyful world of Korean cuisine known as Hansik. Together with Jungyoon Choi, globally renowned expert on Korean food, Chef Park presents an expansive and scholarly exploration of Korean cooking and proves that there is much more to celebrate about Korean fare than just barbecue. Following 10 years of in-depth research – and 20 years of friendship – Park and Choi have meticulously crafted the most comprehensive collection of Korean recipes in print today.

The Korean Cookbook published by Phaidon features more than 350 authentic recipes, originating from the high rises of Seoul to the volcanic beaches of Jeju Island. An incredible variety of deeply-researched dishes are carefully documented in this collection that spans 500 pages and includes 110 commissioned photographs shot in Korea by photographer Jinju Kang, an artist who works primarily on Hansik and Korean Art Cultures. Designed by Associate Studio, the book brings together the heritage of Korean paper making, Hanji, along with typographic structure melding together decorative window design with one of Korea’s most celebrated typographers Ahn Sang Soo. Richly illustrated and beautifully designed, The Korean Cookbook is the definitive culinary guide that captures the true essence of Hansik for readers around the world.

In this conversation at The Korea Society with Elyse Inamine, Chef Park speaks about his first book and career.

 

The Korean Cookbook with Chef Junghyun Park

Monday, November 13, 2023 | 6:30 PM (EST)


 The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

Join our membership program here!

email iconE-News sign-up

 

 

About the Speaker:

Junghyun (JP) Park is an acclaimed chef born and raised in Seoul. With his wife, Ellia Park, they run four restaurants in New York – Atoboy, Naro, Seoul Salon, and Atomix (2 Michelin stars, 3 stars from the New York Times). In 2022, Atomix received the Art of Hospitality Award from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and achieved No. 8 in World 50 Best 2023, the top restaurant in North America. In 2023, Park won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: New York State.

 

About the Moderator:

Elyse Inamine is a writer and editor in New York City. Previously, she was the restaurants editor at Bon Appétit, and has covered the restaurant industry on staff at Food & Wine and Tasting Table. Now she writes for the New York Times, Food & Wine, and more, and continues to work as a contributing editor at BA.

You may also enjoy…

A Very Asian Guide to Korean Food with Michelle Li Peter Serpico: Learning Korean with Eric Kim Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home with Eric Kim Korean Instant Pot Cooking