UNSRC Korean Cultural Society

Korea TImes
04-28-2009 15:48

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The number of foreigners living in Seoul is very much on the rise, with a headcount of 129,660 in 2005 representing an increase of some 250 percent in the last decade. The lions-share of the overseas residents come from China, the U.S., Taiwan, and Japan followed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Mongolia, Canada, England and France.

French children make songpyeon, a traditional Korea rice cake steamed on a layer of pine needles during an event for foreigners at Seorae Village in Seoul on Sept. 22, 2004.

As overseas communities have put down roots, it’s become clear that nationals from different countries like to gather in their own little corners of the city. The French have claimed the Seocho ward’s Seorae Village, the ethnic Korean-Chinese occupy Yenben Street, Garibong-dong in the Guri ward, and Dongbu Ichon is known to be home to many Japanese. With the number of foreign laborers increasing, small international districts are springing up all over town.

◆ Changshin-dong and Sungin-dong Is Nepal Town

Foreigners walk near Dongmyo station, near Changshin-dong and Sungin-dong, where many Nepalese people live.

Throngs of Nepalese are drawn to the homely sights and smells of Nepalese restaurants like Namaste and Himalayan in the Jongno ward in front of the Dongmyo (Eastern Shrine). It’s been three or four years since the opening of Nepalese jewelry stores prompted nationals to move into the area in droves. Soon after, authentic Nepalese restaurants sprang up in the area and the foundations of a community were set. One Nepalese immigrant said, “There must be at least three hundred of us gathered here. Once or twice a year we are treated to shows by famous Nepalese singers who come over especially and this year it will be at Jongno public building.” Lee Joo-ho, who runs an Oriental medicine clinic in the area, said “The number of Nepalese using my clinic is rising by the week. it’s no longer unusual to hear their language in my waiting room.”

◆ Itaewon Is Little Nigeria

Emmanuel (second from right), the owner of a Nigerian restaurant, poses with his wife (right), staff and building owner at his restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul.

An alley behind the Line 6 Itaewon subway station has become “Little Nigeria” with Nigerians beginning to buy items at Dongdaemun and Namdaemun markets for sale in their home country from around the year 2000. There are beauty parlors, restaurants and bars that cater to Nigerian tastes, and one afternoon a group of Nigerians even got together to discuss how to support their national football team. One district official said, “At night the street is pretty much filled with Nigerians. I guess there must be at least 200 living in the area.” With the mosque nearby, Friday night also bustles with Bangladeshis, Indonesians and people from North Africa.

◆ Gwanghui-dong’s Central Asian Village

Near the Dongdaemun Stadium is Gwanghui-dong, an area known for its central Asian village. In the mid-90s a number of merchants from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia began frequenting the area, and now there are restaurants with signs written in Cyrillic and buildings clustered with restaurants, trading companies, and groceries run by Mongolians.

◆ Hyehwa-dong Philippine Market

Filipinos leaves a cathedral in Hyehwa-dong, Seoul after Sunday mass.

Every Sunday Filipinos gather at Daehangno in Dongseung-dong. Along the walls of the Catholic Dongsung Middle and High School the Philippine market is a hive of activity. It started to grow three yeas ago when Filipinos gathered for Mass in Hyehwa Catholic Church.

Foreigners make up 1.3 percent of the population of Seoul. As the number from OECD member countries including the U.S. and Germany is falling sharply, the number of people from non-member countries including China is on the rise, according to researcher Yoon Hyung-ho of the Seoul Development Institute.

Between 1999 and 2005, the number of U.S. citizens in Korea has decreased by 39 percent to 11,487 from 18,763. The number of Germans dropped by 25 percent to 753 and French nationals living in Korea totaled 1001, a 15 percent decrease from 1,180. Japanese proved the exception, showing a slight increase of 6 percent, while the number of Chinese residents soared 534 percent to 77,881 from 12,283. Numbers of Taiwanese rose 196 percent to 8,923 from 3,011 and Vietnamese went up to 2,385 from 841. Sharp rises in the number of Indians, Filipinos and Bangladeshi were also evident. People from non-OECD nations increased 280 percent combined, from 26,428 to 100, 421.

englishnews@chosun.com / Apr. 05, 2007 07:55 KST

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Chosun Genre Paintings Show Change in Women’s Roles

Korean genre paintings of the 18th and early 19th centuries show a profound change in the role played by women in the Chosun Dynasty. The director of the Myongji University Museum, Lee Tae-ho, took a fresh look at some 60 genre paintings produced between the 18th century and early 19th century by Kim Hong-do, Shin Yun-bok, Yun Du-seo and others, and concluded that they pick up on how women in that era took on a more independent and powerful role. “Paintings produced after the 18th century often feature women focusing on entertainment rather than their traditional role as mother or wife,” Lee says. “That change can be compared to a kind of cultural DNA which runs through to today’s women in Korea, who play a more active and aggressive role.”

A painting by Shin Yun-bok

◆ Women Take to the Streets

Against the widespread perception that women in the late Chosun era were confined in the framework of Sung Confucianism, genre paintings show women taking part in an ever greater variety of social events. The Gisagyecheop, an album of paintings depicting a party in honor of retired high ranking scholar-officials produced between 1719 and 1720, is the first series of court paintings that features ordinary people watching the event. Depicting the party with King Sukjong, who was 60, and the 10 retired high ranking officials, the paintings show 15 women among the 88 onlookers gathered around Gwanghwamun. Paintings of King Jeongjo’s Visit to Hwaseong in 1795, some 70 years later, show the king paying a visit to the grave of his father Crown Prince Sado, and Lee spotted no fewer than 137 women among the 358 people who look on as the king crosses the Han River.

◆ Gisaeng Girls as Trendsetters

Gisaeng or all-round female entertainers were the trendsetters of the era, with noblewomen borrowing from their style. Genre paintings confirm, for example, that clothes emphasizing women’s body silhouette such as tight-fitting short jackets were highly popular. “It is deplorable that clothes only gisaeng girls wear to flirt with men are popular,” lamented two scholars of the so-called Silhak or practical learning movement, Yi Ik (1681-1764) and Yi Deok-mu (1741-1793). Colors became more diverse and flamboyant, and especially blue, which was considered luxurious and sophisticated, was all the rage. Among the 70 women who appear in an album of 30 paintings by Shin Yun-bok in the early 19th century, 52 wear indigo, which was the most difficult to produce with traditional dyeing methods.

◆ From Den to High-Class Establishment

Genre paintings produced by Kim Hong-do around 1780s and Shin Yun-bok in 1810s show a sea change in traditional Korean taverns. While taverns in Kim’s paintings have thatch roofs and women owners wearing monochrome jackets without any particular decoration, those in Shin’s paintings some 30 years later have tiled roofs that were seen only in noblemen’s houses at the time. The manageresses look urban in their indigo skirts as they welcome customers.

◆ Fun Over Chores

In most genre paintings, women in clothes that identify them as noblewomen are seen flirting or even posing for erotic pictures. But in those painted by scholar Yun Do-seo and his son Yun Deok-hi, they are shown reading or doing chores. An unattributed erotic painting of the time even depicts a noblewoman having sex with a Buddhist monk.

englishnews@chosun.com / Jul 17, 2006 21:39 KST

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