Korea Times
09-24-2009 22:24

By Kim Yong-ja

This is a must-have especially during the holidays like New Year’s Day or ‘Chuseok’ (Full Moon Festival). Although it looks like a one-dish meal, it is served as a first course for an elaborate meal. Serve at room temperature but not cold. Everything can be prepared in advance, except for the noodles.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

6 oz/170 g BEEF SIRLOIN, sliced thin

VEGETABLE OIL

1 ONION, cut in half and sliced

1 CARROT, cut 2″/5 cm long and sliced thin

6 SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS cleaned with wet paper towel and cut

½ oz/14 g ‘MOGI’ (black) MUSHROOMS, soaked in water and cleaned

SALT and PEPPER

1 bunch SPINACH, blanched

4 oz/113 g ‘DANGMYEON’ (sweet potato noodles)

NOODLE MARINADE:

2 tablespoons SOY SAUCE

2 tablespoons WATER

1½ tablespoons SUGAR

2 tablespoons SESAME OIL

1 teaspoon SESAME SEEDS

BLACK PEPPER

‘BULGOGI’ MARINADE:

1½ tablespoons SOY SAUCE

1½ teaspoons SUGAR

2 teaspoons SESAME OIL

½ teaspoon SESAME SEEDS

1 small GARLIC CLOVE

½ SCALLION (chopped)

1. Combine the meat with bulgogi marinade and stir-fry with a bit of oil. Set aside. Prepare onion, carrot, shiitake and “mogi” mushrooms and stir-fry each of them separately with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Blanch the spinach and dip in cold water. Holding the spinach in your palms, squeeze out excess water. Cut the spinach ball once in the middle.

3. Cook the noodles in boiling water until transparent (8 minutes). Drain in a sieve, rinse under cold running water and cut 2-3 times with scissors.

4. In the same frying pan, sautee the noodles with marinade and let cool. Mix the noodles with beef and vegetables.

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latimes.com

South Koreans do the ‘right’ thing

As part of a government campaign to get pedestrians to stop taking the left side, the directions of escalators and stairs in the capital have been switched. Surprises await those not paying attention.

Commuters negotiate a crowded subway station in Seoul. (Ju-min Park / Los Angeles Times)

Reporting from Seoul - Lee Young-soo sees a social revolution happening before his eyes: South Korea’s fundamental shift to the right, a move that has many here fretting about a looming collision.

It’s not politics they’re talking about, but walking in public.

As he hurries through the chaotic pedestrian flow at a local subway station, Lee moves instinctively left to take the down escalator toward his train — only to see the mass of commuters rising toward him.

Narrowly missing slamming into someone, he scurries over to the right side and joins the others moving down.

“For a while,” says the 48-year-old, “this might be uncomfortable.”

A new government campaign is bucking the “stay left” law in force here for decades, forcing pedestrians on escalators and moving walkways in the city’s massive subway system to move to the right.

The direction of Lee’s escalator was recently reversed, and in coming weeks, hundreds, if not thousands, more will follow as the plan is introduced to the rest of the nation.

Officials say the move makes perfect sense — falling into line with international practice and increasing the pedestrian flow, presumably by cutting down on collisions. And because nearly 90% of South Koreans are right-handed and the country drives on the right, keeping left goes against instincts, they say.

“Our country is the one that started all the trouble by initially forcing people to walk in a certain direction,” said Hwang Duk-soo, head of the National Movement of Keeping Right.

“In the past, when Koreans go abroad, they hit foreigners. And vice versa, foreigners come to Korea and bump into Koreans.”

Hwang has become a bit of a philosopher when it comes to bodies in motion. He’s done his research.

In 1921, during the Japanese occupation, South Korea required both pedestrians and cars to stay left — following the custom that still exists throughout Japan. Then, in 1946, under the U.S. military administration after World War II, South Korea moved vehicles to the right but left pedestrians where they were.

Sociologists say the latest changeover won’t be smooth.

“It could take a bit of trial and error since the custom that we have used is going to be thrown away,” said Gihong Yi, a sociology professor at Hallym University. “There could be some repercussions. However, walking on the right has been proved good in a sense of human engineering.”

Such elemental shifts have been going on elsewhere in Asia and the Pacific. This month, the island nation of Samoa switched from driving on the right. Contrary to official fears, chaos did not ensue.

At the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul, which made the switch with escalators and walkways before the program’s official kickoff next month, some people are worried.

“It sounds good,” said Jin Ho-jun, 68, a former banker. “However, I am worried because many elders who are used to the old way use subways so often.”

Seoul transportation officials are gearing up for the official switch starting Oct. 1, when they will have hundreds of volunteers during congested rush hours at 163 subway stations citywide.

Many stations have already been papered with promotional posters showing a smiling, happy family and reading: “Keep to the right! You are beautiful for taking part.”

The Korea Transport Institute expects that the move will eventually increase walking speed within the subway system and reduce pedestrian collisions by as much as 25%.

Officials say offenders against the new system will not face fines but will be encouraged to go with the flow.

To make the crossover run more smoothly, Koreans need to be patient, advocates say. “Critics should know that nothing is perfect. The one is just better than the other one,” Hwang said.

Still, he can’t hide the philosopher within him.

“Technically, no one should tell us to walk to the left or to the right,” he said. “It is much easier to just go with instinct.”

john.glionna@latimes.com

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Korea Times
09-23-2009 18:29

“Monggyudowondo,” the oldest Joseon painting by Ahn Gyeong, will be unveiled to the public for the first time in a special exhibition titled “Teominhaerak” at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, from Sept. 29 to Nov. 8. / Courtesy of National Museum of Korea

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

“Monggyudowondo,” a painting from the early Joseon era depicting paradise, and “Cheonmado,” the only painting in existence from the Silla Kingdom, will be exhibited at the National Museum of Korea starting Sept. 29.

These works are among the highlights of a special exhibition titled “Yeominhaerak,” or “Sharing Enjoyment with People,” held to mark the museum’s centennial that will continue through Nov. 8.

The history of the nation’s museum goes back to Nov. 1, 1909, the waning days of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).

King Sunjong opened a royal museum at Changgyeong Palace to showcase cultural assets, including Buddhist paintings and Goryeo porcelain, to ordinary citizens for the first time ever. The symbolic event marked the end of the kingdom and the beginning of modern society.

The museum had its name changed to the Yi Royal Museum, the Yi Royal Gallery and then the Deoksu Palace Art Museum, which was finally turned into the National Museum of Korea in 1969.

“The museum holds a distinguished identity that has survived against all odds, keeping national cultural assets and spiritual values,” former culture minister, Lee O-young who was named chairman of the commemoration project committee, said in a press conference Wednesday.

“Also, the museum’s 100-year history speaks volumes because current young students have lost their historical identity. We should keep our identity through the museum to communicate with the past,” he said.

Lee said that the museum is a paradigm for the future by providing an interaction with the past.

The special exhibition consists of two parts ― historical relics related to the museum’s centennial and Korean relics collected from overseas.

The first section of the exhibition will display about 120 pieces that were handed down from the royal museum. The exhibition also showcases the museum’s activities and evolution during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), national liberation, and the Korean War (1950-53).

The second section will display a total of 30 pieces, including national treasures and relics that have been collected by other countries.

“Mongyudowondo,” the oldest Joseon-era painting, by painter Ahn Gyeon, will be unveiled to the public for the first time. In 1447, Prince Ahnpyeong told the famous artist about a mysterious dream of paradise. The prince asked Ahn Gyeon to make a painting based on the dream. The original work is on loan from the central library of Japan’s Tenri University.

From the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, a gilt-silver ewer and basin, one of the greatest metal works of the Goryeo Kingdom remaining today, will be featured in the exhibition. The narrow mouth and the cover decorated with an animal-shaped ornament are unique features of this 12th-cenutry vessel.

The exhibition highlight, “Cheonmado” or “Painting of Heavenly Horse,” is the only surviving Silla-era painting executed in the 6th century, and was found in the Cheonmachong Tomb and designated as National Treasure No. 207. The painting has been kept in a special storage room since it was first found in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province in 1973.

“Many people don’t know the museum turns 100 this year. But this occasion is very important not only as a cultural event but also for the nation’s pride and legitimacy. Through this occasion, we are trying to make the public feel closer to the museum,”’ Choe Kwang-shik, director of the museum, said.

The director said just as King Sunjong opened the palace’s museum to the public, the museum will make the special exhibition especially accessible to the public ― with free admission.

“The exhibition’s title is `Yeominhaerak,’ which means ’sharing enjoyment with people.’ We will continue the legacy of the museum to prosper together with people instead of being isolated from their present needs,” said Choe.

As part of the centennial anniversary, the museum will host international academic forums, special exhibitions and a museum expo.

Around 600 national and private museums will team up to host commemorative events this year.

An international forum is scheduled for Nov. 3, which has invited some 10 directors from museums around the world.

A museum expo in which 100 selected museums will promote their institutes will be held from Oct. 10 to 18. Additionally, a symbolic traditional pavilion topped with green celadon roofing tiles will be built as a symbol of the museum and open to the public on Nov. 1.

“Long-term, we will also try to establish a museum complex equipped with various cultural facilities such as theaters, galleries and restaurants on the site of the U.S. army base near the museum by around 2014,” the director said.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr

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