UNSRC Korean Cultural Society

KOREA HERALD

Early in “Secret Reunion,” a clever tale of two marginalized men, middle-aged anti-spy agent Han-kyu (Song Kang-ho) ruefully complains about how the external world is “inconsistent” in driving him to the wall.

His job is to track down and arrest North Korean spies, but when one of the missions he leads fails miserably, his superiors, mindful of their own job security, rush to put all the blame on the working-level officer. Han-kyu’s half-comic and half-saddening comment about his sorry state not only showcases Song’s trademark acting skill but also highlights the film’s message.

Han-kyu’s opposite is Ji-won (Kang Dong-won), an extremely handsome and intelligent North Korean spy who carries out a mission through encrypted messages sent via e-mails.

On their first encounter, they get a brief glimpse of each other without knowing they end up in an embarrassing situation six years later. After all, the center of attention on that fateful day was elsewhere. A super-charged North Korean agent nicknamed “Shadow” leaves several South Korean agents and innocent civilians dead in the broad daylight in Seoul.

So far, a typical spy drama based on decades-old inter-Korean espionage. Fortunately for the audiences, director Jang Hoon, who scored a hit with the 2008 sleeper “Rough Cut,” shifts gears drastically when the clock advances by six years when the two main characters are set to meet again.

Han-kyu’s present life is not pretty. He lost his job as part of restructuring efforts at the anti-spy agency and got divorced. He occasionally talks to his daughter on the phone and sends money to his ex-wife.

Han-kyu’s current job is functionally the same as the old one: tracking down people. He runs a sort of private detective agency, and he charges Korean farmers for hunting down runaway Vietnamese or other foreign brides.

Ji-won’s life in the South is equally disappointing. The high-profile incident six years ago was chaotic in execution, resulting in confusion about who did what wrong. What is clear, at least for the North Korean authorities who control the spy operations against the South, is that Ji-won should take the blame, a sorry conclusion not dissimilar to what had happened to Han-kyu.

The two men, both ignored, sidelined and marginalized happen to live together for a while, each dreaming of a different outcome. The camera keeps throwing hints about how far removed the two men are from their dreams, while interspersing funny moments with some action sequences to spice up the otherwise melodramatic mood of the second half.

Jang might have been tempted to crank up the socio-political criticism to a higher level, but he wisely did not opt for that obvious track. Instead, he focuses on the basic human emotions flowing from people whose social status turns into that of outsiders overnight.

Song masterfully delivers what he is supposed to do for the tricky character. Han-kyu seems deeply world-weary but never loses his sense of self-deprecating humor. Even when he accidentally traps himself in his own apartment, his awkward facial expression appears genuine and earnest, turning that particular scene all the more hilarious.

Kang, who also stars in the current box-office film “Jeon Woo Chi,” manages to bring to life a North Korean agent whose empathy is extraordinary, but some may find his character a tad unrealistic due to his glamorous appearance that is not suitable for a super-secret agent.

“Secret Reunion” is scheduled to open nationwide on Feb. 4.

(insight@heraldm.com)

By Yang Sung-jin

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KOREA HERALD

Korea Traditional Wine Institute head Park Rock-dam has restored 850 varieties of extinct traditional alcoholic beverages for more than seven years. [Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald]

The deep and sweet, intoxicating scent of fermenting wine permeated the cool air. Row upon row, shelf upon shelf of ceramic jars released an aromatic prelude to their delicious contents.

That moment, in the storage room at the Korea Traditional Wine Institute, where ancient beverages — once forgotten — found new life, that moment sparked a simple yet true revelation, an answer to a long-standing question.

Why the fuss over traditional alcoholic beverages?

As an institute employee uncovered a fragrant pot of “sogokju” — a restored drink that dates back as far as the Baekje Dynasty and is not to be confused with the market-available Hansan Sogokju, which also originates from the Baekje Dynasty.

“It is an alcoholic beverage that is made with little nuruk (yeast),” Korea Traditional Wine Institute head Park Rock-dam elaborated. “It is one of the famed drinks of the upper classes. … It requires a long fermentation period, from 60 to 100 days. Though it has a high percentage of alcohol in it, it is soft and fragrant.”

The employee dipped a wooden ladle in and pulled it out, dripping, full of fruity grain and liquid. The beauty of it all came at once.

Why would anyone pass up an opportunity for a dipperful of this? What wouldn’t one do for a mouthful of that silken, malty nectar?

Even the government has taken note.

Last summer, according to news reports, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the Presidential Council on National Competitiveness revealed a plan to give the traditional liquor market a 133 billion won ($116 million) boost over the course of five years. The project included a three-year initiative to revive 50 out of an estimated 360 extinct traditional alcoholic beverages that date back as far as the Joseon Dynasty.

While government plans were announced last year, Korea Traditional Wine Institute head Park has been restoring ancient drinks for over seven years. To date, he has revived 850 varieties. Shelves lined with small bottled samples of the restored beverages serve as testimony to his extensive work.

Park is not alone. Prominent brewery Kook Soon Dang has also made its own efforts at restoration. Kook Soon Dang’s project, however, was initiated in 2008, making Park one of the earliest to undertake the task of bringing drinks back from the annals of history.

“The alcoholic beverages ceased to live,” he gestured to the colorful array of bottles. “They only remained recorded in ancient documents. To popularize them, we revive them and teach students how to make them.”

Breathing life into drinks that exist solely through the written word is no simple feat. It took Park 20 trial runs to restore “hahyangju,” aided in part by a mere five lines scripted in a 200-year old book that he keeps in his office.

His passion for traditional beverages emerges as he describes one of his personal favorites, “dongjeongchun,” a drink that is so hard to make that it causes the skin of your hands to peel off.

A drink that was also revived by Kook Soon Dang in May, dongjeongchun, according to a Kook Soon Dang press release, dates back to the Joseon Dynasty. No water is used to make it and only one liter of alcohol emerges from the 4.4 kilograms of rice used to brew it, making it a precious brew.

“Dongjeongchun is very complex,” Park said. “It bears aromas of plum, apples, quince, strawberries, grapes and watermelon. Dongjeongchun in ‘cheongju’ (refined rice wine) form is like honey.”

At the institute, a class of nine starts to knead dough for hahyangju, not to be confused with the Daegu intangible cultural asset of the same name. This hahyangju was restored by Park and reportedly dates back to the 1700s.

Described by students as an apple-scented beverage, hahyangju is a complex concoction.

“A hard-to-make beverage is fragrant, indeed,” the 50-year institute head declared before mapping out the hahyangju-making process, an arduous series of steps that include cooking donut-shaped rice cakes, a period of fermentation, an addition of sticky and cooked rice and another month of fermentation.

“No water is used and it smells like lotus flowers.”

The class has just begun to knead the dough for the donut-shaped rice cakes. Students take turns transforming the mixture of rice flour and water into a wrinkled skirt of dough with the heels of their hands.

Institute employee Lim Jong-in observes the process. It has been around a year since he decided to take a break from farming and enter the world of traditional winemaking.

“Having grown accustomed to traditional alcoholic beverages, I cannot drink sake,” said the 47-year old. Now that he can make his own brews, Lim does not drink store-bought makgeolli. He also has a penchant for hosanchun, especially when brewed by today’s class instructor, the institute’s education and research department head Park Cha-won.

Not to be confused with the North Gyeongsang Province intangible cultural asset of the same name, the institute’s “hosanchun” was another extinct drink that originates from the Joseon Dynasty.

“It is out of this world,” said Lim.

Not everyone, however, can brew their own hosanchun or hahyangju. When asked to recommend market-available liquors, institute head Park picked Moonbaesool as one of the market’s leading distilled liquors.

Designated Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 86, “munbaesul,” though made out of wheat, millet and sorghum, exudes the fragrance of wild Asian pear blossoms. The liquor dates back to the Goryeo Dynasty. The tradition of munbaesul has been maintained by five generations of one household, the household that currently runs the Moonbaesool Brewery.

The 35-year old son of the brewery’s president, Moonbaesool manager Lee Seung-yong, represents the fifth generation. Lee watched his father learn the art of making Moonbaesool from his grandfather and started his formal training in his second year of high school.

“Usually bugs are (attracted) to apples or other sweet (things),” Lee described the fragrant charm of Moonbaesool. “Flies will come and sit on them. If we make our liquor, those bugs are fooled by it and come.”

There is a velvety sweetness to Moonbaesool followed by a fiery heat that signals the strength of the 40 proof liquor. For those who do not want to drink it straight, Lee suggests adding ice.

Despite the long line of tradition that has been handed down to him, Lee seems to be open to change, believes that Moonbaesool can be used in cocktails and has also developed his own yuzu-based rice liquor for a Hong Kong distributor.

The Westin Chosun Seoul Ninth Gate Kitchen cook Seo Kwi-saeng also seems to be open to a new world of possibilities for traditional alcoholic beverages. After all he played a key role in pairing traditional drinks with the dishes that team Chosun Challenge showcased at the Young Creative Korean Culinary Competition’s Team Haute Cuisine Challenge. His team placed third at the competition which was held as a part of the first annual Amazing Korean Table festival in late October.

Six teams of young Korean chefs drew from traditional Korean cuisine to create innovative meals for four Korean judges and former French Laundry chef de cuisine Corey Lee, three-Michelin star chef Pierre Gagnaire, two-Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura and La Colombe head chef Luke Dale-Roberts.

Chosun Challenge’s menu paired dishes like mung bean pancakes and pomegranate soy sauce with Jeonju Leegangju, a fragrant liquor that dates back as far as the mid-Joseon Dynasty. Aged with pear, ginger, cinnamon, honey and curcuma tuber, the traditional beverage was judged a good match for the relatively greasy pancakes.

Seo, who did Korean and Italian cuisine before moving on to French cuisine, was willing to take the potential of traditional drinks a step further.

When asked if he thought the beverages could be paired with other national cuisines, he answered: “I don’t think we need to restrict Korean traditional alcoholic beverages to Korean food. … They could go well with soft Japanese food, or French or Italian pasta.”

Details

Korea Traditional Wine Institute

For more information on classes or the institute itself visit www.ktwine.or.kr or call (02) 389-8611.

Moonbaesool Brewery Co.

For more information visit www.moonbaesool.co.kr or call (02) 338-0333.

Jeonju Leegangju

For more information visit www.leegangju.co.kr

Project for Reviving Traditional Korean Wines

Kook Soon Dang Brewery is also reviving extinct alcoholic beverages. The project is not affiliated with the Korea Traditional Wine Institute. To date they have revived approximately 11 varieties. For more information visit www.ksdb.co.kr

(oh_jean@heraldm.com)

By Jean Oh

News Clippings

KOREA HERALD

This is the 62nd in a series of articles highlighting tourism spots in Seoul. The guide for planning weekend trips in the capital city will help readers rediscover Seoul. - Ed.

By Yoon Kyoo-sik

Stand in front of the National Museum of Korea and you will be awed by the grandeur of the building. A modern rendition of traditional Korean architecture, the museum looks like a castle from one angle and a gigantic Korean hat from another.

With the plaza in the center, various facilities including the exhibition halls, a theater and a special gallery fan out in all directions. Upon entering the exhibition hall, visitors are greeted by all kinds of Korean treasures, such as gold crowns, pottery, stone pagodas and Buddhist statues.

Auspicious location

Koreans traditionally preferred to have their houses facing south, with a mountain behind and a river in front.

The National Museum of Korea perfectly fits these criteria. Seen from the north of the Great Hall, the N Seoul Tower on Namsan comes into sight above anything and the Reflecting Pond sits right in front of the Hall. Just a short walk south will take you to the Han River.

The museum is breathtaking when blanketed by snow. The jade-colored tile roof of the Celadon Pavilion makes a striking contrast with white snow. Built in November 2009 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the national museum, the existence of the Celadon Pavilion traces back to the Goryeo period, when a celadon-roof pavilion was built in a palace here.

Walking along the snow-covered path lined with stone pagodas, you will encounter the Mir Fall. “Mir” is a pure Korean word meaning “dragon.” The fall is named thus as the museum is in the district of Yongsan (meaning “dragon mountain”).

Permanent Exhibit Hall

The National Museum of Korea consists of two themed exhibition halls. The permanent exhibit hall features a large collection, ranging from ancient Korean relics to cultural treasures from the Joseon Dynasty. The special gallery presents various foreign or newly discovered relics.

In addition, the Children’s Museum runs educational programs to teach children about Korean history and culture in easy and fun ways.

The three-story Permanent Exhibit Hall houses the Archeological Gallery and the Historical Gallery on the first floor, the Donation Gallery and the Fine Arts Gallery I on the second, and the Asian Arts Gallery and the Fine Arts Gallery II on the third floor.

It is a big task to carefully look around an enormous collection in one day. One of the wise ways to explore the museum is to take a guided tour or pick up an electronic guide in the foyer. Electronic guides are available in three languages, English, Chinese, and Japanese for foreign visitors.

The collections in the Permanent Exhibit Hall are rearranged from time to time. The museum often lends artworks to other museums for special exhibits, but it also pays special attention to the preservation of the invaluable treasures. Hong Yu-jin, a staffer with the international relations and promotion team of the museum, says it is vital to keep the artifacts in their best condition, adding that the museum periodically replaces the items on display with those in storage to minimize damage. In this respect, the preservation of the artworks is as important as the display of them.

Inca exhibition

The special exhibit hall is currently featuring the “Great Myth and Mystery of Peruvian Civilization: INCA.” The exhibit provides a rare opportunity to have a glimpse of the Incas, one of the most brilliant ancient civilizations in South America. A total of 351 artifacts from nine museums in Peru, including the National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru, are on display to highlight the ancient civilization of the Andes and the Incan Empire. The exhibition will make you feel as if you are walking into the Incan Empire during its heyday.

The Inca exhibit continues until the end of March, which is followed by the “Greece” exhibit in May and June and the “Silk Road” exhibit in December.

The Special Exhibit Hall is not reserved only for foreign exhibits. It often features valuable Korean works of art that are rarely seen. For instance, it displayed “Cheonmado” (Painting of a “Heavenly Horse”) and Mongyudowondo (”Dream of Paradise”) for a week to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the museum. “Cheonmado” is rarely on display in the Permanent Exhibit Hall due to the difficulty in maintaining it. Other exhibits include Korean historical relics on special themes, such as the banquets and ceremonies in the Joseon period, the King’s procession and traditional Korean weddings.

Children’s Museum

Modeled after the Stepping Stones Museum for Children, the Children’s Museum features interactive exhibits and a whole variety of educational programs. Children are encouraged to touch and feel the life-size replicas of the items on display in the Permanent Exhibit Hall.

The Children’s Museum serves as an excellent playhouse for foreign children to learn and enjoy traditional Korean culture and art while having fun.

Museum information

Visiting hours

The National Museum of Korea closes on Mondays and Jan. 1. The visiting hours are: 9 a.m. 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 9 a.m. 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays; and 9 a.m. 7 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays. The tickets are sold until an hour before closing time. The permanent exhibition gallery and the Children’s Museum are free. The parking fee for vehicles is 2,000 won for the first two hours, and an additional 500 won for every 30 minutes. For inquiries, contact 02 2077 9045~7, or visit the homepage: www.museum.go.kr

Video/audio guide

There are advanced digital guides available to help you understand the collection displayed at the permanent exhibition gallery for visitors over middle school age. To rent them, identification cards are needed. The video guide (PDA) is 3,000 won and the voice guide (MP3) is 1,000 won. Please make an on line reservation one day before visiting the museum.

Explanation for foreigners

There are English guided tours twice every day, and Japanese and Chinese tours once on weekdays and twice a day on weekends. Other languages are held once every month. The service is free; and there are basic hours for the service, but visitors can receive the explanation at their desired time if they make prior reservation. Reservation and Inquiries: 02 2077 9685 (English), 02 2077 9687 (Japanese), 02 2077 9686(Chinese), and 02 2077 9685 (Other languages).

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