The clay vessels of Mungyeong come in various sizes and can accommodate all kinds of food and beverages, giving rise to a handful of names like “tea bowls,” “rice bowls” or even “alcohol bowls,” reflecting their widespread practical use in bygone days.
Visitors enjoy the Tea Bowl Festival in Mungyeong.

A tea bowl festival was held in the southeastern city from April 28 to Sunday. Now in its 14th year, it showcased a diverse range of traditional tea bowls and offered visitors hands-on experience of making them. The venue seemed a perfect match for the festival as the traditional Korean homes there added a sense of antique charm.
A pottery exhibition at the festival

Visitors were able to feel the softness of the clay with their hands and feet. Meanwhile, children were entertained by a range of games including treasure hunts for beads hidden in the clay.

The most popular event among couples was making tea bowls together. Ceramists helped the participants fashion clay into bowls using a potter’s wheel. Some couples even reenacted the steamy scene from the film “Ghost.” Others created mosaic images with ceramic fragments or made rubbed copies of pottery designs.

The festival also showcased over 5,000 works by famous potters, giving a glimpse into Korea’s traditional tea bowl culture.

englishnews@chosun.com / May 09, 2012 10:47 KST

FILM REVIEW
When ping-pong diplomacy stirred Korea
KOREA, directed by Moon Hyun-sung

Reviewed by Kosuke Takahashi

TOKYO - Two decades have passed since the end of the Cold War, but Korea still remains divided at the 38th parallel. Without having signed a peace treaty after the Korean War ended in 1953, North and South Korea are still technically at war.

For Pyongyang, the head of its neighboring state is a key target in its smear campaigns. In recent months, North Korean state media has even stepped up its rhetoric against the “traitorous” South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, branding him a “rabid dog” or a “rat” or a “tiger moth”.

Meanwhile, on May 5 - Children’s Day - Lee likened the North to a “bad and disobedient child” for ignoring voices in the international community calling for a halt to its launch of a long-range rocket last month.

Though North Korea is ramping up the war of words amid suspicions it is gearing up for a third nuclear test , young people in Seoul seem not too interested in North-South issues. They hardly feel a sense of solidarity and kinship with North Korea in their daily lives.
Wanting to make a difference in this regard and raise questions about such mutual mistrust within the same race, Moon Hyun-sung has made the movie known as As One in English and KOREA in Korean. Moon’s directorial debut, the film hit theaters in South Korea on May 3.

Based on a real event, the film retells how South and North Korea formed a unified national sports team for the 41st world table tennis championships held in Chiba, near Tokyo in 1991.

Defying expectations, the joint team beat the most likely champions, China, which was trying to win the world title for the ninth consecutive year.

“I thought the only beautiful event in North-South relations was the story of those athletes [in the table tennis championships in 1991],” said Moon of his motivations to make film at a sneak preview in Chiba on April 20. “I have been interested in table tennis since my childhood and I was a fan of Hyun Jung-hwa.” Hyun is the legendary South Korean female table tennis player on whom who the movie is centered around.

The film is not just a sports flick or underdog’s tale, rather it’s closer to famous South Korean movies Shiri and JSA, which focused on human relationships between the South and the North. It draws on strong Korean national sentiment and revives North-South solidarity by dramatizing a human-interest story of the top athletes of the two nations, who had great conflicts, tensions and suspense during the 46 days when the team was temporarily formed for the tournament.

In the movie, one North Korean male player became subject to serious punishment by the ruling Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), simply because he received a name card from the team coach of a Western team. North Korea’s dominant party viewed it as an asylum bid.

Also, North Korea’s athletes were forcibly ordered to leave Chiba and go back to Pyongyang immediately by the KWP just one day before their final match with China, because the government’s “minders,” or surveillance agents, who always escorted their athletes, said the players had become too immersed in Western culture, drinking alcohol and interacting with South Korean players privately.

Two of South Korea’s du jour marquee actresses in their early 30s enrich a heartwarming masterpiece based on a true story. Ha Ji-won, a sexy action star who is often compared with American actress Angelina Jolie, played the role of South Koreans national sports heroine Hyun Jung-hwa. And actress Bae Doo-na, known for her sublime performances, represents North Korea’s top female table tennis player Li Bun-hui.

Asked whether the movie would have an impact on young South Koreans, who are often indifferent about relations with the North, Ha said, “I was very impressed by the process of how the two became one in the 46 days. I think the young people will be also impressed by it.”

Bae echoed Ha’s views. “It’s true the younger generation are not interested in North Korea, but I believe this movie could change things,” said Bae, who skillfully recreated the blank expressions of the North’s top player and uses North Korean language in the movie.

Thanks to South Korean table tennis player Hyun Jung-hwa’s actual coaching, the portrayal of the athletes is unerringly accurate. Ha said she practiced table tennis 12 hours a day for a month in a sweltering gymnasium.

It’s notable that behind the success of the unified Korean team was the late Ichiro Ogimura, a former Japanese table tennis player who visited South Korea 20 times and North Korea 14 times for negotiations to help realize the much-anticipated Korean joint team. He was president of the International Table Tennis Federation and died in 1994. Without Ogimura, this movie would have never had a tale to tell.

In some respects the film reminds of the “ping pong diplomacy” in the early 1970s, which saw the exchange of table tennis players between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. This marked a thaw in US-China relations that paved the way for a visit to Beijing by president Richard Nixon.

Perhaps it would be asking too much to expect KOREA to have such a far-reaching impact as a thaw in ties between North and South Korea, bit its a small step in the right direction.

Kosuke Takahashi is a Tokyo-based Japanese journalist. His twitter is @TakahashiKosuke

(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

By Kim Rahn

Seoul will restore all the walls surrounding the old capital of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) by 2015 under a plan to make the 600-year-old fortress a worldwide-recognized cultural heritage.

To make the restorations as close to the original form as possible, the city government will try to open or move private properties or military facilities currently situated on the original site, including the mayor’s official residence.

Mayor Park Won-soon Monday announced the scheme to link severed sections of the 18.6-kilometer walls named “Hanyang Castle.” Hanyang is the old name of the Joseon capital.

“We’ll connect all the sections by 2015. For parts where the wall cannot be set up because of roads or buildings, we’ll put a mark indicating the fortress. We’ll make the walls the most charming walking course for citizens and tourist course for foreign visitors,” Park said.

The city is also hoping to have the walls listed as a UNESCO Cultural Heritage by 2015. The fortress was put on the tentative list as a world heritage on April 20.

Many parts of the fortress were destroyed when roads and buildings were built during Japanese colonial rule and following the modernization of the city. Of the total sections, 12.3 kilometers have been restored since 1975.

The city will build fortress-shaped overpasses for sections where streets are covering the original site, while putting specific paving blocks for sections where the land is privately owned or buildings stand.

It will also seek cooperation from private and military facilities in mountainous areas which cut the walls stretching along the ridges, so that the facilities will open their property to people or move. “I’ll talk about the issue with the U.S. Embassy as well because some U.S. military facilities are blocking the fortress site,” Park said.

Included in the plan is the mayor’s residence, located on the hillside in Hyehwa-dong. Parts of the residence are covering about an 86-meter section of the fortress, and the city plans to demolish them.

“I plan to move by next March, maybe to one of the city-owned buildings. We may be able to use the remaining parts of the residence as a fortress-related museum or an information center for visitors,” Park said.

The city will spend some 32.7 billion won by 2015 on the project.

Source : www.koreatimes.co.kr/… ( English Korean )

People flock to a street in Myeong-dong, which the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry says, is one of the most popular shopping areas, along with Dongdaemun, for Japanese and Chinese tourists. / Korea Times
Cosmetics most popular product among Chinese, Japanese

By Park Si-soo

Seoul’s Myeong-dong shopping district is the most popular tourist attraction among Japanese travelers, while Dongdaemun (east gate), another giant shopping area in the capital, is the most sought-after location among Chinese visitors, a survey showed Thursday.

Inbound travelers from the two neighboring countries constituted more than half of 9.79 million visitors to Korea last year. The two spots were crowned in a recent survey of 200 visitors from the two countries by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

Myeong-dong is located in the heart of Seoul and is packed with fashion brand stores, jewelry shops, pubs and restaurants. Dongdaemun situated near Myeong-dong, is home to several giant shopping malls and outdoor markets.

Seven out of 10 Japanese tourists visited Myeong-dong for shopping, the survey showed, while the same number of Chinese travelers visited Dongdaemun for the same purpose. Other favorite tourist attractions of them were Namdaemun (south gate), Insa-dong and Itaewon, the survey said.

Chinese were found to show more interest in high-end products than their Japanese counterparts as they purchased mostly cosmetic goods, clothes, medical herbs and other high-priced items. In contrast, Japanese visitors tend to buy dried seaweed, traditional craftwork and other modestly-priced food items as souvenirs, the KCCI said.

The survey shows Chinese shoppers are price-conscious, citing statistics that 60.4 percent of surveyed Chinese travelers read price tags first. Nearly 62 percent of surveyed Japanese tourists paid attention to unique products that are on sale only in Korea.

Regarding luxury goods, 60.4 percent of Japanese travelers said they are available at relatively cheaper prices than their home country, while only 34.4 percent of Chinese people echoed the view.

They said the most urgent mission for Korea to establish a better environment for foreign shoppers is to develop products that could easily satisfy diverse tastes of inbound travelers. They also complained about a lack of facilities for entertainment and interpretation services.

Despite that, 68.5 percent of them said they will revisit Korea within the next three years.

Nearly 900,000 Japanese tourists visited Korea during the first three months of this year, followed by Chinese (520,000) and Americans (150,000).

The tourism authorities expect more visitors during the second quarter thanks largely to consecutive holidays in both Tokyo and Beijing, which start on April 28 and continue until early next month.

It said more than 130,000 Japanese nationals will visit Seoul during the Golden Week holidays, while around 20,000 Chinese travelers are expected during their Labor Day holidays.

Another survey by the KCCI said 32.2 percent of Chinese visitors spend over $1,000 per person shopping here, while only 4.2 percent of Japanese respondents said they did the same. About 81.5 percent of Japanese tourists said they spent less than $500 shopping, compared with 37.9 percent among the Chinese.

The KCCI said an increasing number of tourists from China and other Asian countries come here for shopping, stressing tourism authorities and retail businesses should make more efforts to improve related infrastructure.

Seoul’s new museum featuring the history and culture of the ancient Baekje Kingdom (18 BC-668 AD) will open to the public at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul, on Monday, the city announced Wednesday.

The Seoul Baekje Museum will display a collection of 42,311 relics not only from the Baekje Kingdom but also from the Goguryeo, Silla and other kingdoms that occupied the Han River basin. Seoul was the capital of the Baekje Dynasty for about 500 years until 475 AD, when it moved its capital to Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, 162 kilometers south of Seoul.

The five-story museum, including three basements, has a total floor space of 19,400 square meters on a 14,00 square meter lot.

The exterior of the museum is designed in the shape of a sailing vessel to signify the maritime power of the ancient kingdom and set off by the background of the nearby Mongchon Toseong, an earthen fortress built during the Baekje era. The kingdom developed its national power mainly by trading with China and Japan via the Han River and the Yellow Sea.

To commemorate its opening, the museum will hold a free special exhibition titled “Baekje’s Elegance: Costume and Ornament” from Monday through Sept. 14. More than 100 ancient textile items, costumes and ornaments from the period will be displayed.

The museum is also equipped with an electronic library and will provide various cultural and educational programs.

For more information, visit the museum Web site at http://baekjemuseum.seoul.go.kr or call 02-2152-5800. (Yonhap)

Source : www.koreatimes.co.kr/… ( English Korean )

[Treandy Eats] Along with the exotic backdrop, it is the area’s cafes and restaurants that draw people south of Seoul.

There used to be a saying that Bundang, Gyeonggi is just beneath heaven, one of the most suitable places to live in Korea. The saying even rhymes - “Bundang beneath Cheondang”.

“However, in recent years, Bundang residents have said that Jeongja-dong (the southwestern neighborhood of Bundang) is even Closer to Heaven“, said Shin Hyun-seung, a 54-year-old Bundang resident.

Shin moved from the southern part of Seoul to Bundang in the late 90s, as many other middle- and upper-class Seoul residents moved south, away from the busy city.

Less commercialized compared to other parts of Bundang, the Jeongja-dong area started to bloom in 2003 when high-rise residential buildings, such as the Royal Palace and Park View, started to attract wealthy residents, including celebrities. Cafes and restaurants naturally began to spring up around two tall buildings, the Paragon and Sante View Regency, and more than 50 shops in the area now make up Jeongja-dong Cafe Street, each with a different beautiful terrace, creating scenes more often found in Europe.

Since the neighborhood was formed by an influx of well-off residents, posh restaurants and cafes lure customers who are willing to pay for quality food and atmosphere.

More people outside Gangnam and Bundang are also venturing out to the Jeongja-dong area with the launch of the Shinbundang Line, which dramatically cuts the commute time between Gangnam Station and Jeongja Station.

“I have heard a lot about Jeongja-dong but never made the trip because of the distance”, said Choi Hyun-woo, a Seoul resident. “After the Shinbundang Line, I prefer to visit Jeongja-dong rather than Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul”.

Along with the exotic backdrop, it is the area’s cafes and restaurants that draw people south of Seoul. It takes at least an hour from central Seoul by car or nearly an hour and a half by subway or bus.

A favorite destination for many Jeongja-dong visitors is the French restaurant Aix-en Provence, which is located in the heart of the Jeongja-dong Cafe Street.

Nearly 50 percent of restaurants shut down in their first two years, but Aix-en Provence has been there for five, serving French and Italian cuisines.

The restaurant’s secret of longevity comes from fresh ingredients, purchased from produce and fish markets every morning.

What made the restaurant famous in the first place, however, was its terrace decorated with natural flowers, mostly with hydrangeas, with a small violin concert held on weekends from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Roses replace the hydrangeas on special occasions such as Valentine’s Day and White Day. The concept appeals to couples who are in need of a romantic night along with hearty foods and crisp night air.

This is Jjamppong. Chinese spicy noodles served with vegetables and seafood

The French restaurant also appeals to families by decorating the terrace with carnations, often given to parents as a sign of love, and poinsettias on Christmas Day. “You should make a reservation at least three days in advance if you want to secure seats on special days”, said manager Jeon Seung-ho.

Another long-running restaurant near Aix-en Provence is Salon de Choonja, opened in 2006, serving French cuisine at reasonable prices. While studying Western art in Japan, owner Choi Myung-a fell in love with the atmosphere of French restaurants, which are easier to find in there.

The restaurant provides a set menu that changes every day, decided by five chefs depending on what seasonal food is available in the morning.

On a recent visit to the Salon de Choonja, the dinner course menu consisted of bread, sweet potato soup, quiche Lorraine, sirloin served with wine and Japanese apricot extract sauce, coffee and chocolate ice cream. The main dish is steak, but pasta and fish are also available for vegetarians.

If French and Italian are not your thing, head to casual American dining places, a few blocks away from Aix-en Provence and the Salon de Choonja. DailyKing’s Diner and DailyKing’s Brown Sugar both focus on American casual foods. According to Diner manager Lee Jong-deok, DailyKing’s also owns the nationwide Vietnamese chain PhoMein, but in the case of the Diner and Brown Sugar, these two restaurants only exist in the Jeongja-dong area.

The Diner began offering a wide array of American foods alongside selected brunch menus in 2007 and saw brunch become a phenomenon among young women influenced by American dramas like “Sex and the City”. It saw DailyKing’s open Brown Sugar, which is more focused on a brunch, in 2008, with pancakes, French toast, waffles and choux pastries.

Typically, brunch menus are available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at most restaurants, so those that are slow to rise should head for the Diner and Brown Sugar, where brunch is available at any time.

Jeongja-dong also offers Asian fusion restaurants. A short walk from the DailyKing restaurants, Naroo offers a unique menu. One of them is the Naroo steak, which is seasoned with wine and served with bean sprouts that are often used in Asian cuisines.

Another best-selling creation at Naroo is the pumpkin-cream pasta. The cream pasta is served with pieces of steamed sweet pumpkin. Soft and creamy texture of steamed sweet pumpkin goes well with cream pasta.

A special jjamppong (Chinese-style hot noodles with vegetables and seafood) place should be added to the list of fusion cuisine list, located a few walks from Naroo. Ordinary jjamppong comes with a spicy broth that is purported to ease hangovers. This Is Jjamppong, however, adds a little twist by adding cream. Kim Dong-han, who lives in the area, has become a believer in cream jjamppong, eating it every time he has a hangover.

“When I first looked at the cream jjamppong, I wondered how it would be different from Italian cream pasta”, said Kim. “However, the cream jjamppong surprisingly had the spiciness of ordinary jjamppong and soon became the go-to food for me to cure hangovers”.

Out of eight different types of jjamppong, the cream jjamppong is the one that surprises customers the most based on its dramatically different taste and appearance.

Asian fusion restaurant Naroo

Although the jjamppong place opened earlier this year, the first and second floors of the restaurant are filled with customers every moment except break time.

Even after a belly full of good food, we all still have a room for a cup of coffee or sweet dessert.

Among the many franchise coffee shops in the Jeongja-dong area, there is one coffee shop that peeks through the clouds.

One may wonder whether Samantha’s is a cafe or a show room, what with all the sparking jewelry in every nook and cranny - but it is in fact a coffee shop, run by owner Goo Eun-jeong, who loves jewelry.

“I always adored unique jewelry. All the jewelry displayed at our cafe is from artists who may not be well-known, but don’t make the same type of jewelry over and over again”, said Goo.

The Green Gallery House cafe, which opened in 2005, lures haggard city-dwellers with various plants from ivy to ficuses which almost reach the ceiling of the cafe. All the decorations, including the trees, flowers and stones, are arranged by owner Lee Jae-kwon, who has previously worked as a landscape designer.

Dessert shop Cream Fairy, which sells 20 different types of handmade ice creams, is also hard to pass up. The base ingredient used in all the ice cream is Ttonatta milk, which has a cult following among health-conscious people.

The milk produced at Ttonatta Farm of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, is famous for drawing milk from its cows between midnight and 4 a.m., the hours when milk is believed to contain a higher level of melatonin, which helps people sleep naturally.

Cream Fairy uses local ingredients that are all produced in Gangwon.

“Customers are amazed at the fact that all the ingredients are from Gangwon”, said Min Sung-ja, the owner of the ice cream store.

Reporting by Sung So-young Shin Ji-ye and Choi Won-jin

By Special Reporting Team [estyle@joongang.co.kr]

Green Gallery House

Once a landscape designer, the owner of the Green Gallery House turned the cafe into a small forest inside the busy city. From trees to flowers to stones, the cafe gives a relaxed atmosphere for customers.

One of the best-selling beverages is gluhwein, which is a warm wine with sweet cinnamon and fruits.

Food can be enjoyed from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Prices range from 6,000 won to 38,000 won.

Hours are from 11 a.m. to 6 a.m.

(031) 723-7892

Cream Fairy

Cream Fairy draws in people with their 20 flavors of ice cream from Gangwon Province.

The most popular ice cream of them all is Ice Queen. It’s made from Gangwon Province salt, but surprisingly lacks a salty tang. The addition of finely-ground ice lends texture to the taste. Return of the King is another customer pick and is made from Ttonatta milk, which has cult following among health-conscious people in Korea. The milk produced is from Ttonatta Farm located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi.

Prices range from 3,400 won to 17,000 won.

Hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

(031) 716-7244

Salon de Choonja

This French restaurant has one menu for lunch and dinner courses. For dinner, a dessert is added and a different type of meat is served. The menu includes homemade bread, soup, a salad, an appetizer made with seasonal foods, well-grilled steak and dessert.

The restaurant changes the menu every day so there is no concern of eating the same course every time you visit. The main dish is mostly beef, but pasta and fish are also available for those who don’t eat meat.

Prices range from 20,000 won ($17.60) to 35,000 won.

Hours are from noon to 10 p.m. (Break time: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.)

(031) 718-2838

Samantha’s

Enjoy the unique and splendid jewelry, bags and dishes displayed at Samantha’s while sipping on a cup of coffee or tea. All the products at the store are original, one-off pieces made by local artists. Four types of tea, including peppermint, green, flower and buckwheat from Gangwon Province can be enjoyed throughout the year.

Prices range from 4,500 won to 6,000 won.

Hours are from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.

(070) 4122-0447

This is Jjamppong

This is Jjamppong marks the ne plus ultra of what jjamppong (Chinese spicy noodles served with vegetables and seafood) can be transformed into. The most notable noodles at the store are the cream jjamppong that resembles Italian cream pasta but tastes like spicy Chinese noodles. Besides that, the pure rice jjamppong and garlic jjamppong are always popular. Customers can get an idea of how the noodles will taste by eyeing the menu carefully, since noodles in a white dish have less soup than noodles in a black dish do.

Prices range from 6,500 won to 9,500 won.

Hours are from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Break time: 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) from Monday to Friday. Hours are from 11:55 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. (Break time: 4 p.m. to 5: 30 p.m.)

(031) 713-4177

DailyKing’s Diner and Brown Sugar

In the same district, DailyKing has two restaurants, the Diner and Brown Sugar. Diner’s best-selling product is Philly cheese steak sandwich and eight types of burgers including a chili burger and pizza burger. DailyKing’s Brown Sugar is notable for their wide array of brunch menus including eggs Benedict, Jay’s morning platter and DailyKing’s brunch.

Price ranges from both dining places is the same, from 14,000 won to 42,000 won.

Hours are from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily (Diner), hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily (Brown Sugar).

(031) 711-5341

Naroo

Asian fusion restaurant Naroo offers Naroo steak, a house special seasoned with wine and particularly enjoyable with green bean sprouts. The pumpkin cream pasta is another best-selling creation, served with slices of steamed sweet pumpkins. Gyusuji tomato pasta, which the restaurant launched last September, is made of boiled beef and tomato sauce.

All the sauce used at the restaurant is made by the chef. If a reservation is made at least one day in advance, customers receive a 10 percent discount.

Prices range from 9,000 won to 60,000 won.

Hours are from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Break time: 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.)

(031) 782-0484

Aix-en Provence

One step into the French restaurant Aix-en Provence and you will feel the romantic atmosphere. A small violin concert is held on the flower-filled terrace between 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the weekends - a prime time and place for couples.

Brunch costs 15,000 won, the lunch course costs 25,000 won and the dinner course 70,000 won. Hours are from 11 a.m. to midnight from Monday to Friday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. on the weekends.

(031) 716-3317

Source : koreajoongangdaily.jo… ( English Korean )

Most of them exclusively serve hanjeongsik – or Korean table d’hote – but some of them have also decided to serve Western food and beverages, which has triggered mixed reviews.

Korean table d’hote at Samcheonggak, in Seongbuk District

One well-known traditional restaurant is Samcheonggak (www.samcheonggak.or.kr), located on Mount Bugak in Seongbuk District. It opened in 1972 as a yojeong, or upscale gentlemen’s club, and was frequented by powerful figures until the 1990s.

It reopened as a Korean restaurant and performance venue in 2001, and has hosted visitors such as Berlin Philharmonic conductor Simon Rattle, German rock band The Scorpions and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, among others.

Some of the menu highlights of Samcheonggak include roasted adductor muscle of shellfish; dolsot bibimbap (rice with assorted vegetables in a stone bowl); and japchae (stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables).

Seokparang (www.seokparang.co.kr) in Hongji-dong, Jongno District, is another recommendation for lovers of Korean food and history.

One of the buildings in the complex was part of the villa of Heungseon Daewongun (1820-98), the father of King Gojong (1852-1919), and another was part of the home of Empress Sunjeong (1894-1966), who married Heungseon Daewongun’s grandson Sunjong (1874-1926). The star feature is the 100-year-old persimmon tree.

Seokparang offers food like that served at the royal palace, and its most famous deserts include persimmon punch, fresh ginseng and yugwa, or a traditional oil-and-honey pastry.

There is also Mingadaheon, or “a tea place for the Mins,” in Insa-dong, Jongno District.

The house used to be owned and occupied by the family of Min Ik-du, a descendant of Korea’s last queen, Myeongseong, or Queen Min (1851-1895), in the early 20th century. It fell into a state of disrepair after being sold to another family and was on the verge of falling down until the city intervened.

Today, Mingadaheon is an upscale restaurant and has been designated Important Folklore Material No. 15 by the city. Unlike most hanok restaurants, it serves Western-style food with a wide selection of wine.

By Kim Hyung-eun [hkim@joongang.co.kr]

• Source: Korea Joongang Daily

Korean cuisine originally developed for consumption by astronauts in space is likely to be served in the form of in-flight meals on regular, earth-bound flights.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute said on Monday that it signed a deal with the association of Jeonju bibimbap producers to transfer its techniques for making bibimbap adapted to suit conditions in outer space. The association is planning to supply the ready-to-make and portable space food to domestic budget carriers.

The so-called “space bibimbap” developed by KAERI in 2010 looks like a dried block and contains less than six percent water. The block transforms into a normal bibimbap dish after it is soaked in 70-degree Celsius water for 15 minutes.

The dish has been sterilized by a process of radiation to prevent microorganisms from growing on the rice as even a small amount of these can pose a health threat in outer space. It is also made to be cooked at a low temperature because water does not boil in space.

Now KAERI is pushing forward with a plan to commercialize the dish as a part of wartime rations, an emergency food or a quick energy boost. The institute has developed 17 space food products. Among them, kimchi, ramyeon, and sujeonggwa (persimmon punch) were offered to Korea’s first astronaut Yi So-yeon in 2008 on her journey into space.

By Ian Williams

If you go down to the South Korean port city of Yeosu this May, you are in for a big surprise, not least of which is being greeted by Yeony and Suny, the human size blue and orange cartoon plankton that are official mascots for the 2012 World Expo, which runs from May 12 to August 12. And you will be one out of 10 million visitors to get the treatment.

Until recently, South Korea had little political presence globally, but it is now delivering an impressive overture on the world stage. In addition to providing a United Nations secretary general (Ban ki-moon), a president of the International Criminal Court (Sang-Hyun Song) and now the head the World Bank (Jim Yong Kim), part of its effort to make global splash is the Expo in Yeosu, in Korea’s deep south.

The big theme of the first Expo, the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, was the steam engine and it was at the 1885 Antwerp Exposition that the automobile was introduced to an all too ready world. A major theme of Yeosu is how to cope with the damage to the seas and coastlines threatened by the collective addiction to burning carbon based fuels unleashed at those events.

However, unlike the rustbelt tourist showcases of Britain and America that look back to history, the Yeosu Expo looks firmly to the future, showcasing technologies and methods that will keep the oceans and the planet thriving. It claims that it should “Raise the status of marine science, the new frontier for science”. But the foundation on which they are building, the theme “The Living Ocean and Coast” is in keeping with the traditions and history of the region.

It took 250 years after the industrial revolution for Britain’s industrial areas to be museified. Former factory workers and miners or their children earned a living by acting out the roles that they used to have. In Yeosu, it has only taken a generation!

The city’s port area, a former brownfield site of cement silos and petrochemical plants has been revived as the site of the expo, with some impressive architecture and even more impressive technology. The old cement silos have been recycled as the 55-meter high “Sky Towers” with one being used to demonstrate desalination techniques and the two incorporated into the world’s loudest pipe organ (certified by the Guinness Book of Records), whose strains will inspire the millions of visitors expected to throng at the site.

The Theme Pavilion looks better than one would guess from hearing that it is modelled on a lugworm - but then how much more maritime can you get? Most of the world, looking at South Korea from afar, see only the broad brushstrokes of the peninsula, but off Yeosu city, whose name apparently means “beautiful water”, is an archipelago of 365 strikingly beautiful islands, one for each day of the year.

The islands are functional as well as aesthetic: they shelter the harbor from storms and waves. The waters in the region have been cleaned up, reviving the traditional seafood industry whose products fill the local markets with their salty variety and also allowing use of tourist beaches on the many inlets and islands of the coast.

Yeosu, an opposition stronghold, had run down under the earlier conservative governments, but the impending exposition has focused spending and investment on the region and one of its explicit purposes is to be “A driving force to develop the south coast,” creating 80,000 new jobs. The anticipated growth will come from high-tech marine industries and what is sometimes claimed to be the world’s biggest and fastest growing business - tourism.

While the expo site itself has taken 1.5 trillion won (US$1.31 billion) in investment, the associated infrastructure spending has absorbed over 10 trillion won. The better roads and the high-speed train that ushers passengers from Seoul to the expo site in Yeosu in less than three hours are permanent contributions to regional development.

And they will come, by all accounts, from across the world. By trains, boats and planes. Part of the site is a liner terminal for passenger ships to dock for the expo, and, the town hopes, to be a regular stop for cruises at the port which offers a location that is not only scenic, but pivotal on the routes from Japan and Shanghai.

The plan is that, as well as being a big attraction in its own right, that the exposure and development of the region will initiate a future as a tourist resort. Clearly the eyes of local business are on the Chinese market, with half a million of the 10 million visitors expected from China.

The other attractions of the region are also preparing for the influx of visitors during the expo and in what they hope is the continuing tourist trade afterwards. The Korea Tea Museum and the surrounding Boseang green tea gardens, Suncheon Bay Ecological Park, Odong do island and the Hyangiram Hermitage are all boosting their attractions. However, foreign visitors should be warned, Korean tourists seem to like and expect a lot of healthy hiking up steep hills. For two hours around new hotels are being built and old ones refurbished. Even temples and churches are being pressed into service

While some of the structures for the exhibition will be temporary, the more spectacular edifices will remain, like the Big O, “The largest over the sea fountain,” which does with water what pyrotechnics does with fireworks. Fireworks themselves will be absent to minimize pollution - their place being taken by water jets and state of the art laser displays.

In addition to the spectacular water displays, the curtain of water can act as a screen for movies and holograms. In the flood of superlatives, the aquarium’s 6,000-ton tank will stand out for some time, and for those who like to stay dry while watching whales swim overhead, the Expo Digital Gallery boasts a 218-by-30 meter LED screen across its roof.

The quaintly named MLV (More Valuable Life) Hotel, a spectacular looking piece of architecture in its own right, has just opened its 1,800 rooms to cope with the demand - which of course it hopes will continue after the official expo closes.

Over a hundred countries such as China, Japan, Russia, Spain, France and the United States have booked displays in the 73 pavilions at the expo - Britain being a notable exception - Prime Minister David Cameron pleaded the pressure of a rival attraction, the Summer Olympic Games in London this year.

South Korea has built seven “theme” pavilions, which will showcase climate and environment, marine industry and technology, marine civilization and city, including a putative underwater city, and marine life. In line with the greening of the blue theme, organizers claim that the Korea pavilion itself is built from “carbon neutral eco-friendly materials” while the site is festooned with windmills and solar panels and backed up with thermal power from the ocean.

The United Nations is hosting themed events from some two dozen agencies in the international hall. Yeosu is not in isolation. It is part of the road to - and from - Rio, the major environmental conference in Brazil in June and at the closure, attended by Ban Ki-moon, most participant countries will sign the Yeosu Declaration, a comprehensive pledge to maintain and improve the conditions of the world’s oceans and coasts.

Between sea level rise, which would swamp the site, and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch gyrating over the horizon past the now-pristine waters of South Korea’s south coast Yeosu clearly has a civic stake in persuading the rest of the world to look after the 70% of the world already under water - only 1% of which, points out Sam Koo, the UN director for the expo, is legally protected.

Between Rio and Yeosu there might be hope yet of averting the threatened sea level rise - but in the meantime, the floods of investment should help float the economy of Korea’s south coast.

Ian Williams is author of Deserter: Bush’s War on Military Families, Veterans and His Past, Nation Books, New York.