Busan International Film Festival opens with ‘Vara’

 

The program for the 18th Busan International Film Festival was unveiled recently. The ten-day festival will open with Vara: A Blessing by Bhutanese director Khyentse Norbu and close with Korean director Kim Dong-hyun’s The Dinner.

The opening film Vara: A Blessing by director Khyentse Norbu (photo courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

Vara: A Blessing tells a story of love, self-sacrifice, and a woman’s strength in adversity. The story, set in rural India, is about a young woman named Lila, who falls in love with Shyam, a low-caste village boy hoping to be a sculptor.

The Dinner starts as the story of an ordinary family but a series of misfortunes leads them to a tragic state. It is the recipient of the 2011 Asian Cinema Fund script development fund.

The festival will take place on 35 screens at seven movie theaters in Busan from October 3 to October 12.

A total of 301 films from 70 countries will be shown. There will be 95 world premiers that are presented to audiences for the first time and 42 international premiers that are shown for the first time outside their home countries.

The closing film The Dinner by director Kim Dong-hyun (photo courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

The Gala Presentation program that introduces recent works by renowned directors or sensational projects will show off six films: Ana Arabia by Israeli director Amos Gitai, Nagima by Kazakhstani director Zhanna Issabayeva, Snowpiercer by Korean director Bong Joon-ho, The X by Korean director Kim Jee-woon, Kadal by Indian director Mani Ratnam, and Unforgiven by Zainichi Korean director Lee Sang-il.

An experimental work, Ana Arabia was filmed in only one take. The film contains a message of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims.

Snowpiercer was already released in Korea in August but it is included in the program. “It will be the first time for Snowpiercer to be shown at a major film festival,” said Nam Dong-chul, a BIFF programmer. “Since it will be reedited for screening in North America, if you want to see the full version, you will have to see it in Busan.”

Unforgiven by Japanese director Lee Sang-il (photo courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

The Korean Cinema Today program will include Kim Ki-duk’s Moebius, which was invited to the ongoing 70th Venice Film Festival’s noncompeting section as well as Hong Sang-soo’s Our Sunhi, which won Hong the Leopard Award for Best Director at the 66th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. Nobody’s Daughter Haewon by Hong is also included in the program. For Moebius, the festival will show a version reedited with three minutes cut for general screening.

There are also several special programs -- Unknown New Wave Central Asian cinema and Rogues, Rebels and Romantics: A season of Irish cinema -- focusing on films produced in former Soviet countries and works by Irish filmmakers.

There is also the Korean Cinema Retrospective introducing over 70 films by Korea’s master director Im Kwon-taek.

For the Asian Film Market, a total of 142 institutions from 27 countries will set up promotional booths at BEXCO. Book to Film, a venue for publishers or copyright holders looking to sell original printed work copyrights and producers seeking to purchase them, will include webcomics and graphic novels as well this year.

(From left) BIFF Director Jay Jeon, Festival Director Lee Yong-kwan, Executive Programmer Kim Ji-seok (photo courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

Speaking of what differentiates this year’s event, Festival Director Lee Yong-kwan told journalists on September 3, “We will present a lot of works by young Asian directors. It will be an opportunity to show the identity of the Busan International Film Festival this year.”

Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-E’temad will lead the jury for the New Currents section, BIFF’s competition category.

Korean actress Kang Soo-yeon and Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok will moderate the opening ceremony. Among the major guests are Japanese actor Ken Watanabe, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang, Chinese director Jia Zhangke, Artistic Director Charles Tesson of Critic’s Week at the Cannes International Film Festival, Irish director Jim Sheridan, and Japanese directors Lee Sang-il, Aoyama Shinji, and Kore-eda Hirokazu.

Poster of the 18th Busan International Film Festival (image courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

 

Source:Korea.net

President emphasizes shared growth, cooperation

President Park Geun-hye returned to Korea after successfully finishing her eight-day trip which included the G20 Summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and a state visit to Vietnam. Her latest overseas visit is considered her diplomatic debut in the European region since her inauguration. Her state visit to Vietnam, the first Northeast Asian country of her choice, also received favorable marks in strengthening Korea’s cooperation with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries.

At the Saint Petersburg G20 Summit, President Park stressed the need to pursue mutual growth among emerging economies and advanced countries in the international community. Through her Vietnam state visit, the president and her Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang held a bilateral summit where the two leaders agreed on enhancing the strategic cooperative partnership and concluding bilateral free trade negotiations by 2014.

President Park Geun-hye (second from left) listens during the second session on September 6 (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

President Park delivered speeches at two working sessions of the G20 Summit, where she stressed the need for G20 countries to cooperate for common growth and pursuit of the creative economy. She also held a series of summit talks while in Saint Petersburg with the summit participating countries -- Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Germany -- to discuss ways to boost cooperation and exchanges with Korea.

In the first working session themed on “The Growth of the Global Economy” on September 5, President Park called for cooperation among G20 countries in order to achieve shared growth, while mentioning mutual dependence among countries in the world economy. In order to ease financial uncertainties among emerging economies due to the U.S. exit strategy on stimulus policy, President Park urged advanced countries to make concerted efforts to minimize the difficulties faced by developing countries.

In the second session themed “Job Creation and Investment” on September 6, the president proposed her creative economy vision as the key to solving unemployment in her lead speech. Pointing out poor growth, economic inequalities, and high unemployment as issues of the world economy, the president proposed her creative economy vision and a disciplined market economy as solutions.

“In the past, the economy used to run on mineral resources, whereas what drives the creative economy I envision is creative ideas,” said President Park, mentioning the worldwide hit song “Gangnam Style” by Korean singer PSY, to help the summit participants’ understanding.

President Park Geun-hye (left) shakes hands with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang during a joint press briefing at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 9 (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

In the five-day state visit to Vietnam from September 7 to 11, President Park held summit talks with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on September 9 where they announced a joint statement dubbed “joint statement of leaders for co-prosperity." At the summit, the two leaders held in-depth discussions on how to strengthen bilateral cooperation and exchanges in economy and culture. Both leaders agreed to finalize the ongoing free trade negotiations, reach an agreement for a comprehensive level of free trade by 2014, and work toward extending the bilateral trade volume to USD 70 billion by 2020 from the current level of USD 20 billion as of 2012.

The two leaders also agreed to cooperate and support Vietnam’s implementation of large-scale projects, including nuclear plant development and power plant construction, with the participation of Korean firms.

Clad in Hanbok, President Park Geun-hye delivers congratulatory remarks at a fashion show on Hanbok and ao dai held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 8 (photo: Jeon Han).

Her five-day itinerary included stops to boost cultural exchange between Korea and Vietnam, including a fashion show on Hanbok and ao dai which involved the designers of the two countries. At the fashion show, President Park showed off the beauty of traditional Korean attire on the runway and expressed her hope that the two countries can build a truly close partnership and artists of the two countries can have more exchanges, while mentioning the beautiful harmony that Hanbok and ao dai create.

President Park (right) visits the residence of former Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh on September 9 with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang in Hanoi (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

President Park Geun-hye adjusts the ribbon on a wreath as she pays homage to Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 9 (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

President Park visited the residence and mausoleum of former Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh to pay her respects, and Ho Chi Minh City where a number of Korean firms are operating to help extend cooperation in the economy and culture and build close ties among the peoples of the two countries.
Source:Korea.net 

How to make traditional Korean liquor

Two kinds of traditional Korean liquor from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) have recently been revived.

Under the project “Bring Back Joseon-Era Traditional Alcohol,” the Rural Development Administration (RDA) brought back to life two kinds of traditional Korean alcohol: jaju (liquor produced by boiling clear liquor, or yakju, with medicinal herbs) and jinsangju (clear rice liquor that used to be presented to Joseon-era kings as tribute from the country).

Both were recreated using the recipe from Sangayorok, an agricultural manual written by medical officer Jeon Sun-eui during the reign of King Sejong (1418-1450).

Jaju can be produced after six to twelve hours of heating with medicinal herbs including beeswax, black pepper, cinnamon bark, and dried orange peels in the clear alcohol “yakju.”

Jinsangju is an alcohol fermented with rice crude liquor mixed with steamed glutinous rice. This fermented alcohol is known to have won the Joseon-era royal family’s favor with its unique sweet and light flavor.

□ How to make jaju

○ Prepare 17 liters of clear alcohol or yakju (about 17 proof).
○ Add about 0.3 grams of beeswax, black pepper, cinnamon, and dried orange peels.
○ Put all the ingredients in a pot and place the pot in boiling water for six to twelve hours.
○ Leave it in a cool place.

□ How to make jinsangju

○ Soak 1 kilogram of regular rice overnight. Grind it, then pour three liters of water in a pot with the powdered rice and boil it into a thick gruel.
○ After cooling, add 800 grams of neureuk (powdered Korean yeast) to the gruel, put it in a pot, and ferment it in a cool place for five days in spring or autumn, three days in summer, or seven days in winter, respectively.
○ Wash thoroughly 5.4 kilograms of glutinous rice and steam it. Then cool it and put the steamed rice in the pot.
○ After seven days, strain the resulting fermented rice with a sieve, and now you have sweet jinsangju.

1. Wash regular rice and soak it overnight. (left) 2. Grind the rice.

1. Boil it into a thick gruel. (left) 2. After cooling, add neureuk to the gruel.

(From left) 1. Steam glutinous rice in a steamer lined with cotton cloth. 2. Put the steamed rice in the pot and leave it for seven days. 3. Strain it with a sieve.

Clear rice wine jinsangju

 

Source: Korea.net

A short introduction of Housing in Korea

It is generally believed that Paleolithic man began to inhabit the Korean Peninsula about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. Neolithic man appeared in Korea around 4,000 B.C., with signs of their active presence around 3,000 B.C. being found across the peninsula. It is believed that these Neolithic people formed the ethnic stock of the Korean people. Neolithic people dwelled near the seashore and riverbanks before advancing into inland areas. The sea was their main source of food. They used nets, hooks and fishing lines to catch fish and gather shellfish. Hunting was another way to procure food. Arrowheads and spear points have been found at Neolithic sites. Later, they began to engage in farming using stone hoes, sickles and millstones.

Rice cultivation started during the Bronze Age, which lasted in Korea until around 400 B.C. People also lived in thatch-covered pits, while dolmen and stone cist tombs were used predominantly for burials during the period.As agriculture became a principal activity, villages were formed and a ruling leader with supreme authority emerged. Law became necessary to govern the communities. In Gojoseon (2,333 B.C.-108 B.C.), a law code consisting of eight articles came into practice, but only three of the articles are known today: First, anybody who kills another shall immediately be killed. Second, those who injure another's body shall compensate in grain. Third, those who steal another's possessions shall become a slave of their victim.

Housing

Hanok, Korean traditional houses, remained relatively unchanged from the Three Kingdoms period through the late Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Ondol, a Korean underfloor heating system, was first used in the north. Smoke and heat generated from the low-lying kitchen stoves were channeled through flues built under floors. In the warmer south, ondol was used together with wooden floors. The major materials of traditional houses were clay and wood. Giwa, or black-grooved roof tiles, were made of earth, usually red clay. Today, the Presidential mansion is called Cheong Wa Dae, or the Blue House, for the blue tiles used for its roof.

Ondol

In modern usage it refers to any type of underfloor heating or a room that follows the traditional way of eating and sleeping on the floor.

Hanok were built without using any nails and were assembled with wooden pegs. Upper-class houses consisted of a number of separate structures, one for the accommodation of women and children, one for the men of the family and their guests, and another for servants, all enclosed within a wall. A family ancestral shrine was built behind the house. A lotus pond was sometimes created in front of the house outside the wall..

 

1-2. Bukchon (North Village) in Seoul's Gahoe-dong district.

3-4. The hanok-style home of Im Jin-su, in Anseong, Gyeonggi-do province.

(Photos courtesy of the Cultural Heritage Administration)

The form of the houses differed from the colder north to the warmer south. Simple houses with a rectangular floor and a kitchen and a room on either side developed into an L-shaped house in the south. Hanok later became U- or square-shaped centered around a courtyard.

From the late 1960s, Korea's housing pattern began to change rapidly with the construction of Western-style apartment buildings. High-rise apartments have mushroomed all over the country since the 1970s but the ondol system has remained popular with heated water pipes taking the place of smoke flues under the floor.

Source:Korea.net

Humanities are basis for cultural prosperity: President

President Park Geun-hye met with well-known figures in the culture and the humanities arena on August 7 at Cheong Wa Dae.

A total of 13 people, including including Yonsei University Professor Yoo Jong-ho, Ewha Womans University Professor Kim U-Chang, and novelists Yi In-hwa and Park Bum-shin, attended the meeting.

President Park Geun-hye (center) stresses the importance of the humanities at a meeting with influential figures in the culture, humanities, and arts arena at Cheong Wa Dae on August 7 (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

President Park Geun-hye (left) shakes hands with one of the attendees of the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on August 7 (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

President Park listened to insightful opinions from the meeting participants who expressed their views on a wide range of issues, including ways to boost humanities studies and to realize the goal of cultural prosperity.

President Park repeatedly emphasized the importance of the humanities as the foundation for cultural enrichment and the creative economy which will lead to happiness as it “focuses on consideration of people and deals with an insight of life and human beings.”

“Any technology, invention, or system can become monstrous if it is not based on self-reflection on people and life,” said the president in a meeting with senior journalists at Cheong Wa Dae on July 10.

President Park also said that knowledge in the humanities is the foundation for a creative economy at Seoul International Book Fair in June this year.

“We need to start reading books in order to usher in an era of cultural renaissance as imagination based on the humanities is a key to achieve a growth engine,” said the president at a ceremony held to announce "Government 3.0” vision in the same month.

After her summer vacation, President Park held meetings with groups of experts and plans to meet more experts in the culture, arts, and humanities sectors in the future.

By Wi Tack-whan, Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr

S-train adds more fun to southern region

Ocean, islands, and a train. Take your time meditating while enjoying a tea inside a train where you can also enjoy fresh seafood.

Tourists can enjoy a quality train trip starting this November, as Korail will introduce the new S-train tourism program which will guide passengers through the southern part of Korea. The name “S-train” originates from “south” and the curvy shape of the South Sea of Korea.

Korail will roll out the S-train this November (image courtesy of Korail).

Under the program, new turtle-themed trains will travel two routes -- from Busan to Yeosu and from Gwangju to Masan -- once a day with five cars which can accommodate up to 218 passengers.

The train which departs from Busan will travel a total of 250.7 kilometers to the venue of the Yeosu Expo via Gupo, Jinyeong, Masan, Jinju, Hadong, Suncheon, and Yeocheon. The other train which will depart from Gwangju will travel more than 260 kilometers to Masan via Nampyeong, Boseong, Deungnyang, Beolgyo, Suncheon, Bukcheon, and Jinju.

Passengers can enjoy a traditional Korean tea ceremony while sitting inside a tea room of the S-train (photo courtesy of Korail).

Passengers can enjoy their train travel, as each of the five passenger cars is built on different themes -- rooms for healing, family, cafeteria, tea, and leisure and sports. Korail expects that the cafeteria and tea room will win popularity among travelers, as these two cars are unique to the S-train. The train will delight food lovers as they can enjoy well-known Korean cuisines of the southern region at the cafeteria and experience a traditional Korean style tea ceremony with fragrant tea produced from the southern region in a tea room which will be introduced for the first time to Korean trains.

S-train passengers can also enjoy local festivals throughout the southern region as the train passes the venues of popular events like Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival scheduled from October 1 to 13, Beolgyo Cockle Festival, and Suncheon Bay Reeds Festival, both of which are to be held from October 25 to 27.

Nampyeong, one of the temporary stations of the S-train route, is a good place to take photos (photo courtesy of Korail).

Each of the stations along the train route, like Jinju, Hadong, Suncheon, Yeosu, Beolgyo, and Boseong, shows uniqueness of local culture and tourism with newly built tourism information centers, food, and other local specialty shops.

At Deungnyang station, one of the S-train stops, tourists can go back to the past while enjoying walking around a special street created with themes of the past (photo courtesy of Korail).

Korail has previously introduced train tourism programs called the O-train and V-train earlier this spring. The two trains have attracted about 130,000 people since opening this April. Thanks to the train programs, daily visitors to Buncheon and Yangwon, some of the temporary stops of the train routes, also rose from ten to 1,000.

By Jeon Han, Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
hanjeon@korea.kr

Source:Korea.net

Test of Proficiency in Korean-TOPIK 2013

Objectives of TOPIK

• To propagate and set a standard framework for learning Korean for non-native speakers of Korean and overseas Koreans alike.
• To measure and evaluate their Korean language skills and utilize the results for entrance to Korean Educational institutes
  and for job-seeking purposes 

Exam Levels and Difficulties (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)

 Exam Levels and Difficulties (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)

Difficulty	Beginner		Intermediate		Advanced
Level	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5	Level 6
Level decision	Level will be decided upon depending on the score in each level

• Composition by Area : 4 sections (Vocabulary, Grammar, Writing, Listening and Reading)
• Score : Each section 100, Total 400

Test result use

For the purpose of submitting score reports to institutions such as colleges or companies, and for visa issuance.

Source:NIIED

TOPIK Schedule in 2013

Exam	Korea	The Americas, Europe, Africa	Asia.Central Asia, Austrailia	Remarks
29th Exam	1.20(Sun)			Korea Only
30th Exam	4.21(Sun)	4.20(Sat)	4.21(Sun)
31st Exam	7.21(Sun)			Korea only
32nd Exam	10.20(Sun)	10.19(Sat)	10.20(Sun)

TOPIK 2013 Application Dates(Korean dates) Exam Date How to apply Remarks 29th Exam ‘12.12.13(Thu) ~ 12.26(Wed) · Korea : Online application, group application Korea Only 30th Exam ‘13.02.12(Tue) ~ 02.25(Mon) · Korea : Online application, group application · Overseas : Apply through the nation’s affiliated institution 31st Exam ‘13.06.12(Wed) ~ 06.25(Tue) · Korea : Online application, group application Korea only 32nd Exam ‘13.08.07(Wed) ~ 08.20(Tue) · Korea : Online application, group application · Overseas : Apply through the nation’s affiliated institution **Date can differ while applying from overseas. Please check with the nation’s affiliated institution.
TOPIK 2013 Test Timings Difficulty 1st half 2nd half Remarks Vocabulary.Grammar/ Writing Listening/Reading Beginner 09:00~10:30(90min) 11:00~12:30(90min) Morning(Beginner, Advanced) Afternoon (Intermediate)) Intermediate 14:00~15:30(90min) 16:00~17:30(90min) Advanced 09:00~10:30(90min) 11:00~12:30(90min) **1st and 2nd half will be combined to single test in China - Beginner.Advanced: 09:00 ~ 12:00 - Intermediate: 14:00 ~ 17:00 TOPIK 2012 Test Result Announcement Dates Test number 29th Exam 30th Exam 31st Exam 32nd Exam Announcement date ‘13.02.04(Mon) ‘13.05.30(Thu) ‘13.08.02(Fri) ‘13.12.03(Tue) **Announcement will be at 15:00 on the above dates on the exam website (www.topik.go.kr)
For further details you can contact Korean Embassy in your country or visit the official TOPIK website: www.topik.go.kr