[HanCinema's Digest] Culture Corner

Published on 2018/01/21

Korea's long companionship with dogs charted in The Korea Times, Korea Exposé writer Juwon Park explains why cryptocurrencies means freedom from "Hell Joseon", Yonsei University graduate Suk Ji-hoon explores the history of Korea's recorded music, and do North Korean women do their makeup differently?

"Dogs are loyal, courageous"

"Dogs have been part of Koreans' lives for a long time, even before they became Koreans' favorite companion animal today", writes Kwon Mee-yoo and Kim Jae-heun on The Korea Times. 2018 is, following to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Golden Dog, an animal that is, according to Ban Yung-yool of Hankuk University, "the symbol of friendship and loyalty". In this interesting counter to the common perception of Korea's relationship to canines, Kwon and Kim reflect on how dogs have featured heavily in Korean culture, art and photography, past and present.

...READ ON THE KOREA TIMES

"I Am a 24-Year Old South Korean and My Hopes Are in Cryptocurrency"

While the future of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in Korea remains uncertain, Juwon Park, a young writer at Korea Exposé ("Critical / Independent / Unbound"), shares her thoughts about the power and potential of new digital currencies to shine a light on what many young Koreans are now calling "Hell Joseon". "Investing in cryptocurrency seems like my only hope for a brighter future", writes Juwon. "And clearly I am not the only one to think this way".

...READ ON KOREA EXPOSE

"Tracing Korea's earliest recorded music"

Korean pop music exploded onto the world's stage and now boasts hundreds of thousands, if not millions of fans from all around the globe. Yonsei University graduate Suk Ji-hoon, however, is interested in the origins of the country's recorded music. According to his research, 1906 was an important time because this is when America and Europe's music industry (with its innovative new technologies for recording) were expanding outside their borders. Suk also reportedly has recordings of Hangul: "His collection includes a few 1896 anthropological recordings, the earliest surviving recordings of Korean language in existence".

...READ ON THE KOREA TIMES

"How North Korean women do their makeup: defector actress (Video)"

There are a lot of interesting differences between North and South Korean culture, but is make-up one of them? In this article on The Korea Herald, Rumy Doo reports on a tutorial video on YouTube (produced by actress Kim Ah-ra and Min Sae-rom, a Korean beauty vlogger) about North Korean women's makeup compared to South Korea trends. Generally, they note, "North Korea tends to follow fads that have already passed by in the South".

...READ ON THE KOREA HERALD