| Kahoe_Where the Old Meets New | ||||||||||
 | By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter
Nestled between Kyongbok and Changdok palaces, the Kahoe-dong neighborhood is often overlooked in favor of the much swankier Samchong-dong and the tourist magnet Insa-dong. The main attraction of Kahoe is Pukchon, most famous for its cluster of hanoks, traditional Korean houses. While it remains a quiet residential area, some of the hanoks are being turned into restaurants, cafes, teahouses, boutiques, museums and even offices. Compared with Insa-dong, filled with hundreds of tourists at any given day, Kahoe is less crowded and relatively quiet. It also attracts a different crowd _ a mix of office workers from nearby office buildings, groups of middle-aged ladies who have long leisurely lunches, retirees who sit around having tea, students from nearby schools and tourists in search of the hanok village. Trendy Food Places Good food is probably the first thing that attracts people to a neighborhood. Kahoe is not lacking in trendy restaurants and quaint cafes serving tasty food in a tasteful setting.
Step inside Gourmet. and you’ll be greeted with the scent of freshly baked bread and a whiff of brewed coffee. The shop offers a tempting array of bread, baguettes, multi-grain bread, chiabatta, as well as cheesecake, chiffon cake, tiramisu. It is almost enough to make one forget about their New Year’s resolution to go on a diet. Gourmet, a wine and tapas bar at night, is well stocked with wine and cheese. Ga-Hoe-Heon has a sophisticated atmosphere. You can sip wine and savor sumptuous Italian dishes. Sandwich places are also becoming popular in Kahoe. Sally’s Salon is popular for its hearty sandwiches, which are served with wine or coffee. Its salami sandwich with wine set is a steal for 7,000 won.
Other interesting places to have coffee are the rustic-looking Egg and the modern Dexter House. For a more upscale atmosphere, To Go Coffee is the place to go. Located in a red brick house with floor-length windows, To Go Coffee is a perfect place to relax and just watch the world go by. Health-conscious people may want to check out Organic Coffee. The cafe’s main selling point is that it serves organic coffee, grown without using pesticides or harmful chemicals. Recent studies have shown organic coffee has more nutritional and medicinal benefits than regular coffee. Another popular Italian restaurant is Flora, located in front of Art Sonje Center. Flora provides a perfect ambience for a date. It boasts an award-winning chef Cho Woo-hyun, who won a gold medal with the Korean Cuisine Association in the gourmet team challenge in Thailand last year. Wagamama is a Japanese sushi bar with reasonably priced dishes. Wagamama owner Cho Mun-ho said the restaurant has only been open for a couple of months but has already attracted a steady lunch crowd. The restaurant also has a small section with clothes and jewelry for sale. The unique jewelry and accessories were designed by Cho’s wife Park Myoung-hee. If that’s not enough, Wagamama also has resident tarot card master who will tell you what you want to know about your future. A tarot card reading for one question costs 5,000 won, and a tarot card reading for couples is 10,000 won. Satisfy your sweet tooth at J’s Cake (www.jscake.com), which offers yummy treats such as raspberry cheesecake, Austrian choco cake and yogurt potato cake.
Stylish Shops For a fashionista, exploring Kahoe’s streets can yield chic finds and maybe even some bargains. Boutiques specializing in one-of-a-kind, handmade shoes, bags and jewelry are sprouting up in the neighborhood.
The boutique Shoes and Shoes also displays quite fashionable shoes and handbags. A row of small boutiques selling quirky jewelry, bags, clothes and other accessories is also found behind the Jeongdok Library.
Cometa is a small shop specializing in art jewelry. Kim Hyung-mo designs most of the jewelry sold at the shop, although some pieces are imported from Venice, Italy. Kim, a friendly, soft-spoken man, greets customers at the store, where he also painstakingly creates earrings and other pieces of jewelry. He worked in a chemical lab for 15 years before deciding to shift to his passion for jewelry design.
Another interesting shop is Piktor, which sells a mix of handmade accessories and fashion-forward clothing. Not many flower shops in Seoul can boast of a chic shop like Soho and Noho. This is no ordinary flower shop, since it also provides party and event decoration services. Cultural Tour There are many art galleries in the area such as Arario Seoul, PKM Gallery and Art Sonje Center. There is even a Tibet Museum (www.tibetmuseum.co.kr), which may initially conjure questions as to why would there be a museum devoted to Tibetan culture in a traditional Korean neighborhood. Admission costs 5,000 won. But a visit to Kahoe would not be complete without checking out the hanoks. Some residential hanoks are open to the public, while others have been converted into museums to show different aspects of Korean traditional culture. The Dong-lim Museum, which features Korean traditional knots, is located in a hanok. The museum sheds light on the different meanings behind knots. For instance, amber knots symbolize wealth, while pepper knots symbolize fertility. The museum also offers knot-making program for those interested in learning how to make Korean knots. It takes about an hour to complete a project such as a cell phone cord. Gahoe Museum (www.gahoemuseum.org) is a hanok remodeled to become a small museum. Yoon Yul-soo, the museum director, said the hanok is estimated to be nearly 90 years old. The museum boasts of a collection of amulets, folk paintings and books, although only a few are actually on display. Admission fee is 3,000 won for adults and 2,000 won for students.
Visitors are served a cup of green tea from the Dongwoen Temple in Naju, South Cholla Province, and are encouraged to stay and savor the peaceful atmosphere A middle-aged Japanese man from Fukushima enjoyed the peaceful ambience at the Gahoe Museum. He said he enjoyed walking around the hanok neighborhood. ``It is very quiet. It makes you forget you are in a busy city,” he said. True enough, Kahoe is only a few blocks away from the busy, chaotic streets of downtown Seoul, but there is a sense of calm in the hanok neighborhood. Amid the rapid pace of development and modernization of the neighborhood, it will be a challenge for Kahoe to preserve its unique character.
| |||||||||
Thursday, January 25, 2007
kahoe
Thursday, January 11, 2007
funny signs
Or here either!
Only a Filipino would know why these signs are funny!
* Signs spotted at the theme park Everland in South Korea.
Monday, January 1, 2007
kpop-jpop crazy
| Korea-Japan Pop Culture Exchanges Flourish With Headphones On, Korean, Japanese Teenagers Discount Animosity | |||
| By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter
| ||
Shinhwa, an all-boy band of Korea, performs enthusiastically during a concert held in Japan. When Japanese pop group Arashi arrived for a press conference at Incheon International Airport last July 31, about 2,000 screaming teenage girls greeted them. It was hard to tell who was more surprised at the boy band’s raucous reception _ the fans, the media or Arashi themselves.
Members of Arashi even admitted during the press conference that they were nervous about coming to Korea because they were not sure how many people actually know about them. It was the group’s first visit, but Arashi had managed to win the hearts of Korean fans even before setting foot in the country.
This is no longer a unique case. Thanks to the hundreds of fan sites, blogs and cafes on the Internet, J-pop stars like Arashi, L’Arc~en~Ciel, SMAP, Gackt, Hyde, Namie Amuro, Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki have significant number of fans in Korea without the help of promotions, shows or concerts.
On the other hand, Korean pop stars are still seeking a breakthrough in the highly competitive world of Japanese pop music.
This year alone, K-pop stars such as TVXQ, Shinhwa, Rain and Se7en have gone on high-profile promotional tours in Japan and released Japanese-language albums and singles.
While their albums have all managed rank in the top 10 on Japan’s Oricon Charts, none of them have managed to even come close to the phenomenal success enjoyed by pop princess BoA.
J-pop Wave
 |
Japanese pop group Arashi at a press conference, at a music festival in Kwangu in fall last year. When the Korean government lifted the ban on imports of Japanese cultural products in October 2004, Koreans were finally able to watch Japanese films and dramas, as well as buy Japanese albums.
Japanese pop idols seem to have slowly won over Korean fans as part of the so-called Japanese wave or ``illyu.”
Japanese performers such as w-inds, Koda Kumi, Goto Maki, Miyavi, Paris Match and Toshi of X-Japan have held shows and concerts in Seoul this year. It was only in 2000 that Japanese stars were allowed to perform in venues holding more than 2,000 people.
More than 18,000 tickets to Arashi’s four concerts in Seoul last Nov. 11 and 12 were sold in one hour. Language is apparently no barrier when it comes to music.
During the concert, Arashi performed almost all of their songs in Japanese. They performed only one Korean-language song. While they attempted a few sentences in Korean, the group needed the help of an interpreter to communicate with the audience.
Sales of Arashi’s albums in Korea are unprecedented for Japanese artists in Korea. According to data from the Recording Industry Association of Korea, ``Arashic” was the top-selling foreign album in July, with sales of 10,675 copies. The group’s single ``Aozora Pedal,” albums ``5x5 The Best Collection of 2002-2004” and ``Single Collection 1999-2001” also sold more than 20,000 copies combined this year.
 |
Korean fans cheer as they watch Japanese pop group Arashi perform at the Asia Song Festival in Kwangju. Goto Maki, a former member of Morning Musume, attracted many Korean fans after she appeared at the Asia Song Festival in Pusan in November 2005. Since then, about 130,000 Koreans registered with her official fan club. She held her first concert last Nov. 19 at the Melon-AX.
Lee Sou-youn, an 18-year old student, said she started listening to J-pop after a friend gave her a CD of Japanese hip-hop group M-flo. ``I really liked it. Also, there are a lot of Web sites about J-pop singers, so I visited the Web sites, heard more J-pop songs and saw Japanese shows and programs from there,” Lee said.
Naver, Daum and other sites host fan cafes and blogs of thousands of fans who share a common passion for Japanese idols. Some of the fans discover J-pop as they study the Japanese language. Other fans even go to Japan to attend the concerts of J-pop stars.
The historical animosity between Japan and Korea does not seem to affect young fans. Lee said she simply likes the cool sounds of J-pop music and she doesn’t even think much about the fact that it is from Japan.
However, as of now, Japanese performers are still not allowed to appear on Korean television shows. Not that it matters to the fans who get to see performances of their favorite Japanese stars on the Internet.
K-pop in Japan
BoA is undoubtedly the biggest Korean star in Japan today, prompting some Korean fans to complain she is focusing more on Japan than Korea.
Unlike J-pop stars who release their Japanese language songs and albums in Korea, K-pop stars like Rain, Se7en and TVXQ have made the effort to learn Japanese and release Japanese language albums.
TVXQ, known as Tohoshinki in Japan, is being positioned as a J-pop newcomer rather than a K-pop group. Whenever they perform in Japan, the group sings only Japanese songs. The group now has about 10,000 members in its Japanese fan club.
Yoko, a TVXQ fan who lives in Osaka, said she became interested in Korean pop culture after seeing the hit drama ``Winter Sonata.’’ She saw TVXQ’s performance in one of the Korean TV programs on the Internet and became a fan.
Yoko said K-pop groups like TVXQ and Shinhwa are slowly becoming popular among Japanese women. TVXQ and Shinhwa both held successful concerts and fan meetings in Japan the past year, and many Japanese fans usually go to Seoul to watch their shows.
``Regarding how popular they are compared to SMAP and other groups, I may say that TVXQ’s popularity is still budding at this time. But they’re becoming popular because they performed 14 concerts in 10 venues where the hall can seat 2,500 people,” she said.
Another Japanese fan, who declined to be identified, said Korean media seems to have exaggerated the popularity of some K-pop stars in Japan. The fan, who watched two of the YG Family concerts in Tokyo last October, said not all the YG concerts were sold out as reported in the Korean media.
``The venue was half-empty, and the audience atmosphere was low for the first concert. But on the second night, the show was sold out and everyone was really hyper. Se7en even did some Japanese comedy gags, which everyone loved,” the fan said. However, the fan said most of the fans were interested only in seeing Se7en perform.
K-pop stars are getting noticed for their talent and earnest efforts to learn Japanese. Yoko said she likes K-pop performers because they have higher quality songs and performances than some J-pop stars. She even thinks it is only a matter of time before TVXQ and other Korean stars equal J-pop stars’ popularity.
It is however tough to predict the future of K-pop stars in Japan and J-pop stars in Korea. But it is significant to see that Japanese and Korean pop stars are helping bridge the gap between the two countries, whose complicated history has always been a source of conflict.
12-31-2006 19:12
|  | |
| Rising Stars in Japan, Korea | ||||
| By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Next Big K-pop Stars in Japan
| |||
K-pop stars are expected to continue their efforts to crack the Japanese market, but a new group of up-and-coming Korean singers are solely concentrating on making a name in Japan.
R&B singer K, whose Korean name is Kang Yoon-sung, has released several single albums and two Japanese albums, “Beyond the Sea” and “Music in My Life.”
Fluent in Japanese, the 23-year-old singer has impressed Japanese fans with his strong voice and piano-playing skills. His song “Only Human” was used as the theme song for the hit Japanese drama “1 Litre of Tears,” and “Over” was featured in another Japanese drama, “H2.”
Another singer, Sun Min, had her debut in Japan this year. She sang a duet with Japanese singer Toshinobu Kubota, “Keep Holding U,” which was the theme song of the blockbuster Japanese movie “Sinking of Japan.”
This month the 20-year-old singer released a single album, “The Miracle of Love.” Her profile is expected to rise next year, as she has been asked to sing the title song “The Rose” from Fuji TV’s drama “No Right to Be a Mom,” which will be aired in January.
Next Big J-pop Stars in Korea
 |
KAT-TUN is one of the most popular groups in Japan these days. The group is composed of five members _ Kazuya Kamenashi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki- Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda and YuichiNakamaru. A sixth member _ Jin Akanishi _ is currently on hiatus.
When KAT-TUN released their album, single and DVD this year, they became only the second group in history to top all three categories of the Oricon Charts.
Kamensahi is already making waves as an actor in Japanese dramas “Nobuta Wo Produce” and “Gokusen 2.”
KAT-TUN has not yet released an album in Korea, but many hope the group will soon make move into the Korean market.
Known as Japan’s Madonna, Kumi Koda made a splash at the recent Asia Song Festival. She caught the audience’s attention with her sexy attire and catchy performance of “Cutie Honey,” which was re-made by Korean singer Ayumi.
The stylish singer has won numerous awards in Japan, including the grand prize in the 47th Nihon Record Taishou for her song “Butterfly” and the artist of the year award at the Japan Gold Disc Award this year.
12-31-2006 19:38
| |
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Rain-y
| Is Rain Worth It? High Concert Ticket Prices Raise Eyebrows | |||
| By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter
| ||
Korean superstar Rain, who goes by his real name Chung Ji-hoon when acting, will soon embark on an ambitious world tour. K-pop superstar Rain's upcoming world concert tour is generating a lot of buzz. After all, ``Rain's Coming 06/07 World Tour'' is perhaps the most ambitious and expensive world concert tour by any Korean artist.
Expectations are running high for Rain's world tour, which has been called a ``make it or break it” tour since it will test his popularity and ability to appeal to people in different countries. With the budget for the concert reportedly reaching several millions of dollars, it is no wonder why concert tickets are being sold at a premium price.
The most expensive tickets for Rain's concerts cost 176,000 won (US$189) in Seoul, US$261 (244,000 won) in Las Vegas and US$313 (293,000 won) in Singapore.
Rain officially kicks off his world tour in Seoul on Dec. 15 and 16 at the Olympic Park Gymnasium. He is then scheduled to perform on Dec. 23 and 24 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Tickets for the Las Vegas concerts are already sold out at Ticketmaster, even with the price of US$89 to US$261.
Celine Dion also holds concerts at the Colosseum, charging US$165 to US$350 for tickets. The Colosseum has a capacity of 3,800.
For Rain's concerts, organizers have arranged tour package deals for overseas fans who want to attend the concert and take a vacation in Las Vegas.
However, some U.S.-based fans were disappointed with the expensive ticket prices and the concert dates, which are scheduled right before the Christmas holiday. This has dissuaded younger fans from attending the concert.
For the Jan. 21 concert in Singapore, the front row seats were initially to cost as much as 530,000 won or US$570 each. However, these pricey seats are being reserved especially for VIP and purchasers of special package tours.
According to Regina Wong, Singapore's representative for Rain's International Fan Club, JYP Entertainment has also allocated 100 seats in these VIP sections for fan club members at only US$200 each. ``JYPE put the seats up for sale last week and the 100 tickets at US$200 each were sold in 5 minutes,'' she said.
Tickets for the Singapore concert are now sold to the public for as high as US$313 (293,000 won). Rain's concert tickets are even more expensive than the priciest ticket to guitar legend's Eric Clapton's concert in Singapore, which go for US$256 or 240,000 won.
On the Singapore ticketing Web site, Rain's concert is billed as the ``largest project in scale among world tours by a Korean artist'' and ``at par with Madonna's latest tour.''
Some of the reasons for the expensive ticket prices are the high production costs and that Rain has hired prominent concert production people. These include stage director Jaime King, who has choreographed dance moves for Madonna and Britney Spears; Roy Bennett, who was production designer for Paul McCartney's 2005 U.S. tour; and visual director Dago Gonzalez.
Star M, organizer of Rain's tour, said in a press release earlier that Rain's world tour is expected to generate 106 billion won (US$113 million) in revenue. It estimated that 56 billion won (US$59 million) will come from admission fees and the rest from tour copyrights, DVD sales and merchandising.
Rain is scheduled to hold a concert on Feb. 3 in Bangkok. Concert dates are also being planned for Japan, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan.
11-21-2006 18:57
| |
Sunday, November 19, 2006
the lucky chronicles
Lucky incident #1: Jet Storm pressconference at Incheon July 31
I was crazy over MatsuJun. I had just gotten the Arashic cd-dvd a week before. Yet, I went all the way to Incheon Intl Airport for the press conference. It turned out, I had forgotten to confirm my attendance. Uh-oh... My boss practically had to fight with the PR person just to let me in.
And it was worth it! Seeing MatsuJun and Nino was enough!
Lucky Incident #2: Asia Song Festival
I plotted to cover the Asia Song Festival since it was announced Arashi was performing. I went to Kwangju with Yam, and we ended up covering the press conference. We were seated at the first row of the reporters' tables.Okay, so it's not really lucky, since it was work.
Lucky Incident #3: Meeting Arashi
LUCKIEST OF Luckiest incidents... Yam and I approached the 4 Arashi members sitting at the Kwangju World Cup Stadium, during rehearsals. Aiba and Sho agree to pose for photos! Even luckier for me... Aiba takes my camera and takes a photo of me and Sho. Cool. Too bad about Ohno and Nino, though.
I just love remembering how I met Sho and Aiba. Accckkkkk that's why they're my all-time favorites. I can never hate these guys or get tired of them! They're sooooooooooooooooooooo NICE.
Lucky Incident #4: Concert
Can you say LUCKY again? I had given up hope getting a ticket at the sold out Arashi concert in Seoul. Yet, somehow, my guardian angel made sure I would get one... I managed to buy a ticket at the box office, 3 hours before the concert. AND... it turned out I was seated at the second row, right beside the stage... AND... MatsuJun touched my hand... AND... all members were in front of me...singing and dancing and being pa-cute. I was just super lucky that day.
Aaccckkk... I'm just a crazy, lucky fan girl. I hope my luck never ends.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
my arashic adventure
| Boy Bands Battle at Festival | |||
| By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter
| ||
Around 30,000 fans came from all over the country, and some even came from Japan to watch the free concert, which was organized by the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE).
During the concert, KOFICE president Shin Hyun-taek said he hoped the event would boost more cultural exchanges among Asian countries.
Top artists from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines performed at the concert. However, it was apparent the most successful pop culture exchange was between Korea and Japan, of which boy bands TVXQ and Arashi have gained popularity in each other’s countries.
Since it was Arashi’s first performance in Korea, their fans went wild when the five member group appeared on stage wearing bright pink suits. Performing their trademark song, ``A-RA-SHI,'' the group impressed the crowd with their dancing and even included some Korean lyrics. They also sang ``Kitto Daijobu'' and ``Wish,'' the theme song from the popular Japanese drama ``Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers).’’
During a news conference at Damyang Resort on Thursday evening, Arashi member Matsumoto Jun said the group was happy to participate in the festival and have the opportunity to share their music with the rest of Asia.
Arashi member Sakurai Sho said the group was surprised to find they were popular in Korea. Last July 31, around 1,500 fans welcomed Arashi when they held a news conference at the Incheon International Airport.
``Until the airport incident, we never realized that we would be close with Korean fans. That’s why if you ask us about our secret to being famous in Korea, we’d like to ask that ourselves. I was skeptical and can’t believe it myself,'' Sakurai said.
Meanwhile, TVXQ’s fans also screamed their loudest at the concert, when the Korean group unveiled a new, more mature image. Wearing somber black suits and new hairstyles, TVXQ performed the ballad ``And Holding Back the Tears,'' and their new Japanese single, ``Sky.'' They ended the festival with a fireworks-studded performance of ``Rising Sun.''
Aside from the boy bands, the song festival also showed different sides of Asian pop music. There were the sexy divas such as Japan’s Koda Kumi, Hong Kong’s Kelly Chen, Thailand’s Katreeya English and Vietnam’s Ho Quynh Huong.
Koda, who is considered Japan’s Madonna, showed off her provocative dance moves and strong vocals. English, a pretty Thai singer, charmed the crowd as she sang the Thai version of ``I think I,'' a song from the popular Korean drama ``Full House.’’
The concert also featured singer-songwriters such as Kitchie Nadal from the Philippines, Tanya Chua from Singapore and Tank from Taiwan. Nadal performed ``Wag na wag mong sasabihin (Don’t ever tell me),” a ballad that was used as the theme song of the Korean drama ``Lovers in Paris'' in the Philippines.
Chua sang an emotional ballad ``Beautiful Love,'' while Tank performed songs combining elements of Oriental music with hip-hop.
The Asia Song Festival, which was broadcast in 10 major television networks across Asia, ended with an awarding ceremony for the participating artists.
 |
Korea’s most popular boy band TVXQ unveiled their new, more mature image Friday during the third Asia Song Festival in Kwangju.
 |
Katreeya English from Thailand sings during the third Asia Song Festival in Kwangju.
09-24-2006 19:57
| |
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
more asian pop
Pop Music to Bridge Gap Among Asians |
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
 |
Hong Kong singer Kelly Chen Park Youn-woo has been a big fan of the Japanese pop group Arashi for almost seven years. Park, who studied Japanese, found she could easily relate to the lyrics and themes of Arashi’s pop songs.
“There’s nothing special about Japanese music. I think the melody of pop songs around the world is same. But even if I’m Korean, I can relate to the song lyrics and find something similar to Korean culture,” Park told The Korea Times.
Despite political tensions between Korea and Japan, it seems pop culture is helping bridge the gap between the two countries. Japanese fans have been gobbling up K-pop, Korean dramas and movies in the past few years, but recently Japanese pop groups like Arashi are becoming popular in Korea.
The Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) would like to see more of this kind of pop cultural exchange among Koreans and the rest of Asia. This is the ultimate goal of the Asia Song Festival, now in its third year, which will be held at the southwestern city of Kwangju on Sept. 22.
This year, top Asian pop stars such as Arashi, Korea’s TVXQ and Buzz, Japan’s Koda Kumi and Hong Kong’s Kelly Chen are scheduled to perform at the Kwangju World Cup Stadium.
It might seem like just another pop concert but KOFICE is hoping music will be the bridge to bring Asian countries closer to one another.
``The Asia Song Festival is aiming for Asian cultural exchange and fostering a cultural community among Asian countries, especially in pop culture. The Asia Song Festival would also like to share Asian values between the Asian countries,’’ KOFICE executive director Ryoo Jae-ky told The Korea Times.
Ryoo noted the festival has gained the support of top Asian entertainment agencies that have sent their biggest stars to participate. ``We want to see that in Asia, there are no boundaries in culture,’’ he said.
This year, the Asia Song Festival is shaping up to be the biggest ever, with 12 artists from nine countries. While the first two concerts attracted around 7,000 fans, this year’s event in Kwangju is expected to draw over 30,000 fans and attract TV audiences throughout Asia.
 |
Japan will be represented by Arashi, now in the midst of their Asian concert tour, and best-selling female singer Koda Kumi. Other singers invited to perform at the festival include the Philippines’ Kitchie Nadal, China’s Sun Nan, Thailand’s Katreeya English, Vietnam’s Ho Quynh Huong, Singapore’s Tanya Chua and Taiwan’s Tank.
Ryoo said the artists for this year are not only popular, but also talented. Since the concert is a non-profit festival, there are no performance fees given to the artists.
The first Asia Song Festival, which was held in Seoul in 2004, featured Asian pop superstars such as BoA, Ayumi Hamasaki, Leon Lai and F4. The second festival was held in November 2005 in Busan to coincide with the hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Performers for the Busan concert included TVXQ, Jang Na-ra, Maki Goto, Alex Su, Cui Jian and Nanase Aikawa.
Sponsored by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Kwangju city, and Korea Tourism Organization, the concert is free of charge but fans have to apply on the Web site (www.kofice.or.kr) to get tickets.
 |
Hallyu or Korean Wave has allowed Korean dramas, music and films to attract audiences first in China and Japan, then Southeast Asia. There is no doubt Hallyu has raised the profile of Korea as a modern, stylish and hip center of pop culture in Asia.
But there has been some backlash against Korea’s growing dominance in pop culture. Ryoo said there should be an effort to prevent one-sided dissemination of culture and to allow more cultural exchanges between countries.
KOFICE, which was originally established as Asia Culture & Industry Exchange Foundation in 2003, is working for the development of popular culture in Asia and to expand cultural exchanges in the region.
As part of its activities, KOFICE also promotes the TV broadcasting of Asian documentaries and dramas in Korea. Ryoo said in this way, there will be improved understanding of contemporary culture among Asian countries, which may be near geographically but culturally distant.
09-13-2006 16:49
| |