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Korean Culture & Chill - 8

Time flies no matter how we spend it. We hope Korean culture amuses and inspires you during this hard time. Stay strong together!

Discover Korea with KTO: 낙산사 (Naksansa Temple)

Naksansa Temple is located 4 kilometers north of Naksan Beach, and boasts a 1,300-year history. It is a temple built by Ui-Sang, the ambassador of the 30th King of Silla Period (57 BC- AD 935), and inside is the Seven Story Stone Tower, Dongjong, Hongyaemun, together with several other cultural assets. It was named Naksansa Temple by Ui-Sang, at the spot where he learned the prayer Gwansae-eumbosal from Bosal, after he returned from studying abroad in the Chinese Tang Kingdom. It was rebuilt several times afterwards, and the current building was erected in 1953.
Address : 100, Naksansa-ro, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do

Source: Korean Tourism Organization India

>> Find more places to visit at KTO India's Instagram >>

Korean New Generation Pianist Ⅳ: Yeol Eum Son

From the 21st century, the significant contribution of female artists has been noticed and recognized in the classical music industry, which was mainly male-dominated. There are many prominent Korean female pianists too who have made their mark in the industry. The most famous, prolific one among the talents is Yeol Eum Son. Yeol Eum Son started studying the piano at the tender age of three and a half. And, at the age of twelve, she started lessons with pianist Kim Dae-Jin. After that, she studied piano in Hannover, Germany, and built her career. Yeol Eum Son won a prize at the several prestigious international piano competition, but in particular, after receiving the Silver Medal(2nd prize) at the International Tchaikovsky Competition 2011 in which she also received the Best Chamber Concerto Performances and the Best Performance of the Commissioned Work, and gained international attention. As a musical genius of extraordinary versatility, she has been the artistic director of Music in Pyeong Chang, the biannual festival held in the legacy of Pyeongchang Winter Olympic, since 2018 while continuing her prolific career as a pianist.

Photo Source&Copyright: Yeol Eum Son's official website yeoleumson.com

Tchakovsky : Piano Concerto No.1

Yeol Eum Son received at the Silver Medal International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011. On this day, she played a very sharp and powerful Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto. In particular, her intensity and meticulousness at the introduction of the first movement and the finale of the third movement stood out.

Source: Youtube

Prokofiev : Piano concerto no. 2

The Music in PyeongChang in 2019. Yeol Eum Son accompanied performance with PyeongChang Festival Orchestra by a prestigious conductor Dmitri Kitajenko who is well known . In this performance, she performed well expressing in 20th century's Russian pianism.

Source: MpyC TV youtube channel

Alkan : Le Festin d’Esope
Liszt : La Campanella

A musician who remains for a long time would naturally present oneself developing and changing on the stage over time. Although these two piano repertoires are technically challenging, Yeol Eum Son performed them in technically and musically different aspects. If she was focused only technically for Alkan, she applied her own music analysis for Liszt as well as technique. Her La Campanella in this performance is elegant as pavane. Impressive and original!

Source: Kumho Art Hall channel & Credia TV channel

Interview with Arirang TV

In the interview with Arirang TV, Yeol Eum Son reveals her ambitions as the art director of the festival.

Source: Arirang TV youtube channel

The Taste of Korea
Try Korean Food Recipes from Korean Food Promotion Institute by yourself at home

SIMPLE JAPCHAE(GLASS NOODLE) WITH SAUTEED VEGETABLES

Despite its popularity, japchae (glass noodles with sautéed vegetables) has not been easy to make. The recipe here is introduced to make and enjoy japchae easier, yet still with richness in flavor. The recipe can bring about variations into vegetarian dishes or dishes with richer taste and texture adding other ingredients

Recipe & photo source: Korean Food Promotion Institute

- Glass noodle 100g, water 4 cup (to boil glass noodle)
-Marinade for glass noodle : Unrefined sugar 1 table spoon (12g), brown sugar 1 table spoon (12g), soy sauce 2 table spoon (36g), cooking oil 2 table spoon (26g)
-shredded carrot 80g, sliced onion 100g, salt ½ tea spoon (2g), chives 20g, cooking oil 1 table spoon (13g)
-Burdock 80g
-Marinade for burdock : Water 1 cup (200g), soy sauce 1 table spoon (18g), sugar ½ table spoon (6g)
TIP Change the ingredients if you want!

Recipe

1 Put glass noodle into boiling water to boil for 5 minutes and then drain and rinse with cold water.
2 Put salt on shredded carrot and sliced onion and stir fry; chop chive into 5cm in length; and wash burdock, peel it to slice into pieces with each 5cm in length and 0.3cm in thickness and simmer in medium heat with marinade for 10 minutes.
3 Put all ingredients of marinade for glass noodle to heat and then put glass noodle to stir fry until dry and then cool down.
4 Mix prepared vegetable and glass noodle together and divide into portions of one person to wrap with parchment paper to store in refrigerator.
5 Reheat each portion in microwave or steamer before serving.

Winners of 56th Baeksang Arts Awards

One of the most prominent awards in Korea, Baeksang Arts Awards held the 56th ceremony on 5th June, 2020. Here are the winners of the awards in TV and Film

Grande Prize in Television :
When the Camellia Blooms(2019)

Donbaek is a single mothter. When a potential new love enters her life, she finds ways to defy the social stigmas surrounding her.
This acclaimed drama picked up three other honors of best actor, best-supporting actor, and screenplay in TV

Source: Netflix

Grand Prize in Film :
Parasite(2019)

This movie is for 18+
A family tragicomedy depicting the inevitable collision that ensures when Ki-woo, the eldest son in a family of four unemployed adults, is introduced to the wealthy Park family for a well-paid tutoring job.
The Oscar winner undoubtedly took the award, along with home best picture and award for the male newcomer.

Source: Amazon prime video / Image: IMDb

오늘의 최신 한국어 Today's Korean
Let’s learn the latest Korean Slangs or popular phrases from Korea.

COVID-19 Slang : 확찐자 Hwakjjinja

확 (Hwak) : Sudden(갑자기),
찐 (Jjin) : Gain weight (살 찐)
자 (Ja) : Person (사람)

확찐자(Hwakjjinja) means a person who gains sudden weight due to a lack of physical activities in the pandemic situation.

Referring to '확진자'(Hwakjinja), A person who tested positive to COVID-19,
the slang has been widely used in Korea like 'Quarantine 15' in English.
While the activity decreased due to the Covid 19, the amount of food consumed did not decrease, leading to the emergence of a new term a “확찐자”

Experts say that it is more important than anything else to exercise effectively to stay healthy and fight with COVID-19. We hope you do not become 확찐자, but stay healthy!