Hallyu at home
Korean Culture & Chill - 7

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:
계룡산 국립공원 (Gyeryongsan National Park)

Gyeryongsan National Park stretches across Daejeon, Gongju, and Nonsan. This spectacular mountain is 845.1m above sea level and was made a national park in 1968. The origin of the word Gyeryong ('Gye' meaning 'chicken,' and 'Yong' meaning 'dragon') comes from the fact that the ridgeline looks like a dragon wearing a chicken's crest on its head. In the spring, cherry blossoms bloom on Donghaksa Mountain trail, and during the summer the lush green of the Donghaksa Valley is very beautiful. It is full of rare animals and plants, beautiful waterfalls and rich history with mysterious legends and cultural treasures. To the east is Donghaksa Temple; northwest, Gapsa Temple; southwest, Sinwonsa Temple; and southeast, Yonghwasa Temple. Its valleys are full of ponds and falls that blend together perfectly with the surroundings.
Address : Banpo-myeon, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do

Source: Korean Tourism Organization India

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

Korean New Generation Pianist Ⅲ: Yekwon Sunwoo

There are many geniuses in the classical music industry who can be classified as rare musicians because of their innate talents. And, many of these performers gradually disappear from the stage after becoming an adult. Contrary to these players, Yekwon Sunwoo has been building his own playing experience based on his long and sincere efforts. Yekwon Sunwoo began learning the piano at the age of 8 and made his recital and orchestral debuts in Seoul at the age of 15. It is said that he started late compared to ordinary piano players but tried very hard. He moved to the United States to study piano with Seymour Lipkin, Robert McDonald and Richard Goode. Later he moved to Germany to study with Bernd Goetzke. After winning the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition(2017), he emerged as one of the most popular piano players worldwide. Yekwon Sunwoo is preparing to go through a difficult yet meaningful journey gradually and earnestly to be recognised as a Master in the classical music scene.

Photo Source&Copyright: yekwonsunwoo.com & Credit: Carolyn Cruz

Rachmaninoff : Piano Concerto No.3

The final round of Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2017. Yekwon Sunwoo played the Piano Concerto No.3 of Rachmaninoff which is one of the most technically challenging piano concertos in the standard classical piano repertoire.

Source: virturoso528 Youtube

Ravel : La Valse

All of the professional pianists have their own representative repertoire. La Valse by Ravel, this is Yekwon Sunwoo’s representative repertoire. He has always been refined, but, in this repertoire, he is showing a strong impression. We can feel enormous energy in silence in his paying.

Source: WQXR youtube channel

Liszt : Consolation No.3, S.172

After winning the competition, Yekwon Sunwoo started expanding his playing repertoires such as Grieg, Schumann, Brahms and Prokofiev. In this small stage of a radio station opposite to the sideways as a professional, he chooses Liszt: La Consolation. This performance is more authentic than any stage he showed. It was the best play of his Liszt’s La Consolation.

Source: CPR Classical youtube channel

Interview with Arirang TV

In the interview with Arirang TV, Yekwon Sunwoo honestly talk about his concerns as a young classical pianist.

Source: Arirang TV youtube channel

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

POTATO BIBIMBAP IN BUCKWHEAT WRAPS

This dish is a reinterpretation of one of Korea’s the most popular dishes, bibimbap into a much easier version to enjoy. It includes our wrapping food culture and made with buckwheat and what go well with steamed rice with splendidness in color and nutrition, potato.

Recipe & photo source: Korean Food Promotion Institute

-Buckwheat wrap : Buckwheat powder 2 cups (190g), Salt 2 tea spoon (6g), water 2 cups (400g)
-Cooking oil 3 table spoon (39g)
-Bibimbap : Kimchi 200g, soy bean sprout 100g, carrot 50g, cucumber 150g, potato 200g, salt 2 tea spoon (8g)
-Rice 600g
-Sauce : Soy sauce 2 table spoon (36g), salt 1 table spoon (13g), sugar 1 tea spoon (7g), sesame 2 table spoon (26g), crushed sesame 1 table spoon (6g), red chili pepper powder ½ table spoon (3.5g), minced green chili pepper, minced red chili pepper, minced onion
-Blanched water parsley
TIP Change the ingredients of Bibimbap if you want!

Recipe

1 Mix buckwheat powder with salt and water. Coat heated pan with oil and make thin pancakes with size of 17cm in diameter.
2 Chop kimchi into 3cm in length and 0.3cm in width, chop off root part of soy bean sprout and blanch in hot water with salt added for about 5 minutes. Cut carrot, cucumber and potato into pieces with 3cm in length and 0.3cm in thickness for each, add 2g of salt and stir-fry for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
3 To make bibimbap, add 2 tablespoons of sauce into steamed water to mix well, and then add stir fried kimchi, soybean sprout, carrot, cucumber and potato.
4 Place bibimbap onto buckwheat wrap, roll and then slice into 2cm in length for each piece; or wrap and tie with blanched water parsley. Serve with sauce.

Korean Cinema for summer

A summer night is perfect for scary, thrilling, suspense movies. Here are our recommendations of Korean movies to make you forget the heat

Svaha: The Sixth Finger(2019)

This movie is for 18+
A minister who researches religious cults turns to his Buddhist monk friend for help investigating a new group with mysterious origin.

Source: Netflix, Image: Gstatic

Forgotten(2017)

This movie is for 18+
When his abducted brother returns seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, Jin-seok chases after the truth behind the kidnapping.

Source: Netflix

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

COVID-19 Slang : 금스크 Geum Seukeu

금 (Geum) : Gold
스크 (Seukeu) : Short form of Mask (마스크) 

금+마스크 = "금스크" means Mask as precious as gold

The masks which had been widely available in supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies became as difficult and expensive as gold to buy. This newly coined word came to existence due to COVID-19 situation.

However, Korean government took full responsibility and control of distributing masks to citizens from March, so that citizens with ID card can buy 3 masks per week in pharmacies.
As the shortage solved, 금스크(geumseukeu) has become a normal mask again!