Category > Trad Culture

Seattle Area Gayageum Concerts

If you like gayageum music and are in the area, Bora Ju is playing in December…. 
South Sound residents can indulge in a musical treat next month that was kindled in the recital halls of South Korea.
Musician Bora Ju will play the gayageum (pronounced kaya-goom), a traditional Korean instrument, in concerts in Tacoma and [...]

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Are You Coming to the “Museum Fashion Show?”

For those of you interested in clothing and culture, this weekend there’s a “Museum Fashion Show” going on at the National Museum over in Yongsan. The idea is that “culture is worn on clothing” and will take a look at the past, present, and future of representative Korean designs for women. It’s going to be [...]

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Tea Break!

With all the serious discussion going on, Fatman though we could all use a brief respite. Chill, relax, have a cup of tea . . .ahhhh! Isn’t that better?

It’s tea time! Although not well known beyond these shores, Korea has a long and venerable history of tea cultivation and appreciation. [...]

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The Late Cardinal Kim’s Witness Bears Fruit

“Priests, nuns and parish leaders in Seoul have said they have seen a marked increase in the number of people wanting to become Catholics,” states this report today — Surge in people taking catechism after cardinal’s death.
The report reminds us that “Cardinal Kim was seen as a defender of human rights against dictatorships in [...]

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Bellydance and Korea

“Arab domestic dancing nowadays tends to involve tea, cakes, female friends and relations, little girls and old ladies, a scarf around the hips and a lot of laughter and gossip. Western versions, particularly in the US and Germany, are the bastard children of aerobics exercises, women’s groups, New Age Goddess awareness, and the perennial female [...]

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New 50,000-Won Notes

If you’re sick and tired of carrying a fat wallet full of 10,000-Won notes to the casino, you’re in luck because there’s about to be a 50,000-Won bill with a woman on it!
SEOUL, South Korea —  A woman will appear on South Korean banknotes for the first time, with the issuance of a new [...]

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Happy Lunar New Year 새해 福 많이 받으세요!

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Cthulhu Attacks: An Illustrated Kimchi Tutorial

You’ve been told it’s difficult, that the stars must be in proper alignment.  Only those initiated into the cult of the dread ajuma can summon the proper level of han to assure the kimchi is preserved by the spells of the mighty.
LIES!
Fatman will not bore you with false modesty.
We have made the ultimate, definitive, illustrated [...]

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Well, It Sure Won’t Work on Korean Ghosts . . .

Over at Oh My News, Robert Neff has a Halloween column well worth the read for some stories of spooks around Seoul and beyond . . . Check out this clever way to get rid of certain spirits:
According to an article published several decades ago by Yi Kyu-tae, there were several ghosts “sighted” in Korea [...]

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Only Twice a Year: Gansong Art Museum’s National Treasures

Blogger Samedi recently visited a museum in northern Seoul: this is a private collection that is only open for four weeks of the year, two in Spring, and two in Autumn.  The collection includes twelve national treasures and ten more national cultural properties, and some of the most famous Korean artworks out there, including National [...]

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A Question.

I only ask, because I know you, as an intelligent and handsome (or pretty) reader of The Hub of Sparkle! might know….
What is the correct demonym for someone who resides in Seoul?
I’m guessing “Seoul-ite”, but the Wikipedia Gods have no definite advice.
Leave your answers (and witty ideas – be nice!) in the comments.

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Wired Korea and Religion

“The world’s most wired country” was a phrase on everyone’s lips a few years ago when talking about Korea, and while it might not be true of the country any longer, it is true of the country’s Catholic Church, as this report from the Union of Catholic Asian News attests ─ Integrated Computer System Standardizes [...]

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