Exhibition
A Collection for Korea (Daehan Collection)
- The 100th Anniversary of the March First Movement Special Kansong Exhibition
The March First Movement, the nonviolent resistance movement of Koreans against Japan, which happened in 1919, marks its 100th anniversary this year. To commemorate the event, a mega exhibition has been held in Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), hosted by the Kansong Art & Culture Foundation and Seoul Design Foundation. Kansong is another name for Chun Hyung-pil, who is also referred to as the “Guardian of Korea’s Beauty.” He is a Korean antique collector who resisted the Japanese Empire by preserving Korea’s cultural assets and supporting national education for Koreans. The exhibition is divided into four parts: Posung, Bohwagak, Gyeongseong Art Club and the Gadsby Collection. The first section Posung shows the life of Kansong who made an effort to preserve Korean national spirit by educating younger generations within the mind of “build the school to support the nation.” In the next section Bohwagak, the previous form of Kansong Art Museum, Gyeomjae’s Painting Album is displayed on one entire side of a wall. Kansong dramatically discovered the album at a fireplace just before it was about to be burnt. The Celadon Prunus Vase with Inlaid Cloud and Crane Design, which was designated as National Treasure No. 68, also got attention for its artistic appearance. Kansong bought that Goryeo celadon vase at a high price from a Japanese antique dealer in 1953. The third section, Gyeongseong Art Club, exhibits antiques which Kansong bought from Japan at auctions. The following section, the Gadsby Collection, displays 20 Goryeo celadons that English lawyer John Gadsby, who is famous for his Goryeo celadon collection, bought in Japan. In A Collection for Korea, thus, visitors can see various kinds of antiques including six national treasures and eight treasures that Kansong collected. The exhibition opens until March 31st. Kingos who want to experience Korean culture and the national spirit are highly recommended to visit here.
Time : •Tues.-Thurs., Sun. : 10:00-19:00, •Fri.-Sat. : 10:00 – 21:00 (Closed on Mondays)
Fee : • ￦10,000 for adults (more information on the website)
Album
thank u, next – Ariana Grande
American pop star Ariana Grande’s 5th album, thank u, next was finally released on February 8th. The album came out about a half year after the 4th album Sweetener was released last summer so that the gap between the two albums was quite short. thank u, next contains 12 songs, including thank u, next, imagine and 7 rings, which gained high popularity after their pre-release. The title song 7 rings, which was pre-released on January 18th, expresses the lyrics about a “young and rich woman” on the melody of My Favorite Things, the original soundtrack (OST) of the movie The Sound of Music. The song rewrote pop music history, as Ariana gained the best results not only on the Billboard chart but also on other several music charts, such as Spotify and Apple Music. The music video of thank u, next also broke the YouTube record for the most views in the first 24 hours after its release, with 55.4 million views. The album has been referred to as a masterpiece because all songs on the album are unskippable. Several songs such as needy or ghostin include frank lyrics about the singer’s relationships and harsh experiences, which grab listeners’ attentions. By listening to all of the songs of Ariana Grande’s new 5th album, Kingos might be able to understand her musicality which became the base of this album’s success.
Book
The Calmer It Gets, the Clearer You See - Haemin Sunim
Haemin Sunim is a Zen Buddhist teacher, who is also famous as a writer of best-seller books, like The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down and the Love for Imperfect Things. The new essay of Haemin Sunim is gaining huge popularity at present. The book The Calmer It Gets, the Clearer You See conveys the message of consolation by telling the author’s own experiences to modern people who have become tired of their lives. Therefore, it is still on the best-sellers list even though three months have passed after the book was published. The book consists of six parts which are about the inner posture that modern people should have toward not only themselves but also family or other relationships in their lives. Haemin Sunim stressed that there should be a moment of silence in one’s life. While keeping silence, people might come to realize what they did not notice about themselves before. After that realization, people might finally come to understand their inner self and heal their minds. The author gives courage to readers to pay attention to their own inner-voices of themselves, not just of others. The book becomes the sign to help people who are losing themselves in an increasingly complicated world. If Kingos want to be consoled and concentrate on themselves, it could be a good choice to read this book.
Movie
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel, which is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film of 2019, will be released on March 6th in Korea. The movie narrates the story of female pilot Carol Danvers, who lost memories of her life as a pilot and became a superhero. After losing memories, she met the agent Nick Fury for S.H.I.E.L.D., and was born again as the superhero Captain Marvel, who is expected to be the last hope of Avengers. Many famous movie stars including Brie Larson, Samuel Leroy Jackson, and Jude Law appear in this movie. In addition, Captain Marvel is the first female-led superhero movie of MCU. Although several other female superheroes, such as Black Widow and Scarlet Witch, appeared in MCU movies like the Avengers series and showed their abilities, there has been no solo movie for them. Not only was female actress casted in the main role of the movie, but also Anna Boden, the director of Captain Marvel, became MCU’s first female director. Since Captain Marvel came from the universe, she is known to have the superpower of controlling stellar energies, overheat, and gravity in outer space, which raises the expectation of MCU fans. In the credit cookie of the Avengers: Infinity War, the clue about Captain Marvel appeared when Nick Fury called Captain Marvel in the urgent situation of his disappearance. The movie is also anticipated for its connection with Avengers: Endgame, which will be released in this April. Moreover, Captain Marvel keeps setting the new record. The movie sold more than 100,000 pre-reservation tickets in the shortest period in Korea comparing to other MCU solo movies.