Restored royal gate Gwanghwamun unveiled on Liberation Day

The newly restored Gwanghwamun, the main and largest gate of Gyeongbok Palace, was unveiled Sunday in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule.

The country’s famous historical landmark was revealed to the public on Liberation Day after four years of painstaking work to restore the gate to its 19th century form. Its name panel, which had been in the center of dispute between those who supported a Hangeul version and supporters of the original Chinese character panel, was also revealed. The new name panel is a replica of the original name panel written in 1867.

First built in 1395, Gwanghwamun was repeatedly destroyed and then restored throughout the history. After Korea-Japan annexation treaty in 1910, the Japanese government deconstructed the gate to make space for the Japanese Governor General Building in 1926. The gate was then moved to eastern corner of the Gyeongbok Palace.

The Korean War once again completely destroyed the gate, leaving its stone base in disrepair. The latest restoration project, which started in 2006, was set to restore the gate to its original form of the Gojong era, correcting the renovation carried out using concrete in 1963. The restoration by the Park Chung-hee administration improperly positioned the gate, 3.75 degrees tilted away from the center of the palace. The newly restored gate is now properly located.

People gather in front of the newly restored Gwanghwamun after the Liberation Day celebrations at the Gwanghwamun Square on Sunday. Yonhap News

Park, while completing the restoration, wrote the gate’s name panel himself using three Hangeul characters. The new nameplate is a restored version of the original Chinese signboard written by Lim Tae-young, head of the Gyeongbokgung reconstruction team and a general, in 1867. Both Hangeul scholars and Park’s supporters have been protesting against the idea of Chinese nameplate, arguing a new Hangeul version developed by King Sejong or keeping the Park’s original plate would be more appropriate.

About 4,500 officials and citizens gathered in front of the royal gate to attend the Liberation Day ceremony at Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul. “A hundred years ago we’d lost our country and had our gate blocked,” said President Lee Myung-bak in a statement. “The newly restored Gwanghwamun will be the gate that will open a new set of history of ours.”

The restoration of Gwanghwamun is a part of the Gyeongbok Palace restoration project which started in 1991. The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea said the second phase of the restoration project will continue in the next 20 years, aiming to restore 76 percent of the palace of the Gojong era.

By Claire Lee (clairelee@heraldm.com)

Andre Kim, Korea’s top fashion designer, dies at 75

With top model Naomi Campbell in a fashion show in Seoul in 2003. (Yonhap)

Andre Kim smiles during an interview with Yonhap News in 2005. (Yonhap)

Andre Kim, a top South Korean designer well-known for his glamorous wedding gowns and dresses, died Thursday after being treated for colorectal cancer and pneumonia. He was 75.

The designer, whose real name is Kim Bong-nam, has been fighting cancer for several months and was hospitalized at an intensive care unit last month due to deteriorating health conditions, his close associates said.
Seoul National University Hospital pronounced Kim dead at around 7:25 p.m.

Born in 1935, Kim was one of the first male fashion designers in Korea.

In his autobiography “My Fantasy,” published in 2002, Kim said fashion designer Givenchy’s clothes worn by Audrey Hepburn in film “Funny Face” inspired him to become a designer himself.

Making his debut in 1962, Kim opened “Salon Andre” in central Seoul and became the first local designer to hold a fashion show in Paris in 1966.

Noted for their splendor and the mix of eastern and western auras, Kim’s clothes have been worn by top stars in and out of the country including Korean Wave queen Choi Ji-woo, the late King of Pop Michael Jackson and actress Brooke Shields.

Kim was presented with Korea’s Presidential Culture and Art Medal in 1977 for the contribution he made to the local fashion industry. He was the first to receive the medal as a fashion designer. He was also awarded cultural medals from foreign countries including France and Italy.

Kim, who was unmarried, is survived by a son he adopted in 1982.

By Shin Hae-in (hayney@heraldm.com)

Bulgogi - Famous Korea Food

This is famous Korea food, Bulgogi. Bulgogi has been a traditional favorite among foreigners.. My best friend Allan(Philipino) also like it.Bulgogi is beef in a delicious, sweet sauce. If you haven't ever eat Bulgogi, why don't you try eatting it?
이것은 유명한 한식, 불고기입니다. 불고기는 전통적으로 외국인들에게 가장 선호되어 온 음식입니다. 저의 절친한 친구인 Allan 역시 불고기를 좋아하죠. 불고기는 쇠고기를 맛있고 달콤한 소스로 양념한겁니다. 혹시 불고기를 드신적이 없다면, 한번 먹어보는게 어떨까요?

Sea mustard soup.

I 'll introduce special soup to Korean

This is sea mustard soup.

In Korea, it is traditional to eat seaweed soup on one's birthday.

Korean mother eat sea mustard soup after giving birth for postnatal care. so breast milk that the baby eat first in life has sea mustard of eliment. because Koreans eat sea mustard soup on their birthday for celebrate it.

한국인에게 특별한 국을 소개하겠습니다.

이것은 미역국입니다

한국에선 생일에 미역국을 먹는 전통이 있습니다.

한국의 어머니들은 출산후 산후조리를 위해 미역국을 먹습니다. 그래서 아기가 인생에서 첫번째로 먹는 젖은 미역의 성분을 가집니다. 때문에 한국사람들 이것을 기념하기위해 생일에 미역국을 먹습니다.

Children's Day in Korea

In Korea, May 5th is Children Day
On Children's Day , a parents stay with their children or give them present which they usually want to get.
Many Children's Day event is hold in this day
In Buddhism, Children's Day is August 12th on the lunar caender

한국에선 5월5일 이 어린이날이다.
어린이 날엔 , 부모들은 그들의 자녀와 같이 있거나 , 그들의 자녀에게 그들이 갖고싶었던 선물을 준다. 많은 어린이날 행사도 이 날 열린다.
불교에선 음력으로 8월 12일이 어린이날이다.

Hansik cookbook wins Gourmand Awards

This is the 22nd installment of a series that will delve into the current movement towards the globalization of Korean cuisine from a variety of perspectives. The series will explore hansik's past and present, its global potential, and efforts that are being made to promote it to the world. - Ed.
By Jean Oh
The globalization of a nation's cuisine happens on many different levels. The most obvious players, of course, are restaurants and food markets. But there is also the silent partner, the one sitting in bookstores, waiting to picked up by an eager cook, whisked off to a kitchen and put to use.
The cookbook - as evidenced by the lasting power of Julia Child and her "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" - is a powerful tool. So when news broke that "The Beauty of Korean Food: With 100 Best-Loved Recipes" won two Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, the first question that popped up was: Could this cookbook do for hansik what "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" did for French food?
It is a bit early in the game to tell, but earning two stamps of approval from an international competition is a good way to start.
Founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards can be seen as a sort of international beauty pageant of the book world. According to the cookbook awards' official website (http://www.cookbookfair.com/), food and wine books up for the "Best in the World" competition initially qualify on a national level before going on to the international round. Last year, publications from 136 countries participated in the competition.
For 2010, "The Beauty of Korean Food" won a Special Award for its French translation and another award for its English translation. The book and its various translations were carried out by the Institute of Traditional Korean Food as part of the Research and Development Project for the Standardization of Korean Cuisine, a project supported by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The translator of the French version, professor Lee Hong of the Department of French Culture at Inha University, traveled to Paris in February to receive the award.
"I was very honored when I had the chance to meet Mr. Cointreau, who is a very well-known personality of foreign and international cooking and food," said Lee.
Still aglow from his trip, from the rush of conferences and food demonstrations and the hour-long lecture he held on Korean food at the five-day event, the Paris-born translator related the challenges he faced while working on "Beaute de la Cuisine Coreenne," the French version of the cookbook.
"Some ingredients are very famous in Korea but you can't find them in France," Lee began.
Lee related how he looked at dictionaries, books and photos to find the correct terms for the ingredients.
"It was sometimes very hard because I had to spend two or three days on one word."
The whole translation process, according to Lee, took around eight to 10 months.
The English translation was no exception. Ham Ki-yung, co-translator with Richard Harris for the English version, also said that it was somewhat hard to express the ingredients in English.
Of the award, Ham said, "I was not expecting it ... and I am proud of it."
When asked via e-mail why "The Beauty of Korean Food" merited an award, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards president and founder Edouard Cointreau answered: "This book is very important as a cultural bridge between countries, and generations."
"Communication and correct translation is a key complement to research and culinary expertise," he said.
"All winners receive a special edition Swarovski trophy designed for the Gourmand Awards, and a certificate, if they attend the event. Special Awards are very important, usually one per country, maybe," he continued, revealing that there were 27 books in the Special Awards category this year.
Though the book's principal researcher, the Institute of Traditional Korean Food director Yoon Sook-ja, was not present at the ceremony, she expressed her thoughts on the awards.
"I think that it is also an important award on a national level," said Yoon.
When asked what aspect of the book contributes the most to the globalization of hansik, Yoon answered: "I think the part that best aids the globalization of hansik is that it was able to inform people about the way that Korean cuisine should taste."
The English version of "The Beauty of Korean Food: With 100 Best-Loved Recipes" was published by Hollym in 2007. The book is also available in Korean, Japanese, Chinese and French.

Vancouver Winter Olympics

한국 동계올림픽 5위, 아시아 최고
캐나다 밴쿠버에서 동계스포츠 역사를 새로 쓴 한국이 최다 메달 기록도 갈아치웠다. 한국은 이번 대회에서 금메달 6개, 은메달 6개, 동메달 2개 등 총 14개 의 메달을 획득해 2006년 토리노동계올림픽에서 땄던 메달 11개(금6, 은3, 동2개)를 4년만에 경신했다. 이로써 한국은 캐나다 (금14), 독일 (10), 그리고 금 9개를 획득한 미국과 노르웨이에 이어 5위를 마크했다 중국(금5)은 7위 일본은 20위를 기록했다.
금메달 숫자는 4년 전과 똑같지만 질적인 면에서는 천양지차라고 할 수 있다.
토리노올림픽에서 한국은 쇼트트랙에서 안현수와 진선유가 남녀 3관왕씩을 차지 한 덕분에 금메달 6개로 국가별 종합순위 7위에 오를 수 있었지만 나머지 종목에서 딴 메달은 스피드스케이팅 남자 500ｍ에서 이강석이 획득한 동메달이 유일했다. 하지만 한국은 이번 밴쿠버동계올림픽에서 처음으로 빙상 3개 종목에서 모두 금 메달을 획득하면서 새로운 지평을 열었다.

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South Korea finished fifth in the overall medal standing at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, with a record 14 medals won in the 17-day long event that drew to a close Sunday, according to Yonhap News.
The country sent 46 athletes to compete in skating, Alpine skiing, luge and bobsleigh events as well as the biathlon, and collected six gold, six silver and two bronze medals.
The overall medal haul is the largest for the country in a Winter Olympics since it made its debut appearance in the St. Moritz Games in 1948.
Team officials said that South Korea's predominance in short track speed skating suffered setbacks in the face of stiff challengers from countries like China, and only won two golds compared to the six won in the 2006 Olympics in Turin.
They, however, said Korean athletes started to make their presence known in the long track speed skating competitions by winning three golds and two silvers with surprise performances from skaters such as Mo Tae-bum and Lee Sang-hwa, who won the men's and women's 500 meter track competitions, respectively.
Lee Seung-hoon also became the first Asian to win an Olympic title in the long-distance men's 10,000 meter race and set a new Olympic record.