Articles by Kim Hoo-ran
![Kim Hoo-ran](https://res.heraldm.com/content/koreaherald/hgrp_profile/kimhoo-ran.jpg)
Kim Hoo-ran
khooran@heraldcorp.com-
[Serendipity] Mourning, remembering
The concert hall remained eerily quiet as the conductor took his place at the podium. Then, all at once, the solemn sound of “Nimrod” from Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” filled the air. The evocative melody proved cathartic for the audience that had gathered less than a week after a crowd surge in Itaewon left 157 people dead. I saw people silently sobbing, wiping away tears. When the music ended, a minute of silence was observed in tribute to the victims of the countr
Viewpoints Nov. 13, 2022
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[Scholars and Their Spaces] 'New wave' seen through Korean eyes
Korea's first public funeral was held for Yi Sang-jae (1850-1927), one of the leaders of Korea's enlightenment period. The event was attended by some 100,000 people, a testimony to his huge following. His voice was heard through a phonograph and a recording of his speech, "To Young People of Joseon," was released in July 1927, four months after his death. "Now, the world is getting worse and worse, there is no morality. People focus only on material things and kill other
Culture Nov. 12, 2022
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[Visual History of Korea] Jeungdoga book may be oldest movable metal type print book
Early movable metal type printing from the period of the Goryeo Kingdom shows surface tension of the ink, which is a common tendency of liquid on metal surface at rest to shrink into circular liquid drops. An 87-page book from 1239 is full of Hanja characters printed on hanji, traditional Korean paper made from mulberry tree bark, showing the characteristics of movable metal type printing. Might was always right in the Goryeo Kingdom. The political elite in the 13th century were military leaders
Culture Oct. 29, 2022
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[Eye interview] Understanding Korea through its classical musicians
On May 29, violinist Yang In-mo, the first ever Korean to win the Paganini International Violin Competition in 2015, won the top prize at the jean Sibelius International Violin Competition. A few days later, cellist Choi Ha-young won the first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition held in Belgium. And two weeks after that, pianist Lim Yun-chan won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming the youngest winner at age 18. Lim quickly became a household name -- even those who have
Culture Sept. 15, 2022
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[Korean Artists of Note] Artist Kim Sung-hwan's layered works expand organically
This is the last in a six-part series highlighting the next generation of Korean artists active in the international art scene.-- Ed. Clicking through artist Kim Sung-hwan’s website is like searching through an archive of materials that seem somehow relevant to each other, only their connections are not quite apparent. Each click yields yet another interesting material -- a shot of a paragraph from a book, a black-and-white photo that captures a historical moment, the arti
Arts & Design Sept. 2, 2022
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[Eye interview] Hair stylist-turned-artist realizes his vision on a mountain side resort
ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province -- When Lee Sang-il, 66, a hairdresser to celebrities, the artsy and ladies-who-lunch, retired some 10 years ago, he hinted that he was about to embark on a very big project. “Keep me posted,” I said. Over the years, he did indeed keep me posted with occasional text messages. And about five years ago, I received photos of a snow-covered hanok and an update: His resort was 90 percent complete. Then came an invitation to the opening party in early May. An h
Travel June 24, 2022
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[Eye interview] Food as the great connector
A young woman, born to a Korean mother and white father, stands in a Korean supermarket chain crying as she looks at the side dishes on display that her late mother used to make for her. It’s the scene that opens Michelle Zauner’s bestselling memoir, “Crying in H Mart,” and one that many Korean Americans will have no difficulty imagining. For Zauner, food formed an unbreakable bond between her and her mother. Her mother made Korean dishes for her Korean-born daughter wh
Books June 10, 2022
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[Photo News] Hanbok Talk
Front row from left: Didier Beltoise, president of Cs ; Hye-kyung Kim, vice-president of Enzychem Lifesciences ; Kim Young-jin, CEO of Tchai Kim ; Sripriya Ranganathan, Indian Ambassador to Korea; Choi Jung-wha, president of Corea Image Communication Institute CICI; Mukund Santhanam, RE 100 Strategic advisor; Mozes Csoma, Hungarian Ambassador to Korea and Nam Sun-mi, spouse of the Hungarian Ambassador, pose for a photo at the Indian ambassador‘s residence in Seoul on Tuesday before atten
Culture April 20, 2022
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[Eye interview] Captain Rock celebrates birthday in grand way with 3-day music festival
How many people can claim to have an entire festival dedicated to their birthday, and while they are still living to boot? Since 2005, rocker Han Kyung-rock, the bassist of iconic punk band Crying Nut, who is also known as Captain Rock, has been celebrating his birthday by hosting a large party in the Hongdae area of Seoul, a notorious center for indie music. Held every year on Feb. 11, Han’s birthday, what started out as a gathering of fellow musicians for drunken revelry and
Performance Feb. 3, 2022
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[Serendipity] Humility, a pandemic lesson
The snow made me do it. After much vacillation over whether to visit the US side of my family over Christmas or to stay in Seoul, I had finally resigned myself to spending the holidays at home. I had booked my flights months in advance, in hopes that the pandemic situation would improve with time. After all, vaccines that can protect against the virus that causes COVID-19, or at least lessen the severity of an infection, were now widely available. We had also learned over more than a year of
Viewpoints Dec. 31, 2021
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[Eye Interview] Celebrity photographer MJ Kim trains lens on everyday people
Photographer MJ Kim’s life has been a wild roller-coaster ride. From studying film in London to landing a job with singer Paul McCartney, a partnership that would last more than 10 years, to taking photos of everyday people and making an award-winning short film, Kim, 49, has done it all. With irrepressible optimism and enthusiasm. A soft bossa nova tune plays in Kim’s studio, his “man cave,” in the hipster neighborhood of Seongsu-dong in Seoul. The white walls of the ro
Culture Dec. 19, 2021
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[Serendipity] Tale of a family
One day, out of nowhere, a son receives a very generous, unexpected bequest from a stranger. One day, out of nowhere, a daughter receives a very generous, unexpected bequest from a stranger. The stranger’s will contained no conditions to the bequests. One day, the father announces that he is taking the bequests from his children. He declares that since the children are part of the family and he is the head of the household, it is within his rights to do as he pleases with what was given
Viewpoints Nov. 28, 2021
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[Serendipity] To see, to be seen
A cacophony of images, a riot of colors. That is what I saw at an exhibition in Itaewon, central Seoul, heralded as a hip show. It surely had all the elements of an of-the-moment show: Provocative images, saturated colors, all the glamour of glossy artwork. “Toiletpaper: The Studio” at Hyundai Card Storage in Itaewon is a literal replica of the photography-based magazine Toiletpaper’s Milan studio. The exhibition is touted as the first to ever look inside the studio of Ita
Viewpoints Oct. 29, 2021
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[Serendipity] Royal tombs are more than monuments
On a recent Sunday morning, I went for a leisurely stroll at Seooreung, a Joseon royal tomb in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, just outside Seoul. Entering the compound of five royal tombs, my husband mused about his elementary school field trips to Seooreung. Pointing to the huge mound on which the twin tombs of King Sukjong and his second wife sit side by side, he said the kids would run up the mound and then roll down. Korea in the ’70s did not have many grass fields and there were signs o
Viewpoints Oct. 15, 2021
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[Well-curated] Walk around Seoul City Wall for a weekend break
For Seoulites, this weekend is a great chance to hike a somewhat challenging historical path in the northern part of Seoul. The 9th Hanyang Doseong Culture Festival under the theme “Sungseong: Embracing the Wishes” will be held both on and offline, including on-site participation for visitors. The festival begins Oct. 1 and continues for 10 days. Hanyang Doseong, also known as the Seoul City Wall, follows the ridges of Bugaksan (Baekaksan), Naksan (Naktasan), Namsan (Mongmyeoks
Culture Sept. 30, 2021
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