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-
[Eye interview] ‘Peace and love is the best vaccine!’
At 72, Hahn Dae-soo is as exuberant as ever, his throaty laughter and irrepressible energy filling the studio. The “halbae,” a term of endearment for grandfathers in Korean, as he calls himself, is back in Korea after four years in New York. But he is no ordinary halbae: He came to record his 15th album, “Blue Skies, White Clouds,” which was released Nov. 14. “It is the pandemic, the desire to spread the word that it is not the time to sing about togetherness, t
Performance Nov. 20, 2020
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[Serendipity] Beautiful country: Living up to its name
As I write this, Thursday afternoon in Seoul, more than a full day after the 2020 United States presidential election came to a close, it remains unclear who is the winner. The Democrats, who had largely expected a “Blue Wave” and even a landslide victory, are expressing dismay while political pundits pronounce a nation deeply divided. When President Donald Trump won the election in 2016, despite having lost the popular vote to his rival Hillary Clinton, many were ready to see it
Viewpoints Nov. 6, 2020
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[Eye interview] Trailblazer who cut new path for women seeks to change lives through coaching
A late start did not stop Yun Yuh-soon from making her mark in South Korea’s notoriously male-dominated corporate world. In fact, Yun was appointed executive director of LG Academy, LG Group’s human resources development center, in 2000, becoming the conglomerate’s first-ever female executive. She had joined the company five years earlier, at age 40. In 2010, she was made senior executive director at LG Academy and the following year, she was appointed CEO of LG Arts Center,
Books Oct. 23, 2020
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[Serendipity] Magical evening at the palace
An unseasonal cold snap did little to deter hundreds of people, young and old, from taking in the enchanting view of Gyeongbokgung at night on Wednesday. The colorful dancheong that decorate the palace buildings seemed to shimmer in the warm glow of the lights and the trees that have weathered numerous changes of seasons, illuminated from below, seemed to come to life. “This is the first time in my life that I am here at night,” I overheard a woman tell her friend as they kept thei
Viewpoints Oct. 16, 2020
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[Serendipity] Old habits die hard
I am a lists person. I am constantly making lists: the to-do list, the shopping list, the weekly menu list, the book list and the potential interviewee list, not to mention the list that tops them all -- the bucket list. I carry around a small Moleskin notebook containing these lists, each one marked with a colorful Post-it flag. Of course, I don’t get around to doing nearly half the things on the lists. It is a well-lived day when a third of the items on my daily to-do list are co
Viewpoints Sept. 18, 2020
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DMZ documentary fest gets underway Thursday with closed-door screenings
After a week of repeated changes of plan due to the resurgence of COVID-19, the 12th DMZ International Documentary Festival released its final schedule Tuesday, two days ahead of the kickoff. Originally slated to take place entirely on-site with members of the general public in the audience, the weeklong festival will now have closed-door screenings, with each screening limited to 30 people. The official festival lineup -- comprising 122 films from 33 countries -- will be screened at the Mega
Film Sept. 15, 2020
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[Serendipity] In these unusual times, adversity may be unforeseen opportunity
The young men have done it yet again. The trailblazing K-pop boy band’s latest single, “Dynamite,” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first South Korean music ever to do so. The announcement, which followed on the heels of the seven-member group’s impressive win of four awards -- best pop, best group, best choreography and best K-pop for “On,” released in February as the lead song for “Map of the Soul 7” -- at the MTV Awards held only a few
Viewpoints Sept. 4, 2020
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[Eye Interview] ‘When people dance, they laugh!’
When I enter choreographer Ahn Eun-me’s studio located in the basement of a building that houses a gas station on the ground level, she is perched on a balcony with a commanding view of the studio from which she presides over her eponymous dance company, Ahn Eun-Me Company. She is hard to miss: Ahn’s buzz cut renders her instantly recognizable. “Long hair was restrictive and the head gets too heavy,” says Ahn, explaining her decision to shave it all off in September 19
Culture Aug. 28, 2020
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[Serendipity] Wishing it were a movie
It felt as if I were a character in a zombie movie. I was driving home from the office Monday evening when, over the airwaves, I heard a crisp, measured male voice announcing the number of new daily COVID-19 cases: 188 local cases and nine from abroad. This cannot really be happening, I thought. I panicked at the surreal nature of it all, despite having been bombarded by hourly updates on the increasingly grave situation all day. The imminent danger had not really sunk in until I heard it on
Viewpoints Aug. 21, 2020
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[Serendipity] Turn crisis into opportunity for arts
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has raged on for more than seven months now, it was said that there would be a plethora of books about the time of the novel coronavirus in the years to come. Judging by recent press releases, artists appear to be already at work trying to make sense of these confusing times. But how many artists will make it through these rough times when the cultural scene remains crippled following the monthslong virtual shutdown? Even in better days, &ldqu
Viewpoints July 31, 2020
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[Eye Interview] With court battle over, singer-artist ready for limelight
“I am 75. I am past the age for singing. The state has now said that I should make a living painting,” says Cho Young-nam during an interview with The Korea Herald on July 13 at his apartment in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, overlooking the Han River and Yeongdong Bridge. He is speaking about the recent Supreme Court decision that found the singer and painter not guilty of fraud. In 2016, Cho was sued by a buyer who accused him of fraud. He was alleged to have hired another artist to pain
Arts & Design July 24, 2020
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Wide open nature of Jeju offers solace for COVID-19 weary
Five months into COVID-19, I was itching to go somewhere, anywhere. The past few months had been filled with anxiety as I worried about family members in different countries. When we were finally all united in Seoul, the house got too crowded, as we mostly kept to home, other than returning to work. I needed to self-isolate in a quiet place -- undisturbed by anyone. Travel abroad was out of the question. So were crowded tourist destinations. That left me with an escape to Jeju Island, some
Travel July 17, 2020
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[Eye Interview] ‘I want to show authenticity’
The sound of rousing protest songs, impassioned speeches and slogans chanted in unison flooded my apartment complex, disturbing the tranquility of a warm, lazy morning on a Saturday morning in August. I strained to hear what was being said, but the words bounced off the building walls, becoming incomprehensible echoes by the time they reached my ears through the open window. When the shrill noise reverberated through the apartment buildings again the next Saturday, I left the book I was try
Film July 17, 2020
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[Serendipity] Think of the consequences
The novel coronavirus that began its insidious spread at the beginning of the year continues to wreak havoc around the world, claiming lives, slowing down economies and changing the way we live. South Korea, which was initially hit hard by a large cluster of COVID-19 cases in Daegu involving a cultish religious group, continues to be plagued by low-level spreads. On Thursday, the government announced 54 new cases, 44 of them local infections and 10 from abroad. Although the number of new case
Viewpoints July 3, 2020
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[Eye Interview] Journeying the world on wings of music
This year was to have been my “big” travel year. The ambitious plan included two weeks in Tuscany, basking in the autumn sun and sauntering the streets of Florence. Having decided on the destination, I followed Instagram pictures of Italy in all their golden and azure glory, and had Rai Radio Tutta Italiana as background noise, the music on the Italian radio station transporting me thousands of miles away to a place that sounded full of life and joy. I served panettone on Christma
Performance June 26, 2020
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