Seoulist Blog

Black Dragon Playlist

As the Lunar New Year approaches, you might find yourself thinking, “I wish I had a good dragon-themed song to listen to!” Just me? Okay. Well, before you go reaching for “Puff the Magic Dragon,” check out this little playlist of (much better) dragon-related tunes. Dance into the new year with Seoulist’s tribute to everyone’s favorite fire-breathing mythological beast.

Ritual Union by Little Dragon
Much like the breath of a dragon, this track is hot hot hot (I couldn’t help myself).

Tiger By My Side by Empire of the Sun
Listen carefully and you can hear the song open with, “Dragon lips that say goodbye.”

Wildfire by SBTRKT (featuring Little Dragon)
Is it cheating to use Little Dragon twice? I’m going to say it’s fair, especially since the title of the song is “Wildfire.” Fire = dragons!

Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh! by Sunset Rubdown
A song from the album Dragonslayer (which is as epic as it sounds).

Givers by Lucky Dragons
Bare with me, getting a little artsy here (seriously, the music of Lucky Dragon was included in the 2008 Whitney Biennial exhibition).

Shield & Sword by Active Child
A song about taking on the dragon—show 2012 who’s boss.

Dragon Queen by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Channel your inner Daenerys Targaryen with this one.

Nonpareil of Favor by Of Montreal
Can you spot the dragon lyric? (FYI: The last half of the song is just a cacophony of sound—don’t listen for it there!)

Terminal by Radiant Dragon
Don’t let the lack of lyrics scare you away. This is a highly visual soundscape. As you listen, envision yourself battling dragons in a vast cave (that echoing guitar riff is perfect) or perhaps riding a dragon through the night sky (for the pacifists).

The Dragon Upstairs by Futurist
Speaking of pacifists, here are some Alt Folk musicians channeling the power of the dragon in the name of world peace.

High High by G-Dragon & TOP
No dragon playlist would be complete without the most famous of them all—G-Dragon! Dragons fly so high high.

Behind the Scenes: An Actor’s Map of Seoul

Whenever people ask me how I’ve learned to speak Korean so well after spending most of my life abroad, I tell them 1) that it’s actually not that great if they really listened to me and 2) that I learned it through theatre.

During my first year or two in Seoul, I pretty much lived in Daehakro. I watched plays day and night. After the show, I joined the boisterous cast and crew as they emptied endless bottles of soju and retold the same old stories as if for the first time in dim, smoky bars that made my eyes water. And to drive the nail home, I took Korean lessons from those who not only know the language well, but are fluent in expression: stage actors. One of my teachers was Jeong In-keom, the actor whose Seoul we recently “mapped out” on Seoulist. Although I no longer take Korean lessons from Mr. Jeong, it was fun to return as a reporter of some sort, to delve into his inner artist and follow it around town.

Hong Madang (홍마담)  
I met Mr. Jeong at the stationery coffee truck, Hong Madam in front of Seondol Theatre where he was catching up with another actor I had seen before in a Seondol production. Jeong re-acquainted us, asking if I remembered his “grotesque” friend, which in thespian terms, turns out to be something like a compliment. Obviously, you have a better chance of landing a role if you don’t look like everyone else, but it’s quite contrary to the world of TV and film. “We’re not actors because we were born tall, beautiful and people encouraged us to get into acting,” Jeong said. “We do this because it would torture us not to.”

The actor’s resume
The movie Mr. Jeong recently auditioned for was a big-time production. “The audition last half an hour and I felt pretty good about it,” he said. “It’s a bit insulting when they give you five minutes. But when someone gives me 30 minutes of their time, I’m satisfied, even if I don’t get the part.”

His new actor’s resume was one of the more modest profiles I had ever seen. A single line at the very bottom of the paper made me smile: I look younger than my age. (나이보다 좀 젊어 보입니다). I pointed it out and he shrugged, unapologetic. “What? It’s true.” 

Flea market excursion
At the market, we were joined by Mr. Jeong’s friend, a movie actor, who showed up looking so nondescript that he might as well have been invisible. He hid behind horn-rimmed glasses and wore a cap pulled down to his cheekbones. It turned out that he was actually a bit intimidated by the amount of attention he was receiving after his villain portrayal in Korea’s current reluctant box office hit (yes, that movie based on a true story that everybody has seen or is dreading seeing). I had watched the movie the night before, so I felt a bit weirded out, hanging out with the man who did unspeakable things the night before. But for the record, he’s a really nice guy and even helped me find a great designer jacket.

The designer jacket was a great steal, but my favorite find from the flea market were stamps from North Korea. I successfully haggled a book of vintage stamps to 20,000 won from the original asking price of 50,000. Mr. Jeong would later remind me that it was possible because I was born a woman.

–Yaeri

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Read An Actor’s Map of Seoul on Seoulist Mag.

Congratulations to Josh G., the winner of our pu-erh tea giveaway! We’re dressing it up real nice to send your way. :)

The Seoultorialist

Here’s a Sartorialistic sneak peek at the next installment of the “Map of Seoul” series. Can you guess what this man does for a living? Hint: it’s not fashion-related.

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Update/full disclosure: Read An Actor’s Map of Seoul on Seoulist.

Seoulist hosts Ing labs!

Over the past few weeks, we hosted a couple gatherings for a diverse group of cool creative people doing cool creative things in Seoul. Our offlines currently tend to be small and spontaneous, but you don’t have to be a Seoulist contributor to join the open collective, which we’ve nicknamed ing (for now). Check out the Ing Facebook page for useful links, inspiration and resources!

Thanks to Andy, Clara, Jon, D.K., Meagan, Mia, Ruth, Sylvia, Sung and Vivian for joining in on the fun. And thank you to Bongsukeenae for bespoke drip coffee, free refills and doing things that make us smile like leaving orphan guitars around for moments of spontaneity and equipping each table with notepads, pens and an outlet. A true creators’ cafe, indeed.

Hot off the press!

Does it count as press if it’s published by your alma mater? Let’s just say it does for now because MICA featured Seoulist in the latest issue of Juxatapositions! On page 11, you’ll also find Jungho Kim’s photograph from the article, To Be Young and in Love and Swinging. The interview took place months ago, so it’s a bit outdated (so much, that we might have to follow up with an annotated version), but you can read the full article below.

- Yaeri

Alumna Launches Online Magazine in Korea

With a team of bilingual expats and native Koreans, Yaeri Song ’07 (video and film arts) recently launched Seoulist Mag, an English language online magazine curated to feature “the best of Seoul affairs, characters, and curiosities.” Song, founder and editor in chief of the magazine, is striving to provide a contextualized overview of the city for those who want to live—not just stay—in Seoul. Jay Roop ’07 (graphic design) is design director for the online publication, and Chi Yung Chung ’96 (general fine arts, painting), a fine arts professor at Dankook University in Korea, is a frequent collaborator on Seoulist Mag. Song’s next venture is an online store that integrates content from Seoulist Mag.

Song recently received a 2011 Young Entrepreneur Grant for her online efforts. Awarded by the city of Seoul, the grant acts as an incubator program for young entrepreneurs and includes a stipend, office space, mentoring, and seminars to help recipients grow their businesses. Song’s previous work focused on video, and though most of her time is devoted to Seoulist, she still works as a broadcast journalist. Visit the magazine at seoulistmag.com.

Giveaway: It’s tea time!

We’re on a tea roll these days! As part of our ongoing celebration of tea culture in Seoul, we’re giving away a brick of Pu-erh tea from Cha Kkeurineun Sot (차 끓이는 솥), a Chinese tea shop we featured on Seoulist today (pictured above).

Want a taste? The steps are simple:

1) Go to our Facebook page (and “like” it if you haven’t already).
2) Tell us what you love about Seoul as a comment on our Facebook page giveaway photo.

We’ll ship this to person who made the posting with the most “likes” by 6 pm KST on Friday, October 7, 2011.

Good luck! :)

Get away (without going too far)

Today, we posted a couple articles on Seoulist Mag that can help you escape the city—if only for a little while.

For a moment of reflection and herbal blends, take a time out during the day and transport yourself to a charming English tearoom in Sinchon. Read the complete article: English Afternoons, to a Tea.

Or if you have some free time this weekend, why not really get out of town? Experience the juxtaposition of urban design and nature at Heyri Art Village, which is less than an hour north of Seoul. Read the complete article: Heyri: A Work in Progress.

Happy getaways!

A visit to Banana Tree!

As someone who once had an unhealthy long-term relationship with Magnolia’s banana pudding, I was very curious to see how the new Banana Tree cafe in Sinsa-dong (which we recently profiled) would pay homage to the iconic New York bakery. 

My friend and I stopped by one evening for a tasting, and look at what we spotted as we waited for our order! Right up there next to the celebrity polaroids. :D

We saw how much energy and effort it took to make this delicious banana pudding and discovered just how little time it takes to eat one up. In this case, however, the void was filled by the empty terra cotta planters, which are yours to take!

The only downside to the cafe is that it closes at 8:30 pm on weekdays, so if you can’t make it well before closing time, try what we did: get the goodies to go and head over to Jeon Gwang Soo Coffee. It’s a small cafe franchise down the road, which, despite its strange mercenary policies (“we don’t offer milk on the menu, but we can serve a latte without the espresso.”), is known for its stellar barista staff and late hours.

Jeon Gwang Su Coffeehouse (전광수 커피하우스)
506-3 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu
02) 511-9954

- Yaeri