중심인물

I am outside Gallery La Mer in Insadong. Gu Hye-seon (고혜선) held her first art exhibition "Tango" there. From what I saw, she probably has a very well developed right brain. Her art pieces are generally quite similar. Each piece will have wavy lines originating from some points which then radiate out, 'morphing' along into complicated forms. I could not tell in specific words what she was drawing but if I am to give some description, it is "evolution of amorphous forms". Sound abstract but that's how thing is. Besides being an artist, Gu Hye-seon is also an actress, writer, musician and a director. Her directorial debut "요술" (Magic) will be released later this month. There is one good Korean word to describe such multi-talented person - 팔방미인 (八方美人).


I am at the Seoul Olympic Park, a hot venue for concerts. To be exact, I am outside the Fencing Gymnasium. As you can see, Super Junior was holding their concert. After 5 years of hard work, the group is finally gaining popularity outside of Korea. Their latest song is getting healthy air time these days in local radio stations not long after release - something quite unheard before. For people who have witnessed the rise and fall of Cantopop and J-pop popularity in Singapore, K-pop may be regarded as just another passing fad. How long will this 'fad' last is anyone guess but the truth is K-pop popularity is on the rise and Super Junior is coming to Singapore.


I am at Dongdaemun waiting for bus opposite of 'Doota', the landmark building of Dongdaemun. The Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park is one of the prominent projects launched by the newly re-elected Seoul Mayor, Oh Se-hoon (오세훈), to make Seoul a 'design city'. His other initiatives include 'Culture-nomics' and 'Han River Renaissance'. Despite that, he didn't enjoy overwhelming support in the poll, beating his nearest challenger by only a meagre 0.5% in yesterday poll. Not to mention, he was trailing his challenger in the early phase of vote count. It must have given him a big fright of his life. It seems the Koreans dislike for the ruling party has taken its toll on him. Nonetheless, he is the first mayor of Seoul to be re-elected and his road to Korean presidency has never been brighter.