Exhibition January 31–April 18, 2008 Toys are always more meaningful than the simple playthings they appear to be. They can embody the fantasies, values, obsessions and anxieties of a generation. With Toy Stories: Souvenirs from Korean Childhood, The Korea Society put on display over 90 children’s toys from South Korea in the 1970s and […]
When Bruce Lee died, he left behind 12 minutes of footage from his final film. The upcoming movie Finishing the Game imagines what would have happened if bumbling studio executives had tried to find a passable stand-in for Lee to finish the film. The answer is hilarity. Starring Roger Fan (Better Luck Tomorrow), Sung Kang (The […]
Recent years have seen a wave of Korean pop culture—known as hallyu—sweep across Asia as consumers from Thailand to Japan became ardent fans of Korean TV dramas, movies and music acts. No pop culture phenomenon lasts forever, however, and recently released statistics suggest that exports from Korea’s entertainment industry are now declining. Is the Korean […]
Exhibition July 26, 2007 – December 18, 2007 “… eye-catching.” – New York Times Art Review, “Korea’s Extraordinary Send-Offs for Ordinary People”, August 17, 2007 link “… the artifacts… are truly treasures.” – Japan Times Review, “Little Friends for the Other World”, October 11, 2007 link Death is an aspect of the human condition that […]
A New, Monthly Series of Gallery Talk Programs May 24 – November 16, 2007 Exhibiting Korea, a new monthly series of presentations on the fine arts, film, fashion and photograph of the Korean Peninsula, is debuting in April 2007. Series programs will address contemporary trends in cultural expression in Korea, and take audiences back to […]
Hollywood makes lots of legal thrillers, but none of them speak so directly to the Korean American experience as the newly released West 32nd. While in New York for the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Flim Festival, co-writer and director Michael Kang and stars Grace Park and Jun Sung Kim came to The Korea Society for a freewheeling panel discussion on how […]
The Korea Society co- presents a ‘Hong Sang-Soo tribute’ with BAM Cinematek, featuring the celebrated Korean director’s three latest films that have won over critics and audiences alike worldwide – Woman is the Future of Man, Tale of Cinema and Woman on the Beach. “One of the most exciting and authentically individual filmmakers to emerge on the world […]
A special line-up of acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho’s box-office mega-hits will include showings of Barking Dogs Never Bite and Memories of Murder, and shorts Incoherence and Sink and Rise. Bong will attend the screening of his latest film, The Host, for a Q&A afterwards. Bong Joon-Ho took the 2006 Cannes Film Festival by storm with his smart, terrifying new monster […]
Gods, Demons and Generals: Icons of Korean Shamanism The exhibition includes representations of Samsin Halmoni 삼신 (Birth Spirit), Sansin 산신 (Mountain God), Taesin Halmoni 대신 할머니 (Great Spirit Grandmother), Yongwang 용왕 (Dragon King), Sinchungdang 신중당 (Guardian Spirits) and images of many other shaman deities. As fixtures of traditional shaman shrines, twelve paintings provide a setting […]
Korean Dance: Tradition and Creation November 8 – 16, 2005 A 16-member troupe from the Seoul Performing Arts Company presented an exquisite program of folk dances as well as contemporary interpretations of ancient court and shamanic dances in five cities from coast-to-coast in the U.S. This tour was organized and funded by The Korea […]
