Hybrid Hanbok + Batik = Hantik or Babok or Hanba?

Does this work for you?

Sorry to both the Koreans and Indonesians but I couldn't resist playing around with the names in the title for this posting. Just like the cross between the lion and tiger to get... was it the liger?... , two fashion designers  were given the challenge of coming up with hybrid designs which would incorporate elements of  the hanbok and batik.

Shin Sook-young, a designer associated with Sookhyun Hanbok said in an interview, ''I was asked to design six different pieces of the Korean traditional costume Hanbok with fabric used for making Indonesia's Batik.''
One wonders if that was really all she had to say or if she was being diplomatic and refrained from making any subjective comments.

I'd also like to know what the Indonesian designer, Oscar Lawalata,  felt about seeing his beloved batiks used as part of the skirt or chima in the hanbok. This young man, who has taken part in many fashion shows around the region,  is keen to promote Indonesian textiles but was he happy seeing them used for hanboks? How did the Koreans feel about their national dress made of batik appearing on the runway?

Hanbok with batik skirts worn by models on the right side

Some lucky Indonesians in Jakarta enjoyed the privilege of deciding such questions for themselves when they saw first-hand the results of that collaboration in a Hanbok-Batik fashion show. The opening event for the South Korea-Indonesia Week celebrations was hosted by the Council of Nation Branding  at the Ritz-Carlton ballroom on Monday 11th October.

One of Oscar Lawalata's creations has some Chinese influence as well

In addition to tranditional Hanbok and Lawalata's own designs, hanbok made from batik, and costumes from Korean TV dramas like Daejanggeum were also featured on the runway. Have tried to look for reviews of the show but have not found anything as yet. Personally, I'm not comfortable with the results - the earthiness of batik doesn't quite suit the hanbok which has to convey a sense of lightness and ethereal delicacy given its already puffed-up outlines. But then again, I shouldn't comment on the basis of two pictures. If anyone out there did take pics of the show please post them somewhere on the Net and send me the links so that I can get a closer look and make a more informed decision.

Check out Oscar Lawalata's website. I'd do the same for Ms Shin except that I couldn't find on her on the Net, believe it or not!

For another posting on another Korean designer, click here.

sources:
http://www.korea.net/detail.do?guid=50539
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_photo_detail.htm?No=15463
http://berita.liputan6.com/sosbud/201010/300800/Festival.Korea.Kedua.Digelar
http://koreaindonesiaweek.com/
http://iheartme.onsugar.com/fashion-week-Oscar-Lawalata-2951812
http://www.oscarlawalata.net/philosophy.html
http://www.arirang.co.kr/Player/Player_Script.asp?vSeq=55968&code=News

Letter for the OTHER Lee Young-Ae, Juwangsan, Part 4

Dear Miss Lee Young-Ae,

I'd like to say Gamsa-hae-yo for your friendly welcome when I dropped by the Juwangsan National Park Information Centre. I noticed your name on your badge and asked quizzically, "Dae-jang-geum?"

Photo: Not THAT Lee Young-Ae!

You laughed in delight because this foreigner recognised you had the same name as the actress, Lee Young-Ae who plays the heroine in the hugely popular drama series, Jewel in the Palace, also known as DaeJangGeum. Don't know if that's why you were so kind and generous in giving me a drink and some candies as a parting gift but I was really touched by your spontaneous gesture.

Would've liked to ask you more - if the name was a common one among girls in Korea, if you enjoyed your work with the National Parks organisation in Juwangsan and if you enjoyed the MBC drama series as much as I did. Sadly, I didn't speak enough Korean to satisfy my curiosity but the memory of your kindness and your smile remains with me.

Thanks once again!
Ajumma

Source:
 http://news.stareastasia.com/2007/12/lee-young-ae-to-open-coffee-house/
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264150
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/content/cms_view_304714.jsp

Surprising Seonunsan, Part 1

SEONUNSAN (선운산) PROVINCIAL PARK, JEOLLABUK-DO

“Seonunsan is a gorgeous place. Among other things, it boasts a temple, Seonunsa and small sub-temples perched all around a gorge. Behind Seonunsa is a 500-year-old camellia forest that blossoms around the middle of April.” ( Lonely Planet)

Heaven knows why but I am so easily seduced by that description that Seonunsan is put on my itinerary for my November 2005 trip. However, the sight of the crowds entering the park make my heart sink and I begin to wonder if it’s a mistake. It isn't easy finding a place to stay during this peak season. The Youth Hostel is fully booked and anyway, don't fancy sharing a roof with noisy school groups at this point in time. But the further I get from the main temple, my fears of a wasted trip fade away.


Seonunsan is, indeed, a beautiful place. A mini green tea plantation and a busy stream flank the narrow trail which leads to Dosol-am, a tiny hermitage, about an hour’s walk away from the main temple. Leaves of amaryllis plants cover the grounds in patches, hinting at the spectacle that greets visitors in September. While the camellias are not evident, the deep reds of the maples here are ample compensation. The maples here aren’t as profuse as those in Naejangsan but the colours are quite stunning, evoking a real sense of autumn.


A quiet place with lively cats, Dosolam has some lovely maple trees with leaves carpeting the ground in red, gold and orange hues that rival a Persian rug. It also has a great view of Cheonma Peak  (Cheonma-bong)and one can even hear the exhilarated shouts of walkers who reach its summit. I surprise myself by reaching this cliff as well without actually planning to do so.

After a stiff climb up many steps and some hauling with handy ropes, I stand with a strong sense of personal victory on a great vantage point and look down into the valleys and across to other peaks.

 On my way back, I chance upon two signboards marking the spots where MBC filmed some dramatic episodes for its highly successful drama series, DaeJangGeum a.k.a. Jewel in the Palace: the cliff where Lady Choi commits suicide and the cave where the heroine’s mother is buried.

Yongmun Cave (Yongmun-gol) actually comprises three enormous holes in the rock face that one can walk through. It’s a bit creepy if one is there in the forest alone amid the cool gloom and silence. Luckily a group of walkers pass by so I can ask them to take a snapshot of me posing beside a pile of rocks for a fictitious grave. Oh the power of TV.


For another posting on Seonunsan, click here.

sources:
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=658504
http://culture.gochang.go.kr/seonunsan/
http://culture.gochang.go.kr/eng/
http://culture.gochang.go.kr/eng/
http://article.joins.com/article/article.asp?ctg=12&Total_ID=2656630
http://english.whatsonkorea.com/view_listings.ph?lid=5273&code=M_A&scode=M_A3&ss_code=M_A3-9&pst=M
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/images/wallpaper/0909/004_1024.jpg
www.dvdbeaver.com/film/articles/...amas.htm

What's Your K.Q. (Korea Quotient) ???

FUN QUIZ No 1 : HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW SOUTH KOREA?
Update: I've decided to make this first quiz short- only 5 pictures to identify.

Can you guess where these photos were taken? Clues are given for each.

Update: You may find the answers if you visit other postings on this blog.

There will be FIVE photos posted for this first quiz. ( see future posts to this blog)

No 1 Clue: Can a fake grave from a TV drama become a tourist attraction?

No 2 Clue: The tiny "temple" is gone but this pond is beautiful in any season.

No 3 Clue: Holy shit! You have to go far south to find this. ( pardon the language)

No 4 Clue: Photo of its partner is in another post on this blog

No 5 Clue : Are the children too much for T-Rex? Or is he running from the hen - dragon?

HAPPY GUESSING!