I don’t want to say much about the Ailee photo “scandal” (because embarrassing photos are not really a scandal). But I will add two things:
- The website that broke the “news” was neither ethnical nor journalistic. But, then, they started as a K-pop troll site, so people shouldn’t have expected anything different. Best to ignore them and move on.
- I’m quite impressed how Korea seems to be lined up squarely behind Ailee and against the people who leaked and published the photos. Ten years ago, maybe that wouldn’t have been the result. Way too many foreigners (dumb foreigners) really misread how Koreans would react (yet again).
As for some real news:
- The newest branch of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art — Seoul has just opened. There are some pretty funky looking exhibitions, and the building itself is pretty wonderful. Well worth checking out. But demand is expected to be high, so you might want to schedule a reservation at the MMCA — Seoul website before going down, at least for the next couple of weeks (Korea JoongAng Daily).
- MMCA — Seoul English website is here. But I don’t think the reservation option is working on the English section yet.
- There’s a new issue of the MMCA’s magazine Art:Mu. Which includes a translation of their interview with actor Lee Jun, star of Rough Play. (Art:Mu)
- The last issue of Art:Mu also had translated interviews with MMCA curator Yoo Joon Sang and architect Choi Moon-gyu (who did the Ssamziegil complex in Insa-dong)
- And, since I’m on an Art:Mu kick, here are interviews with Face Reader director Han Jae-rim and actor/director Ha Jung-woo and artist U-Ram Choe.
- Sorry, one more Art:Mu link — I had no idea the people behind Salon Jebi in Hongdae were part of such a big urban community, Cultural Topography Research.
- Interesting interview with Seoul mayor Park Won-soon (not Art:Mu … it’s the Korea JoongAng Daily)
