Remember Coffin Academy, the self-help retreat in South Korea that lets you simulate your own death to be born into a new life? Nightline reporter Clarissa Ward went through the controversial seminar, which has participants write their wills, imagine saying goodbye to their loved ones and then lay inside a closed casket for a looooong five minutes. In theory, they’ll emerge from their coffins feeling renewed.
What struck me the most in this segment was the “funeral,”…
Hey Bay Area peeps! What are you doing on Sunday 3/14? I got tickets for you to go see Like You Know It All at the San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival!
A synopsis of the film from the SFIAAFF website:
In the world of film director Ku Gyun-nam, the “hero” of Hong Sang-soo’s latest dissection of the modern-day man-boy, misery doesn’t just love company: it spreads it around like rats with the…
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Tired of life in the fast lane? Escape to this “slow city” in Damyang for a taste of traditional Korea.
Story and photographs by Bill Stephens
If you spend a week in Seoul, it’s easy to see why the national branding slogan “Dynamic Korea” has replaced the “Land of Morning Calm.”
But travel three hours by train and then 30 minutes by bus and taxi to Samjicheon Village in the Damyang region, and you’ll experience perhaps what was meant by…
Text and photographs by Mark Edward Harris
Few lands have been more devastated by war and conflict than 20th-century Korea. Yet the perseverance of the peninsula’s people has maintained for posterity many of its cultural institutions and historical structures.
I started my exploration of South Korea’s rich history with a visit to the tomb of Sejong the Great in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. While so many world leaders are associated with conquests and wars, it’s inspiring to learn about a leader who…
The third Asian American tapped to join Obama’s cabinet, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke—who also made history as the first Chinese American governor—muses on the “100-year” trail that led him to one of the nation’s highest posts. This month, as U.S. Census forms filter into the homes of Americans, one of Locke’s biggest tasks is to ensure an accurate count of the national population and tackle low levels of immigrant participation, including among historically “hard to count” Koreans.
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The beat is on. Chicago-based Actually, Records presents its first label showcase on the West Coast, “A Minotaur Mini-Tour,” featuring Asian American indie bands/artists Kite Operations, XYZR_KX, The Gold Medalists and Jack Tung. This unique show will stop at Giant Robot in Los Angeles and Retox Lounge in San Francisco on Friday, March 26, and will end the next day at Los Angeles’ Silver Factory Studios. For details, music videos and photos, check out www.actuallyrecords.com.
