“He’s just completely wrong. There’s nothing right about him.” Speaking about the instrument that inspired it all, Tristram Burden, of the Gangneung-based band Language of Shapes, describes the magnetism of what they’ve dubbed “FrankenMando.” A nine-string octave mandolin, likely custom-made, it was unlike anything they’d ever seen.
Korea
Rising competition among low-cost air carriers means one thing for you, the intrepid traveler — lower prices and more destinations to choose from.
It wasn’t long ago that a flight to and from Korea would set you back 1 million won. But with the arrival of several international and Korean budget airlines, there are more places around Asia that are accessible for less than $500. And the list is growing.
“I don’t even know if I’m ready,” said an elderly man in jeans and a thick flannel coat as he schlepped into the Moultonborough, New Hampshire polling station to cast his vote in the 2012 general election. A younger man holding the door just ahead of him smiled and said, “You’ll do just fine.” With a shrug of his shoulders and a grunt, the old man headed into the voting room to show his ID, obtain a ballot and slip behind a red, white and blue curtain where he’d pick up a No. 2 pencil and fill in the bubbles next to the candidates of his choice.
What happens when you’re dissatisfied with touring as part of a group? You go on Facebook, complain to friends, vow to never go on one of their trips again — and that’s usually the end of it.
For two expats, it was an opportunity to start a company.
Angel Moreno and Daniel Ahn met in 2010. “We found that travel groups rarely met our expectations, and wanted to share our love for travel and sharing with other people,” they told Groove Korea.
Directed by Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer / Sci-fi/Drama
Opens in Korea: Jan. 10
Directed by Ang Lee / Adventure/Drama
Opens in Korea: Jan. 3
The theme for Korea’s tent pole releases in January appears to be literary adaptations. Not only is David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas” finally getting released, but so is Ang Lee’s cinematic adaptation of Yann Martel’s fantasy adventure novel “Life of Pi.”
The film has taken many years to reach the big screen, which is not surprising considering the author described the novel as “unfilmable” while he was writing it.
It seems fitting that brothers Michael and Jared Bell named their band after a set of brain structures that control emotion and memory. Lymbyc Systym’s sonic landscapes seem to be lifted from lucid dreams, and their incredible long-distance collaborative process has the rhythm of firing synapses.
Lymbyc Systym is bringing their synesthetic orchestration of analog and digital sounds to Korea from Jan. 10 to 12 in support of their new album “Symbolyst.”
Groove Korea got to pick Michael Bell’s brain for the secrets behind the duo’s magnetic creativity.
Directed by Byeon Seung-wook
106 minutes, horror
After recently watching a horror film where the cause of terror is a K-pop song, I searched for another horror film with an equally ridiculous premise and thought I might have found one in “The Cat.” From the name alone, I had visions of a god-awful giant feline puppet devouring its prey on the streets of Seoul.
When Tony MacGregor and his group of pilgrims embarked on a trek across Korea, a question they sought to answer was how to find one’s true nature. Through a kind of walking vipassana (meditation), they examined their emotions and feelings. And in the process of that inward search, they inadvertently discovered the “real Korea.”
Daegu is a hotbed of conservatism, but it’s also the location of Korea’s first noraebang (karaoke room) and its populace is more open-minded than most give them credit for. Its nightlife is bursting at the seams in some places and foodies will have a field day here.
Despite some of its unique cultural activities, many Koreans and expats alike still scoff at the idea of spending a night here. “Ugly”; “gray”; “why Daegu?” — tell a Korean that you’re going to Daegu for the weekend and that’s what you can expect to hear in response.
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