Bits of Korea in Berlin

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Emilia Kircheva

Photos = Lilia Bozhinova and Emilia Kircheva

Lately, it has become kind of a tradition for me, wherever I travel, to look around for bits of Korea. I really can`t help it. My interest in Korea is so overwhelming that even if I'm in an old European capital, I get overly excited when I see something related to Korea.

That is also what happened while I was in Berlin a few weeks ago. Berlin is an incredible city, so full of history, monuments and stories. I find it amazing that in this city, so crucial to the history of all Europe, there is also a place for Korea.

As I was walking down on one of the most famous streets in Berlin, the Leipziger Strasse, I entered quite an unusual  square. It was the octagonal Leipziger Platz in the center of Berlin. It's located east of and adjacent to the Potsdamer Platz where the former course of the inner and outer walls is marked. Leipziger Platz was reduced to ruins during World War II and was once part of the no man's land surrounding the Berlin Wall. As Germany's most prestigious construction project after 1989's fall of the Berlin Wall, the redevelopment of Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz was meant to physically reunite the two Germanies in the capital's historical center.

Right there at this historically significant place I found the Korean Cultural Center in Germany. At the entrance, one of the famous Buddy Bears greeted me with its friendly raised arms, as if it was going to hug me. The Buddy Bears were born out of an idea to bring art to the streets of a metropolis, and became an unofficial ambassador for Germany and a symbol of Berlin. Therefore, I was very happy to see one in front of the Korean Cultural Center in Germany.

I found that the center organizes many events. Every last Tuesday of the month, there's a screening of a Korean movie in a space in the center made especially for that purpose. The movie is in Korean, but there are subtitles in German and English. After each screening, all the guests are invited to join a discussion about the movie.

Every first Wednesday of the month is time for literature  in a space for reading. The evening is dedicated to conversations about German translations of Korean literature, from poetry to novels and everything inbetween. Although each of these literature meetings is assigned a special book, everybody is welcome to not only talk about the specific book, but also to exchange ideas and opinions about authors.

There is also a thematic evening under the slogan “Young Korean Talent” every last Wednesday of the month. On these evenings, visitors can enjoy Korean musical performances. Singers, instrumentalists that play traditional Korean gugak music or modern instruments and composers are just some of the possible performers there.

The program provided by the cultural center does not even stop there. Among all the regular events during the month, there are also other exciting happenings. There's a meeting with the Korean author Seo Ha Jin and with the literature critic Kang Yo Jeong, an audition for the K-Pop World Festival 2017 and much, much more.

The big central space at the cultural center is occupied by the “DamDam” gallery. On the first floor is an exhibition of jewelry, utensils, instruments and other normal objects that are showing bits of Korean traditions. The wider part of the gallery is on the second floor, a place for contemporary art, where various artists display their art in relation to Korea.

On this second floor is the larger part of the cultural center. The library, the classrooms and the special spaces are all there. The library is big, bright and full of wonders. Magazines from Korea, countless books and K-pop albums can be found here. You can watch a documentary about Korea on a big TV screen. The cultural center even has a small terrace with beautiful graffiti on the opposite wall depicting two hands that tear apart a wall between symbols for Berlin and Korea.

The courses provided at the center vary from regular language courses, to courses in calligraphy, traditional Korean musical instruments and a course on Korean movement meditation.

As I was walking out of the cultural center, I thought that if I lived in Berlin, I would have definitely been a regular visitor here.

My search for Korea in Berlin was not satisfied with the cultural center. My hunger led me to another place, a small Korean restaurant with a lot of character. The bright sign “Angry Chicken” caught my attention and so did the menu. Although I was very curious to see the “Furious Chicken,” I decided to take it easy on my first encounter and ordered a “Friendly Chicken” and some kimchi.

As I was waiting in the colorful inside of the restaurant, a song that I like very much started playing, “Beautiful” by Crush, part of the soundtrack to the TV series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” (쓸쓸하고 찬란하神 – 도깨비). Munching the crispy chicken and the spicy kimchi while listening to that song made me almost forget that I was in Germany and not Korea.

My last encounter with Korea on German soil was on Sunday. One of the most popular places in Berlin on a Sunday is Mauerpark. On this day of the week, the park opens a huge flea market where one can find secondhand clothes, vintage books, jewelry, all kinds of art, food and much more. Truly an incredible place, the flea market captures the multicultural spirit of Berlin. There, among the wide variety of food from all around the world, I found a shack called “Korean Fresh Food.” Two Korean women handed me a steaming portion of marinated bulgogi beef with wide smiles on their faces. Their smiled became even wider when I said, "Gam-sa-ham-ni-da," in Korean (감사합니다).

On the next day, I'm on my way back to Bulgaria. I have the feeling that I didn't only visit Berlin, but that I managed to also see a different perspective on Korea.

wisdom117@korea.kr

King of Table, a 'humor restaurant'

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Vincenzo Acampora Carratura

Photos Videos = Vincenzo Acampora Carratura

The interest of contemporary art toward food is growing, and many artists are using food as a medium to discuss ideas. This connection between food and art was explored through performances at the Entretempo gallery with the exhibition “The King of Table.”

For “The King of Table,” five artists from different countries -- Korea, Germany and Japan -- were invited to exchange ideas about Korean food culture. The performances and artist talks addressed topics like hyper-consumerism, health crazes and globalization.

The opening act was a performance by artist Kim Byung Chul, a Korean artist who lives in Essen, Germany. He focuses his art practice on the quest for alternative means of exchange or an alternative exchange economy. In his previous works, such as the Performance-Hotel and Performance-Express, a sleeper car or seat ticket on a train could be obtained in exchange for a performance from the public.

Artist Kim Byung Chul performs in Berlin.

In this "humor restaurant," the artist introduces humor as a means of exchange for his Korean food. Visitors can choose a meal from the menu, order it, eat it and then pay for it by telling a joke to make the audience and the artist laugh, or by choosing instead to pay by cash.

As in his previous works, Kim is addressing his search for alternative means of exchange and questioning the monopoly of money. At his humor restaurant, guests can earn a meal in exchange for a comic performance. With these actions, the artist counters the monopoly of money in response to the financial crisis, and offers an alternative medium that connects both artists/ chefs and the public/ customers on a more personal level, exchanging emotions rather than money.

Artist Kim Byung Chul cooks food at the exhibition. 

The menu at the humor restaurant includes gimbap rice rolls, bibimbap mixed rice, japchae noodles with vegetables, bulgogi deopbap beef with rice and some other representative Korean dishes. The atmosphere was positive and many visitors came to the vernissage at the Entretempo gallery and tried their best jokes to entertain the visitors and the artist. It was also a good chance for people who have never tried Korean food before to experience it in a different setting, such as an art performance.

Visitors to the galley have the chance to sample some delicious Korean food. 

“The King of Table” and its performances by different artists initiated a special dialogue between food and art, and between artists and visitors. In the case of the humor restaurant, it showcased, too, another aspect of Korean food  that is also a characteristic of Korean cuisine: the idea of gathering around a table to share food and also to share stories, experiences and laughs.

wisdom117@korea.kr