Muan International Airport and the area around Mangun-myeon as seen from a village hall in Muan County, Gwangju, on Aug. 28YONHAP
Happy Saturday! In this weekend’s longer reads, we'll explore why Koreans often choose to attend social events alone, discover how malls are becoming all-in-one "mallcation" destinations and get an introduction to artist Do Ho Suh's MMCA exhibition. We'll also meet legendary Japanese photojournalist Shisei Kuwabara, who spent six decades documenting Korea, and find out why tourists are flocking to Seoul's shoe stores.
Here's what you need to know!
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Why do Koreans opt to be alone at social events?
Kylie Jenner may bask in the spotlight on a red carpet with her boyfriend, Timothée Chalamet, as her arm candy. But Korean actors Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin would hardly ever dream of doing the same, despite being married, and neither would singer Tiffany Young and her husband, actor Byun Yo-han.
For Korean celebrities, even those who have made their relationships public, romance on the red carpet is seemingly off-limits.
Award ceremonies never prohibit couples — married or dating — from staying by each other’s side or appearing in photos together; in most cases, it is the individual’s choice to attend major events alone.
Koreans turn malls into all-in-one summer 'mallcation' escapes as heat and rain linger
Late-summer heat still clings on by day, while rain fell in some regions on the weekends and made it difficult for people to venture out. Even as August winds down, the humidity refuses to loosen its grip, and unstable skies keep threatening showers, making outdoor plans feel like a gamble. Amid the hot and humid weather, many are rewriting the rules of vacation.
This summer, that indoor-vacation wave — known as "mallcation," a mashup of "mall" and "vacation" — has emerged as a major trend
Thirty years of Do Ho Suh, and the many things his homes were asked to mean
Almost everyone has a home that they think of with fondness. A home is somewhere you go back to daily, an intimate and comforting place that resonates only with you — but at the “Do Ho Suh” exhibition that opens at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) on Thursday, museumgoers are invited into replicas of the monumental artist’s various homes past and present; hung, displayed and installed in sequence.
'I feel a responsibility to leave a record': Shisei Kuwabara’s six decades of sacrifice behind the lens
Shisei Kuwabara has spent more than six decades behind the camera. The Japanese photojournalist is acclaimed for his persistent, long-term coverage of subjects ranging from Minamata disease to Korea’s turbulent modern history. That persistence didn't necessarily come from a sense of duty toward his subjects, but rather from a responsibility to document what he witnessed, he said.
“Just like all of you,” he said, looking around at the reporters gathered for a roundtable interview on Thursday. “I feel a responsibility to leave a record.”
K-kicks: Foreign tourists flock to Seoul shoe stores for deals and rare releases
The main driver behind Feng Ziaoliang’s trip to Korea was simple: shoes. The 25-year-old tourist from China was darting from shelf to shelf at a multi-brand shoe store in the industrially hip Seoungsu-dong neighborhood of eastern Seoul, her eyes lighting up as she scanned rows of sneakers.
On Friday afternoon, dozens of customers crowded the Musinsa Kicks store, with foreign shoppers making up a conspicuous share of the crowd alongside Koreans.
“I was looking for some Air Max shoes,” said Feng, holding up two pairs of Nikes as she chatted with a friend. “Especially with the tax refunds, I see no reason why I shouldn’t buy one here.”
