Part 2: Cultural Immersion – Korean Style

Reflections from 8 Weeks in Korea. Essay with Photos (all my own).

Seoul’s cultural and culinary offerings are second to none. Ticket prices for concerts and museum are very affordable – not like the prohibitive prices we see in Europe and Canada, like $133 for a mediocre seat at a recent ballet performance in Vancouver. In Korea, a hearty and yummy lunch will only set you back by $12!

Extraordinary Concerts

We went to two jazz concerts, one opera concert, one philharmonic concert, two open air concerts, and two traditional Korean music performances.

Worth mentioning is the National Gugak Centre, where we attended a very diverse traditional Korean music performance.

The absolute Highlight

The absolute highlight was a duet at the Sejong Centre, by violinist Arah Shin and pianist Jonghai Park. Their very long and complex piece was performed with such focus, passion and virtuosity – while the violinist was visibly pregnant. World class! (violin Arah Shin, piano Jonghai Park. Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major , Op. 47  “Kreutzer”)

Extraordinary Museums

(click links in Headers for more info)

Of the 17 museums we visited, here are the ones that excel:

Arte Museum – my absolute Favourite
(Korea’s Largest Immersive Media Art Exhibition) 

There are three locations: Jeju Island, Yeosu (south coast) and Gangneung (northeast coast, also visit the Jumunjin Fish Market). We went to the Arte Museum in Yeosu – the five days we spent on the south coast were fantastic (see Part 3).

In Seoul:

Leeum Museum of Art

Run by a foundation of the Samsung owner-family, the combination of cool architecture, modern art and historic artefacts is unique and interesting.

Seoul Museum of Craft Art

This new museum (2021) is a true gem. It showcases a wide variety of outstanding Korean craft art, from historic to contemporary. An absolute must for your visit to Seoul.

National Museum of Korea

We went there three times! Not only a world class museum, but also offering regular outdoor performances (free, see photo) and a special exhibition until March 3, 2023: Six Centuries of Beauty in the Habsburg Empire. My wife is an art historian and she was in heaven. The exhibition presents ninety-six masterpieces that were collected by the Habsburgs and are currently housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. The Korean and Austrian curators did a fantastic job!

Other Museums in Seoul worth mentioning

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA; three locations – each worth visiting: Near Doeksugung Palace close to City Hall; in Gwacheon (within a nice park near the Seoul Zoo); in Bukchon near Gyeongbokgung Palace (shown in the following four photos).

Songeun Art and Cultural Foundation (very cool architecture; they do a fantastic job promoting young artists in Korea):

Kudos to the cultural Etiquette of Koreans

It was an additional bonus for us how respectful the Korean audiences were of the performers and each other, and how enthusiastic they were. Theatre staff were vigilant with the very few smartphone-abusers throughout the performances, intervening right away. No noisy side-talk, no late-comers. The same goes for the museums – we even were once admonished to keep our voices hushed. Good!

Please make it easier for Foreigners to buy Tickets

Buying performance tickets and Korail Passes in Korea is next to impossible for foreigners. While all public theatres allow online-bookings, it is a requirement to have a local phone number and method of payment. Fortunately our landlady did a perfect job getting all the tickets for us, including the Korail Pass. Yet we had to pick up all our paper tickets one hour before each performance. I wrote my concerns to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism but got no response. Mind you, for some pop-concerts you can book tickets on Melon.

Best Time for visiting Korea

Mid-September to mid-November – period! Of our 54 days, it only rained on two. While the first two weeks of September can still be a bit muggy and touch 30ºC, it’s high teens to low twenties after that, with dry air and blue skies. Spectacular fall foliage from the beginning of November. As of December 2022, life is back to normal in Korea. While masks still need to be worn in public transit and buildings, everything is open and accessible. No visa are required for travellers from many countries, including Canada and the US.

To be released soon:
Part 3: The Curiosities of Korean daily Life
Part 4: Korean Markets and culinary Immersion