International Artist Profile

for Eloquence Magazine, May 2010

Anina

The Geeky Model

by Michelle Viljoen

Whether it’s Beijing, Paris, Amsterdam, or the internet’s business domain, Anina manages to crossover to each in style.

Getting discovered

It’s the story many young aspiring models dream of being able to tell their friends, family, and entertainment news reporters - that of getting your modeling talents discovered by the right person.

Anina was working in a healthfood store in New York when a stylist noticed her and asked for a photoshoot. Anina agreed to the shoot, setting a chain of events in place which recently landed her the Top Foreign Model in China award.

This girl from Michigan has become a supermodel who regularly flies between continents for modeling work, can speak five languages, and runs her own fashion business online.

“Of course every girl has the dream to be a top model. Modeling is a great way to see the world, to grow up, experience cultures and more,” Anina says.

The modeling world

While some people might have fears for young girl’s well-being in the modeling world where they are under constant pressure to stay in shape, while so far away from their family’s support, Anina speaks positively of the impact modeling has had on her life.

“I think modelling is like the old finishing schools where women would learn to dress and act in high society. Thanks to modelling I speak five languages, I know how to dress well, and I can speak to anyone from a busker on the streets of Paris to the marquee of Spain.”

Those language skills would come in handy as Anina has spent the past two years jetting between Paris, Amsterdam, New York, and China. Moving to China was a strategic move.

“I felt the economic crisis coming and thought this would be a great new market to work in during this period.”

Taking the east by storm

Arriving in China as the country’s first foreign top model was an exciting experience both for Anina and the Chinese.

“On photoshoots it's kind of crazy. Clients get so excited because the level of photos I'm doing really bring their brand level up to a higher standard. They often start chanting "Anina, supermodel! Supermodel!"

Modeling in China has its differences to modeling in New York, a city that has long been in the fashion and modeling business.

“[It is] a developing country, so they are not all up to the global industry standard. I still have to remind them that I am vegetarian and I have to set-up the change room, ask for heat or cool depending on the weather, put something on the floor to keep my feet clean, ask for water, and to go to the W.C.”

At the same time that Anina is sharing her experience with her Chinese colleagues, she is also learning from them.

“As it is, I am working with all the top photographers in China. So, I am very honoured to learn about their style and they really are top quality.”

The workload in China is another thing Anina had to get used to. She has gone from doing a maximum of six to eight shots per day, in New York, to 50 to 100 shots per day, in China.

“You have to learn, as a model, to be fast and efficient... it’s a great training ground.”

Having top foreign models in China seems to be a recent development. “Sometimes I look around in China and think ‘Is that a model?’”

She attributes China’s lack of top models to low modeling rates and a modeling industry that is still in its infancy. “Only models in Hong Kong are my competition because many top models go to work in Hong Kong.”

Tecchi-model

She probably has one-up on her competition as Anina isn’t only a successful model, she is also a business savvy tecchie. Apart from the economic crisis driving Anina to China, she also saw it as an opportunity to promote her company 360Fashion Network.

“Modeling, for me, is a way to get to know the market and the people, so that I can work with them at a later date for my company. It gives me staying power.”

Anina describes 360Fashion Network as a digital marketing tool for the fashion industry to enter the new media marketing space and reach a global audience. It’s a network of fashion professionals who use their mobile phones to create online media by posting content and thereby getting their brand noticed.

These days her time is spent doing modeling and running 360Fashion. Doing the work you love, is something Anina says is possible for any woman to achieve.

“I think the world needs more women CEO’s. Also, women can wear many hats in their day and I feel it’s important to show that you can be beautiful, technological, and entrepreneurial as a woman.”

Local Artist Profile

for Eloquence Magazine, January 2009

A Dynamic DJ Duo

by Michelle Viljoen

It makes their audience happy. And it makes them happy. It’s a great job, it's the life of a DJ.

Only a few months after partnering up as a DJ team, DJ’s Unjin and Mang Esilo managed to qualify for the final round of the Miller Fresh M DJ Contest in Seoul.

While the kind of electronic music they produce has yet to become very popular in Korea they are working hard to keep doing their dream job – dj’ing and making music.

Unjin and Mang Esilo met two years ago. They began talking music and eventually realised their shared interest can become a combined initiative. They started performing as a DJ-duo a few months ago.

When the Miller Fresh M DJ Contest came round they took part and recently made it past the semi-final phase.  The final is on December 31 at the W Hotel. “We are planning to incorporate sounds from nature into the set,” say Unjin.

Unjin is into futuristic music. “You have to create your own sound. With the nature music you can get in touch with the music,” he says.

Both DJ’s have been involved in music for years. Mang Esilo started dabbling with music from a home studio. Unjin started his music career in an indie rock band, then became interested in house and finally techno.

It’s hard to make a living with this kind of music, says Mang Esilo. This is partly because their kind of music is not very popular in Korea. “We want to go overseas. We’d love to do a world tour to places like Canada and Spain.”

Even they don’t eat well because making a living off this music is hard, they do love it and will keep doing it because “it makes people happy”.

Local Artist Profile

for Eloquence Magazine, January 2009

Just Dance!

by Michelle Viljoen

Sleep is a luxury. Coffee keeps him going. The life of a choreographer in Seoul isn’t only fun and fame. As Chang-Hoon Lee knows well, it’s a lot of hard work.

Chang-Hoon has been a choreographer for more than a decade. He has worked with big names in Korea, like Rain, the Wondergirls, Drunken Tiger, and 2PM. These days he can be found in his studio, the Noah Art Studio in Seoul, doing anything but taking it easy.

Before the fame, it was a simple ad for a dancing group in a local newspaper that awoke his interest in dancing. This interest was further nurtured by his grandmother. He remembers the day she brought home Michael Jackson’s Thriller – which has inspired his dancing since. “My grandmother fully supported my dancing. She was also creative and artistic.”

Making a breakthrough in the dancing community was helped by being talented and the role of his former teacher, Young-Jin Yoo, a well-known composer. Yoo gave him the opportunities he needed to get his foot in the entertainment business.

His most memorable performance came early in his career. In his early twenties, Chang-Hoon found himself responsible for S.E.S’s dance choreography for their first concert. He had to train 20 people. “For about a month before the concert we worked really hard. I was pretty nervous about it, but the concert well,” he remembers fondly.

A few years later Chang-Hoon again helped a now famous Korean artist on his first album. Rain and Chang-Hoon worked together from 2001 until 2002. “Rain is one of my favourite artists to work with. He is always prepared and passionate about the job. Even if he could sleep for only 2 hours, he would still be ready.” Rain’s passion for dance inspired Chang-Hoon and the two dancers gelled together very well.

Shortly after his success with these Korean stars, Chang-Hoon entered military service. When he completed his military service in 2002, he decided to focus on training and opening his own studio.

Since he started training students, Chang-Hoon realised that being a teacher is a two-way street. “I train students, but I can also learn from them. That’s why I value good communication with my students.”

When he has time, Chang-Hoon is also working on developing a new genre of dancing. One that takes its inspiration from dancing, drama and the circus.

His own style is inspired by music. “I don’t want to copy the western style of dancing. I enjoy listening to new music. And my style changes with the music. “

Chang-Hoon expresses emotions through dance, but it’s something he feels is limited with the available K-pop. “Most of the songs are about the same emotion – love.” A place where he has been able to touch on different dance expressions, has been the musical, Hi Dharma!, an adaptation from the Korean movie that he is currently doing the choreography for.

“Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to sleep. There are too many things going on in my head. There are so many things I want to learn about and things that I want to do.”

“I don’t necessarily plan too far ahead. I think about the present and I work hard on what’s happening now.”

Dancing takes up most of his time and effort, but he doesn’t see it as something he loves. Instead it’s a part of him. “It’s my life. When I started dancing it filled a loneliness in my life. I found myself through dancing and I met people who became part of my development, through dancing.”

International Artist Profile

for Eloquence Magazine, December 2009.

Suit Up!

by Michelle Viljoen

He’s the guy in the suit. Silently standing, watching, hands folded. He is Suitman. And he is the embodiment of social alienation.

Young Kim first donned the Suitman suit two decades ago. Since then the Kim/Suitman creative collaboration has produced thousands of photos and worn through about 900 suits.

For Kim the suit started out as only that –a piece of clothing. But it soon became the material representation of his resistance against alienation.

Having been born and raised in Seoul, his first cultural identity was Asian. When he moved to the United States as a young boy, he became Asian-American. Something he describes as having two cultures in one skin, with neither one quite fitting.

While in the USA he regarded himself as American, but “people who could see me could not accept me as American, because of the way I look”.

When he returned to Asia in later years, the alienation from society was still there, but in reverse.

“My face fitted but my ‘Western’ persona did not. This circle, which my return to Asia had completed, eliminated the possibility of fitting in anywhere.”

Then came Suitman. Kim’s relocation to a new job left him feeling isolated from his surroundings. “The motivation for choosing a suit as a ‘uniform’, to see me through this period of disconnection, was vague and unclear to me. Several thousand photos later, the ‘suit’ as resistance from alienation became more solid.”

Suitman and Kim have the “the freedom to create [their] own world anywhere and everywhere.“

They don’t have to try to fit in anywhere. And somehow the images of the man in the suit who stands out from his surroundings is something people can often relate to.

“Suitman represents a universal message. He is an agent, transcending and questioning the notion of identity, time and place, fiction and reality.”

Suitman has already been to at least six continents and to about 150 cities. Out of these places Kim recalls Hong Kong, New York, London, and Paris as the easiest places to adapt to. “There are diverse ethnic groups of people from all over in those cities. That makes us feel less like a foreigner.”

In preparation for Suitman’s 20^th anniversary, they have recently traveled to Australia, New Zealand, North and South America, and Ethiopia to film a collection of short films for this.

Kim considers traveling the best education because “...we are always learning and observing from each other.

“Everywhere we go. We are all the same kind. Humankind.”

In Ethiopia Kim recalls how happy people there seemed. “It was amazing to see people so happy and respectful to each other. It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor...”

During the past 20 years, Suitman hasn’t changed much, says Kim. “He’s just more experienced in travel and has more friends.”

Suitman and Kim have become a creative collaboration. Suitman products are available, they are working on children’s travel shows, a new collection of suits, and DJ street sessions.

“When you love what you do, there’s no separate line between business and personal life. I am fortunate enough to utilize my past experience as advertising creative to market my own art and brand.”

And something Suitman hopes people learn from his experience is to “be yourself! Have respect for yourself and others. Follow your own drum beat!”

Mnet Asia Music Awards (MAMA) 09

for Eloquence Magazine, December 2009.

MAMA rocks!

by Michelle Viljoen

There was music, there was dancing, there were many excited schoolgirls and a much talked about onstage almost-kiss between Ivy and Nikgun, 2pm heartthrob. It was the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) held recently in Seoul.

Popular songs turned into mini-musicals, an elaborate stage and a line-up of some of Korea’s biggest stars kept audience members entertained during breaks from the actual awards presentation.

The evening’s performances were kicked-off by a booming performance by Drunken Tiger, sending hundreds of schoolgirls into a frenzy of screams not five minutes after the show started. And it didn’t stop.

The audience’s loud enthusiasm lasted until the end pitching at every sight of G-Dragon (who performance of Heartbreaker was followed by a ‘duel’ with Tae-Yang).

When 2NE1 came to the stage for a musical skit of “I don’t care” the audience kept cheering and it reached a feverish climax when Ivy was bent over Nichkun putting her lips very close to his during their performance.

Leading current Korean artists, like Epik High, Kim Tae-Woo and Seo, In-Young wrapped up the performances with a tribute to veteran singer Sim, Soo-Bong.

The night’s other big winners were 2NE1 (Song of the Year – “I don’t care”, Best New Female Group, and Best Music Video), 2PM (Artist of the Year, and Best Male Group), and G-Dragon (Album of the Year).

Other winners:

Best New Male Group – Supreme Team

Best Dance – Kara (Honey)

Best Male Solo Artist – Drunken Tiger

Best Female Solo Artist – Baek, Ji-Young

Best Female Group – Brown Eyed Girls

Best House and Electronic – Brown Eyed Girls

Best Ballade, R&B – Kim, Tae-Woo

Best Asian Star – TVXQ

Best Asian Composer – Park, Jin-Young

Best Trot – Hong, Jin-Young

Best Mixed Group – Eight(8)

Best Hip Hop – Leesang

Best Rock – Boo Hwal

International Artist Profile

for Eloquence magazine, November 2009.

Justin M Maller - Exploring freelance

by Michelle Viljoen

Freelancing is responsibility. Freelancing is freedom. Freelancing is nipping off work to go buy an awesome pair of sneakers for you sneaker collection without having to explain it anyone.

“I’ve actually had to ban myself from buying high-tops,” says Justin, from Australia. “I reckon they look heaps better on the shelf, but I always get so much more burn out of the lows.”

When Justin M Maller is not indulging his sneaker addiction, he is in front of his computer, working as a freelance digital artist.

Justin’s success as an illustrator is notable, as his major at university was in creative writing. “I am self taught in illustration... I got my first copy of Photoshop 4 back in 1998, and have been playing around with it ever since.

By the time he graduated university in 2006, Justin was already booking his first freelance jobs. Soon he decided to quit his job to freelance full-time. Work started off on an un-glamorous note with mostly editorial work, but Justin had only to wait before he started booking small scale illustration work. Nowadays, he gets to work on some “pretty excellent” projects.

He has also found the time to work on an artistic collective called Depthcore Collective. He co-founded the group with fellow artist, Kevin Stacey. to create an artist’s collective with a 3D and abstract vision. “It seemed to me as if the internet had been custom designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration between artists across the globe.”

Justin calls himself an “unaffected artist” as he hardly ever looks at what other artists in his field produce. “I simply sit down and create the things that occur to me – as such I feel that my work stands on its own, and doesn’t come off as inspired or influenced by other illustrators.

Justin takes pride in quality work and spends time experimenting and refining new techniques in his work. His inspiration comes from anything and everything he comes across in his daily life.

“I would hope that my approach to my work creates my signature more than any specific content or execution.”

It this individual signature that attracts clients to his work, Justin says. “Most clients come to me because they want my style of work, so even jobs that are rather guided still afford me a greater deal of freedom than I expect a lot of designers enjoy”.

Freelancing has paid-off well for Justin, but he admits it has its ups and downs. “There is only one person to do whatever work you take on; if you don’t do it, it doesn’t get done, and the buck stops with you.”

He says this immense freedom is one of the bigger challenges of working as a freelancer. “Having no oversight and no enforced structure is something that I think a lot of freelancers struggle with initially; they’re challenges to be reckoned with.

After some years as a solitary freelancer, Justin has learnt to deal with these challenges in his own way. “They’re offset by some pretty wicked plus sides – I don’t have to wear pants if I’m not inclined, and I can nick off to buy some sneakers whenever I feel like it.”

Music Review

for Eloquence magazine, November 2009.

Dan Mangan - Nice, nice, very nice.

by Michelle Viljoen

He hooks you with his gravelly voice and reels you in with lyrics that tell a story we’re all familiar with. Dan Mangan’s latest album is entitled Nice, nice, very nice. And it’s not an overstatement.

Mangan released his latest album almost three years after making his debut on the music scene. The long wait has been worthwhile, as it has given this robot-loving Canadian musician time to mature as a songwriter and singer.

During those three years of traveling alone and promoting his music, Dan said in an earlier interview, he found inspiration for the songs on Nice, nice, very nice. The time spent away from his family and friends gave him the opportunity to reflect on the things musicians would often wonder about, like whether all the effort is really worth it.

Of all the praise bestowed on Mangan’s latest work, critics concur that his songwriting skill comes from his keen talent as an observer of everyday life.

In Tina’s Glorious Comeback Mangan sings about change – specifically change he noticed in his hometown of Vancouver, but also about how any change has its good and bad sides.

There’s a tongue-in-cheek song about robots (Robots) and Some People is an upbeat, foot-tapping song, until you start listening to the lyrics. – “Paint your pickets white and beat your wife, just don’t forget to shut the blinds. If you can keep your neighbours in the dark, then surely God can close her eyes.”

His songs grind into your thoughts with their realism, yet they are are easy to listen to. The music is catchy and gives you an insight to not only the songwriter’s life, but maybe also your own.

Quick Facts

Nice, nice, very nice is Dan’s second album and it was released 3 years after his debut album, Postcards and daydreaming, appeared.

Roboteering EP, a short-length teaser to Nice, nice, very nice was released in March 2009.

Nice, nice, very nice, was titled in reference to a Kurt Vonnegut poem.

Dan was named Artist of the Year at the XM Verge Music Awards in Canada only a few months after the release of his latest album.

International artist profile
for Eloquence magazine, October 2009

Innocence lost

In the late 1990’s Woland made a big decision – he dropped the girl who got him into photography, but lucky for us he kept his camera.

Woland’s sublime and sometimes unsettling images of fashion grace the glossy pages of international magazines. Yet, his entrance into the world of fashion photography started simply – with snapshots.

“I became interested in photography at the end of 1997, because of a woman I used to like. She was an artist and she liked the snapshots I used to take of her. But she didn’t like me, so in the end I dropped the girl and kept the camera,” Woland recounts.

Woland’s snapshots soon turned into something a bit more substantial. His style evolved into something that is inspired by a sense of incommunicability and conveys a feeling of discomfort and alienation. Far from the young snapshot-taker he started out as, Woland now tells a story with his photos.

Instead of following the orthodox route to becoming a photographer, like enrolling in a photography course, Woland studied basic photography manuals, exhibits and photographic books by great photographers.

“My Saturday afternoons were mostly spent browsing and absorbing style from those pages. Over the years, I realised I spent more money on photographic books than equipment.”

At first, Woland was interested in portrait photography. For a while, he studied under one of Italy’s leading portrait photographers, Fredi Marcarini. “He took me under his wing and I started working as his assistant for a while.”

Woland’s first shoot was for the Italian men’s luxury magazine, Monsieur in 2004. “This marked my entrance to the world of professional photographers.”

But soon Woland realised his natural inclination wasn’t to shoot portraits.

“My sensitivity was driving me to shoot fashion because in my approach to the subject, the importance of the atmosphere and the mood I was creating was overwhelming the importance of the personality in front of my lens.”

He stayed in Rome a while longer, shooting for the fashion pages of leading Italian and British magazines. But by the end of 2006 he again realised it was time for a change.

“I realised Rome was a ‘fashion corpse’ and I moved to Tallinn, Estonia, one of the new up-and-coming, most dynamic little capitals in northern Europe, where I found a sizzling and ambitious pre-crisis atmosphere.”

This atmosphere is what Woland wanted. He describes Talinn as a photographers dream as it is welcoming and facilitating to photographers. This is probably why Woland is now based in Tallinn.

Tallinn might provide a comfortable working environment for a photographer, but Woland still deals with the challenges facing artists – to always be inspired and suggest something new to his audience, while keeping a unique style. Although Woland prefers not to compare himself to other photographers, he knows what makes his work stand out.

The inspiration for his uncomforting images can come from anything, he says: “Photobooks, magazines, a fountain, a song on the radio, a sunset painting a tree in gold, a novel, a movie”. The list goes on. But ultimately these inspirations culminate in one concept for Woland – whether it’s visualising a fashion story for an editorial shoot, or trying to tie together the core values of a product in a single shot – his visuals are based around a sense of alienation.

“My models are like little girls in a red dress who got lost in a dark forest covered in snow: they are scared and confused by the hostile white environment, but at the same they are attracted by the unknown and the freedom this gives, and they walk in the forest being aware to be the prettiest creatures of the forest, but also the most visible, innocent prey.”

District 9

for Eloquence magazine, October 2009

District 9: Aliens in trouble

The aliens really buggered up this time. Unlike the aliens before them, they have stumbled into a dark, hostile part of Earth. They went where no alien has gone before... the slums of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Of all the places the aliens could get stranded, they probably never imagined it would be in one of South Africa’s most dangerous areas.

And like the alien’s strange predicament, District 9 is first alien movie of its kind. And it has enjoyed international box office success since its release earlier the year.

“The movie fluctuates between something that feels like a film and something that feels bizarrely real,” says Neill Blommkamp, director and co-writer of District 9. Blommkamp teamed up with Peter Jackson, director of Lord of the Rings and King Kong, who produced the movie.

Stranded in South Africa for 20 years now, the aliens have been treated with suspicion by the local human population. They are segregated from the human’s in camps and their treatment echoes of South Africa’s apartheid past.

While the world’s nations argue over what to do with the alien ‘problem’, a South African company, Multi-National United (MNU), try find a way to make the alien’s weaponry work. In the meantime they start evicting the aliens from District 9. Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is a MNU field agent working on the evictions.

“He’s an ordinary guy who likes to wield power in a bureaucratic way,” says Copley. But when Wikus contracts a virus that starts to turn him into an alien, the MNU’s game plan drastically changes. He becomes their new target as his alien DNA holds the key to making the weaponry work.

Now, District 9 is the only place Wikus can hide.

District 9 opens at cinemas in South Korea on October 17th.

www.eloquence.co.kr

The Subculture Jetsetter
for Eloquence Magazine, September 2009

Lukas Zpira is called a “subculture jetsetter” who’s been pushing the boundaries of evolution through his artwork. By performing body mutations, like tongue splitting for a reptilian look, he becomes a part of evolution. And this jetsetter is equally comfortable with a scalpel in the one hand and a camera in the other.

"Pretty is easy and pointless..."

Lukas Zpira started his career in his native country of France. He has been part of a surreal world of body hackers and counter culturalists for more than a decade now. He ignores the standard of beauty put forward by Hollywood.

“Pretty is easy and pointless in my point of view,” Zpira says. He prefers to give people the freedom to create their own look. Something made possible in the surreal world of body hacktivism.

According to the body hacktivism manifesto, written by Zpira, the term body hacktivism “was born from the necessity to define a movement of artists, researchers and thinkers working around mutations and using body modifications as a medium”.

Zpira feels that body hacking gives people the freedom to evolve as they choose. He says there’s a copyright on biotechnology and as a backlash to this him and his peers choose to use the term ‘body hacking’ for what they do. From piercings, to tattoos and body mutations give people the ability to “use the body as a way to change ourselves.

"Art is empty if it doesn't take you on a journey inside your emotions."

“For the first time humans have the power to choose what they want to become,” Zpira says.
What Zpira is involved in then is more than simply art. For him, it seems to have become a way of thinking – a subculture of its own.

“Art is empty if it doesn't take you on a journey inside your emotions. My art isn’t for me to describe, it is for the spectator to describe,” says Zpira.

Trying his hand at various art forms, from photography to body art and even performances with his wife Satomi, makes Zpira a versatile artist who isn’t afraid to try new things.

“For me there is no barrier between the different forms of art. I use the one that helps me to express what I have to express - body art, photos, performances, and text.”

But it’s not only the world of art that flows as one. The private and professional also melt together as Zpira’s art is part of the subculture he inhabits.

Zpira and his wife Satomi, a body performance artist, have known each other for six years, and have been married for four of those. She isn’t only an inspiration to his photography, but takes an active part in Zpira’s lifestyle and interests. As a couple they host daring performances together in big clubs or, their favourite, small art galleries.

The performances revolve around such little explored areas as Japanese bondage, body suspensions, fetishisms, death, and sex. These themes are clearly present in his photography work too, as can be seen in the recently released photographic book Tokyo Love Doll.

The book was inspired by love letters that Satomi wrote to Zpira who was in Avignon, France while she was in Osaka, Japan.

“Satomi used to write me a lot as we were living so far away from each other. She used to take on different characters and create various fantasies but one character that came out a lot was TokyoLoveDoll. It was only natural for us to take these characters and build images around them. Some of these are dominant, some childish, others passive. It covers a vast field of fetishes".

Ultimately Zpira stresses that although his work covers themes like fetishes, death and sex, he wants to keep the images tasteful. It’s not meant to shock, “we just try to push some limits and try to bring people into an interesting emotional adventure.

“If people react to our work, we make our point. And our point is to bring about mixed emotions and self questioning.”

www.eloquence.co.kr

www.news24.com

Commentary article, The gig's up.

The gig's up

These days I keep the windows in my apartment in northern Seoul open. Even while typing this I keep turning my head checking the skyline outside for signs of flying missiles, a mushroom cloud, or maybe a blimp with Kim Jong-Il pictured next to the words: “Heavenly leader approaching. Internet service will be discontinued soon.”

Local and foreign news agencies have been reporting on the North’s recent shenanigans with a troubling zealousness. But even the most comprehensive reports on the recent nuclear test, short-range missile launches and quotes of impending Armageddon do not answer the thought on almost every foreigner in Korea’s mind: Should we be worried? Because the Korean’s clearly aren’t.

A shoulder shrug and “Why would they hurt us? They need Seoul,” has been the standard reaction from South Korean’s on the North’s threatening acts since I came here more than a year ago.

According to Korean’s I talked to, we should be more worried about the Israeli’s and their nukes.
For many South Korean’s the threats from the North are just that – empty threats. They are trying to establish a place for themselves in world affairs. They want to show the world that they are not just a nation blindly following ‘lunatic’ politicians, as so often described in international media. And they’re doing this by showing off probably the only thing they have – military power.

A handy distraction
I asked one of my South Korean colleagues whether she’s worried about what the North might do. “Not at all,” she said. “North Korea is a country that has the right to build up its defensive power.”

She also said many Koreans believe the mass media is blowing the situation with North Korea out of proportion to distract public opinion from domestic problems.

It might be that locally this news (and also reports on the spread of swine flu infections in South Korea) could distract people’s attention from South Korean president Roh Moon-Hyun’s suicide over the weekend. It was expected that news of his death would lead to candlelit vigils that in turn might lead to protest marches and rallies in Seoul. Something the current government would like to avoid, especially after such marches last year against American beef imports turned into violent anti-government protests.

Last night about 30 South Korean soldiers armed with rifles patrolled the streets in my part of town while civilian Koreans casually went about their business of walking, talking and shopping.

I anxiously asked a Korean friend whether this military presence should worry me. Is it because they expect North Korea to strike? “Oh no, it has nothing to do with North Korea.” It’s to make sure no one causes trouble after Roh’s suicide.

Nukes are a cover
The South’s rumoured use of the media, begs the question: Is the North doing the same?

The last time Kim Jong-Il was seen by the outside world, he looked thin and ill despite government reports of his good health. It might be that the “we will make war if you don’t listen” strategy is a ruse to keep everyone looking the other way, while one of Kim Jong-Il’s sons steps up to lead the country. We probably won’t know until it’s done.

Bark or bite?
But how long and hard should North Korea kick and scream and throw its toys out of the cot before anyone will listen? They have threatened to pull out of international nuclear disarmament talks. And then they did.

North Korea said that they have the same right to self-protection as any other country. And there they went and test-fired a nuclear weapon and a couple of missiles.

Then they threatened to re-start the production of weapons-grade plutonium. According to reports the main nuclear facility in North Korea might be up and running again.

And for a long time now, they’ve told South Korea that membership in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a campaign to prevent the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction will be tantamount to a declaration of war.

Today (May 27) the South Korean government announced they will definitely be joining the PSI. Shortly after, North Korea reportedly threatened with military action and announced that it has abandoned the truce struck with the South after the Korean War in 1950.

These acts only make the question, “Should we be worried?” so much more relevant. Unfortunately, the North is, as my Korean colleague said, “like a rugby ball. You don’t know where it will jump next”.

Has the North’s bark finally gone over to bite? Who knows, but I do think it’s time to start practicing the old ‘duck and cover’ move.

Read original at http://www.news24.com/Content/MyNews24/YourStory/1162/c0ba554110f84f099c8fa8cfe9a84e45/28-05-2009%2012-05/The_gigs_up

10 Magazine, South Korea

Restaurant review: Dos Tacos Mexican Restaurant

Ola, Seoul!

Words by Michelle Viljoen

Summer is fast approaching. It’s time for sandals and sombrero’s. Turn your back on the concrete and steel buildings that line the narrow Seoul streets. Close your ears to the constant hum of speeding taxi’s and the screech of halting buses. Step into Dos Tacos Mexican restaurant – it’s one of the closest things to Mexican you’ll find in Seoul.

Seoul might not have the sandy beaches of Cancun, but it does have a place where you can at least taste the zesty Mexican flavour. From burrito’s to Negra Modelo beer, Dos Tacos will please your appetite for something that’s hotter than a sunny day in May.

Dos Tacos calls itself a “casual grill”. That’s like calling a cellphone a handiphone, or a spade well, a spade. Casual is exactly what this restaurant is. Loosen your tie and trade your heels in for slip-slops. Inside Dos Tacos the atmosphere let’s you relax.

Take a seat on a red, orange, or green plastic chair. The chairs’ mix of colors match the walls, which in turn is decorated with prints of Mexican artwork and photographs. Look up and you’ll see some elaborate and brightly colored tinsel decorations hanging from the ceiling. Now, all you need to feel the fiesta fun is some Mexican music. Unfortunately, when I visited Dos Tacos they were playing some hip hop numbers – at least it was catchy.

Browsing through Dos Tacos’ brightly colored, plastic covered menu took some time. Trying to decide between ordering a chimichanga, refried bean and meat burrito, cheese and salsa nachos, flauta, tostada, ensalada, tacos, french fries, a negra modelo or margharita is a daunting task. You want everything. And most of the meals fall within the same price range, which doesn’t make it easier to decide on one item.

Many foreigners describe Dos Tacos’ food as “pretty decent Mexican”. I expected a long wait to get the food. I expected a lot of mustard or mayonnaise (it’s been done to pizza, it might’ve been done to Mexican). And I expected a lot of cheap processed cheese.

I didn’t get anything I expected. Deciding on what I wanted to order took longer than the time it took Dos Tacos to prepare my meal. I finally ordered a meat and avocado burrito, I paid 8,500 Won, I sat down, opened my book and read three paragraphs, and... “Excuse me,” said the smiling waitress as she placed my larger-than-expected burrito on my table.

This was fast food disguised as properly prepared slow food. I put a knife, spoon, and about 12 napkins at the ready on my table. Burrito’s have the knack of bursting open at the bottom (or top, for that matter) and spilling lettuce, ground beef and avocado slices onto the plate, the table, and me. But this burrito was neatly wrapped around it’s filling of ground beef, lettuce, olives, avocado slices, onion, jalapeno, olives, pico de galle and cilantro.

The lettuce could easily have been used to fill the burrito while skimming on the other ingredients. But there was a good serving of ground beef, fresh avocado, onion, olives, but sadly not much cheese. The burrito had a “mild” salsa. The burrito’s level of hotness was spicy and zesty – it tingled, rather than scorched my mouth.

If you enjoy tacos, but you can’t ever decide which ones you want: hard shell, soft shell, or al pastor? Meat or vegetarian? Dos Tacos has the solution in the form of a taco set. For 10,500W you can choose 3 tacos (usually one taco costs 3,300 – 3,600W).

The restaurant is small and intimate which creates a fun atmosphere on a busy night. For some people it might be a little too busy. Each table is relatively small and can seat about four people comfortably. Be prepared to wait for a seat on a busy night – or go early.

Dos Tacos has a good range of meals. Most items with meat come with a choice between beef, pork and chicken. The price range is reasonable with items starting at about 3,900W for a single cheese quesadilla and going up to 6,000W for a cheese and salsa quesaddila, or 9,800 Won for a meat and asparagus burrito. A single cheese quesadilla costs 3,900W. Expect to pay about 6,000 Won for a margarita or Negro Modelo (local beers are cheaper). Sodas are re-fillable and cost 2,000 Won.

If it’s a busy night and you’d rather have Mexican at home, then you can use Dos Tacos take-out menu. Whether you go in, or take out you can expect food that’s fresh, fast, and spicy. Dos Tacos is a great place to start an evening’s socializing in Seoul.

Ratings:
Atmosphere ***/4

Service***/4

Cuisine ***/4

Cost $$

Tips

Public transport: Hongdae: Hongik university station, exit 5. Gangnam: Gangnam station exit 6. Apgujeong: Apgujeong station, exit 6. Complete directions are available in English on the website.

Vegetarians: Vegetarian options abound!

Phone: (02)322-3677 (Hongdae), (02)542-3446 (Apgujeong), (02)593-5904 (Gangnam)

Website: www.dostacos.co.kr