Blue Dalmation Photo

Blue Dalmatian Photo: Photo Workshops that Cross Cultural Divides

 “Blue Dalmatian Photo” founders/instructors Tom Coyner and Sang-bum (“Sang”) Lim have agreed with the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch (RAS Korea) to launch a series of 7 monthly “RAS Photo Workshops.” The three-hour workshops are designed for English-speaking photographers of all skill levels, whether or not they are members of the RAS. The workshops are believed to be the first ever to address the cross-cultural challenges of photography in Korea.

 Says Tom Coyner: “Sang and I know that the camera is the strongest potential tool to build relationships – especially when one is in a foreign country. But too many people approach photography in such a way that the camera becomes an obstacle, something that intimidates both the photographer and the subject. We recognize a genuine need to help people develop both their photographic and cultural skills.”

 Lim is a professor of photography at Daegu Arts University. A graduate of Chung-Ang University with a BA in photography, Lim also studied for 6 years at The Brooks Institute, a prestigious photography school in Santa Barbara, California. Besides being a well-known fine art photographer and having worked full time as an American photo-journalist and commercial photographer, Lim has taught photography for almost 20 years. Coyner has photographed for over 40 years in the U.S., Japan and Korea. He recently conducted regular photography workshops for the RAS for almost 18 months.

Beyond imparting essential photo skills, the workshops will mainly focus on how to create wonderful images and memories when visiting or living in another, foreign culture. Naturally, Koreans are also welcome to participate in these English-language workshops. In order to cover expenses and in recognition of the workshop preparation and facilitation time by the two professional instructors, each participant will be asked to pay a tuition fee of KW 100,000 for each 3-hour workshop. Current RAS Korea members are entitled to a KW 10,000 discount.

Workshop Topics

• May – Getting to Know Your Digital Equipment – review of proper use of the basics and intro to the rarely used functions, including those used by professionals, that make up 90% of most equipment’s features

• June – Korean Landscapes: basics and handling unique Korean challenges

• July – Informal Portraitures:  basics and cultural nuances

• August – Street/Decisive Moment Photography:  dealing with Korean strangers

• September – Lighting & Color: controlling and creating photo environments in Korea

• October – On-site Application of What’ve Learned at Gyeongbug-gung

• November – Evaluating One’s Own and Other’s Photo Portfolios

• December – Exhibition: Seoul location to be determined

Future/Concurrent Workshops

• Fine Art Photography (workshop series)

• Applying Leadership Skills to Your Photography (single workshop)

• Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, etc. 3- and/or 5-day Photography Workshops (from 2015)

 

The first workshop will take place on Saturday, May 24, starting at 7:00 pm, at Spring Studio in Nonhyon-dong, Seoul. More information, please go to https://www.facebook.com/BlueDalmatianPhoto.  To register for the workshops or for answers to your questions, please contact Tom Coyner at tomcoyner@gmail.com or at 010-9099-6195. For Korean language inquiries, please contact Sang-bum Lee at sajinmaul@gmail.com or at 010-5159-9693.

 

Seoul St. Patrick’s Day in pictures.

From Stephanie Anglemyer- http://www.anklebiterphotos.com

Saint Patrick’s Day in Seoul, 2014

Thanks to Conor (our former Chairman) for writing a review of the festival on Saturday.

If I had a minute to spare...

When you live in Korea long enough expecting public holidays from home to fall on their usual day or date becomes a waste of time. Really. Anyone American will be familiar with Thanksgiving falling on a Saturday, and even the Superbowl the night after. Irish, like myself, are now most familiar with a Saturday Saint Patrick’s Day, and yesterday was no different from other years (except for last year and the year before when Paddy’s Day actually fell on the weekend…which kind of ruins my point), the day of Ireland and it’s ‘ness was transformed from its early weekday schedule to a much more alcoholic friendly Saturday.

And with that Seoul, and by Seoul I mean Guro-gu, and by Guro-gu I really just mean Sindorim, but it’s probably best to be accurate as well as honest and admit that it was a small park at Sindorim Station.

But I digress.

View original post 572 more words

Bringing an ancient Irish Tradition to South Korea

‘Did you hear the one about…?’ That’s all you need to gather listeners in Ireland. Storytelling has always been a big part of life in pubs, kitchens, and playgrounds round Ireland.

Storytelling is the flagship of Irish folklore and our famous oral tradition is exemplified in famous storytellers and ancient mythical tales of bravery, discovery and knowledge.

Legends tended, and still tend, to be told on a more informal basis – in the fields, over the kitchen table, at the pub – and do not need any specialised skill or knowledge in their telling.

Today the art of seancaithe (tradition bearers) and scéalaí (storytellers) is being revived in festivals and events all over Ireland and we are excited to bring these stories to our festival here in Korea.

As part of the Seoul St. Patrick’s Day Festival this year on March 15th, we will be sharing this huge part of Irish culture and history. We have put together an amazing team of volunteer storytellers who can be found in The Irish Village between 1pm and 4pm retelling some of the most famous Irish folk-tales and hero-tales.

The stories that will be told on the day include; Oisin, The Children of Lir, thew Salmon of KNowledge, The King with Donkey Ears, The Giant from Scotland and of course the story of Ireland’s patron Saint, Saint Patrick.

 

Boxty Rebellion in Seoul!

Boxty Rebellion, the Irish folk band are flying into Korea to entertain us for St. Patrick’s Day.

The festival itself takes place in Sindorim, D Cube plaza (Sindorim subway station Lines 1 & 2 Exit 1) on Saturday, March 15th from 12pm to 6pm. This is a family day with story telling, face painting, audience dancing, traditional Irish music and the opportunity to try your hand at some Irish sports.

Boxty Rebellion will join Dara Sheahan, Tap Pung, Sweet Murphy’s Fancy, Bard and Nanah Mc Glennon’s Dance troup on the main stage.

That night the party continues in Rocky Mountain Tavern, Itaewon (Exit 3 walk straight 250 metres) where the IAK Fundraising Hooley will take place from 6pm until late. There will be live traditional Irish music, live bands and the rugby match will be televised at 2am. Tickets on the door are 10,000won.

If you want to catch Boxty Rebellion either side of the weekend, here is where they are performing;

Wolfhound (Friday 14th 11pm),

Rocky Mountain Tavern (Hooley),( Saturday 15th entertainment from 7.30pm),

Maloney’s (Sunday 4pm) 

Sam Ryans (Sunday March 16th from 7.30pm).

 Come out to the festival on March 15th to see them perform for the St. Patrick’s Day festival. More details irishassociationkorea@gmail.com

ARE YOU IRISH & LIVING ABROAD? WE WANT YOU!

ARE YOU IRISH & LIVING ABROAD? WE WANT YOU! 

 

Coco Television are looking for Irish people around the world to send a “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” video message back home to be included in this years coverage of the St. Patricks’s Festival Parade shown on RTÉ 1. All you need to do is record yourself on a mobile phone, digital camera or any video device and send to – parade2014@cocotelevision.ie​

 

To give us a sense of where you are in the world, choose a backdrop that shows off the location e.g  the Taj Mahal, Ayers Rock, Golden Gate Bridge or the beach in Thailand

 

PLEASE NOTE:

Your clip cannot have any association with alcohol.

Your message must not exceed 8 seconds in duration.

Example of message: “Hello to everyone back home in Ireland, Happy St. Patrick’s day from New York”   

 

The deadline for submissions is Saturday 15^th March 2013.

An Uber Irish Partnership for Paddy’s Day

Need a ride to the St Patrick’s Day Hooley or want to ride home in style after a day of festivities? We’ve partnered with Uber, a mobile application that connects passengers with drivers at the tap of a button, to have you riding in style!

Use the Uber app and special promotion code PADDYSGOTSEOUL to request a comfy ride which will be free up to 20,000 won. With the code, a ride from the Festival venue in Sindorim to The Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon will be about 8,000 won or less!

Here’s how you make the most of this amazing deal:

For questions contact supportSeoul@uber.com.

 

St Patrick’s Day Costume Competition Returns!

The Irish Association of Korea will be running another fantastic costume competition at this year’s St Patrick’s Day festival on March 15th, with the winner walking away  with 200,000 Won in cash! There will also be runner – up prizes  up for grabs to the 2nd and 3rd place winners.

Now is the time to start getting your Irish-themed outfit together and make sure to wear plenty of GREEN!

Below are some of last year’s winners and some photos of people at the Festival who we believe really got into the true spirit of St Patrick’s Day!

Interested in meeting Minister Fitzgerald?

Interested in meeting Minister Fitzgerald?

 We are delighted that the Minister of Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald T.D. will be joining us in Korea for a St Patrick’s Day programme on 13th  and 14th  March.

St. Patrick’s Day is one of the few country national days which is recognised and celebrated globally. The visits that our Ministers make to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day increase connections with Ireland and develop awareness of Ireland in countries and markets where we are less known as well as those where we have longstanding and deeply rooted friendships.

Minister Fitzgerald’s visit will give her an opportunity to engage with Korea, to promote Irish business in and with Korea, and to learn about what life is like in Korea for Koreans and for the Irish community here.

Given her portfolio for Children and Youth Affairs, Minister Fitzgerald would like to have the opportunity to meet members of the growing young Irish community here to learn about your experiences of life in Korea, the challenges of living so far away from home, and the experience of living and working in a different country.

To do this there will be an event at 19.00 in central Seoul on Thursday 13 March. It will be an opportunity for an informal exchange of views with Minister Fitzgerald, followed by some refreshments.

If you would like to be a part of this event please email seoulembassy@dfa.ie to register your interest including your name, age, the area where you live, an email address and a phone number.

Please register your intention early, as numbers will be limited.The embassy  will issue a formal invitation when they hear from you.