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EVER SINCE movies were introduced to the eyes of the public, critic reviews have provided a seemingly “objective” criteria for selecting an adequate film to appreciate. Tooled with professional theories and methodologies to validate the content, critics opened a new prospect for the public audience
Culture
Shin Jung-yeop
2024.03.05 12:34
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THE QUOTIDIAN is often taken for granted. Lee Kyung-jun’s photo exhibition, One Step Away, turns this notion around and showcases the extraordinariness of the ordinary. The exhibition explores the city views of New York and Seoul captured from a step away. From the bustling city to the verdant peace
Review
Park Hye-lin
2024.03.05 12:28
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THE KOREAN film industry boasts various outstanding filmmakers and their works, depicting meaningful and artistic imagery to the world. In particular, a throwback to the industry in the 1960s and 1970s allows us to revisit films iconic for their innovative and unconventional artistry. Three films in
It-selection
Kim Yeon-soo
2024.03.05 12:14
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A FILM that uniquely, perhaps even radically, portrays loneliness as a cheerful human condition is Call Me Chihiro. In addition to doing so, it addresses the place of sex workers in our society. The compelling and intriguing storyline, as well as the underlying message, make up for the often lacking
Review
Lee Young-bean
2023.12.05 10:37
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“WHAT IF you were to live as someone else?” This is a question everyone has pondered at least once. The musical What If begins the show by addressing this possibility. The tendency to imagine life as someone else is often prompted by dissatisfaction with one's own life and envy of the other’s seemin
Review
Park Hye-lin
2023.12.05 10:17
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SOCCER IN Korea is enjoy unparalleled popularity. The recent rise of soccer stars such as Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in, and Cho Gyu-sung along with more recognition of domestic clubs and their players have solidified the sport as an important cultural trend. The Korea Professional Football League announ
It-selection
Shin Jung-yeop
2023.12.05 10:01
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OVER-THE-TOP (OTT) MEDIA platforms such as Netflix and Disney Plus have become widespread more than ever. Uplifted by the pandemic, watching movies on streaming sites is regarded as a much better option than making efforts to go to the movie theater. Meanwhile, independent movie theaters, despite th
It-selection
Park Hye-lin
2023.11.05 21:06
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BEAUTY IS a defining feature of the South Korean identity today. Indeed, it is everywhere one’s eyes can behold—from the expansion of K-beauty products to infamously strict beauty standards, and even the prevalence of plastic surgery. Beauty in Korea—its varied definitions, the origins of its promin
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.11.05 20:44
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BENEATH THE extravagance of a global culture lies the arduous struggles that the diaspora have faced. We often neglect the transcription of the diaspora’s immigrant life, blinded by the separation of time and space. Jung Yeon-doo, one of the most prominent performance and media artists in Korea, foc
Review
Shin Jung-yeop
2023.11.05 19:24
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PURE CATHARSIS is a phrase that could accurately epitomize the emotions provoked by the horror genre. Horror films reject all expectations of “watching a movie” by offering us anything but a wholesome or relaxing experience. They keep us on the edge of our seats or pinching the arms of those next to
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.10.10 23:11
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MESOPOTAMIA WAS the first city to appear on Earth. On the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, civilization took place, communities formed, writing systems were introduced, and ancient Mesopotamia was built. Although this civilization ended millions of years ago, it formed the foundation enabli
Review
Park Hye-lin
2023.10.10 23:02
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ALTHOUGH MANY picture Seoul as a metropolis with crowded streets and grand skyscrapers, the unique attractiveness of the city comes from old-world venues providing a peek at its past. Aside from roaming through the palaces of Joseon or appreciating the nightscape from Namsan Tower, there are various
It-selection
Shin Jung-yeop
2023.10.10 22:54
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ALTHOUGH HOME is often regarded as the place you were born and raised, the concept of one’s true home is much more complex. Home is a place of comfort and strong bonds. However, this may not be the case for all; some people are still treated as foreigners in their own birth countries. Barriers creat
Review
Park Hye-lin
2023.09.03 17:32
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Environmentalism is a compelling issue in contemporary society. Public concerns about the demolition of our nature in an individual, enterprise, and governmental scope are continuously arising. This summer’s record-breaking temperatures and unprecedented abnormal climate caused awareness of the topi
It-selection
Shin Jung-yeop
2023.09.03 14:34
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ART MAY not change the world, but it can change the way we see the world, says the celebrated street artist JR. Prominently known as the owner of the largest gallery in the world, the world’s streets are his exhibition, where every passerby is a visitor. The JR: Chronicles held at the Lotte Museum A
Review
Lee Jae-hyeon
2023.06.08 01:05
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THE FEELING of enjoyment is a compelling force behind most human behavior. While pleasure is often associated with such feeling, it has been argued by art, philosophy, and psychoanalysis that enjoyment also constitutes an element of pain. Listening to sad music or eating spicy foods can render the f
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.06.08 00:44
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WITH CHILDREN’S Day on May 5, people start to consider the ideals they wish to cultivate in the future generation. Children’s literature in the form of picture books is essential in instilling important values during childhood. The books in this selection have had a history of either being banned fr
It-selection
The Annals Staff
2023.05.04 12:57
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“THROUGH SONGS and stories [one can] learn about the world, and about the people who live in it”—such is the sentiment of Korean American author Axie Oh’s novel The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. A retelling of the Korean folktale The Tale of Shim Cheong, Oh’s novel expands the original story of fil
Review
Brooklyn Hollander
2023.05.04 12:48
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WHETHER PRODUCED in a Hollywood studio or abroad, the recognition of recent films such as Everything Everywhere All at Once in the Academy Awards and beyond seem to indicate the greater presence, popularity, and influence of Asians in Hollywood[1]. The growth of Asian cinema in Hollywood is multi-di
Culture
Lee Young-bean
2023.05.04 12:41
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INTUITIVELY, ONE would identify North Korea—a rogue state embodying dictatorship and violent repression—as antithetical to the United States, the epitome of freedom and robust democracy. However, to the eyes of a North Korean defector who desperately escaped from destitution in North Korea and from
Review
Lee Jae-hyeon
2023.04.04 22:28