Dear Members and Friends of RAS Korea,

Here’s your quick overview of what is happening around RAS Korea this week.

1) SAVE THE DATE for RAS Christmas Book Sale (Nov. 7)
Details will follow.

2) RAS Korea 2nd Annual Essay Contest
RAS Korea is pleased to announce the launch of our 2nd annual English language essay contest, open to Korean high school students. In addition to our benevolent sponsor, Asia Development Foundation, K-Heritage educational foundation is specifically sponsoring the cash prizes for winners. We are grateful to them both. For details of the contest, please click here .

3) RAS Korea Book Note:
‘Korean Temples: The Weird and the Wonderful’ By Dale Quarrington. Published 2020. Available at Amazon.com.
Dale Quarrington has spent years visiting hundreds of Korea’s 12,000 temples. In this, his third book on Buddhist temples, the author has chosen 30 of the most unusual, unique, and beautiful Buddhist temples in South Korea. Historical descriptions of each temple are included, along with highlights of what a visitor might expect to see or what one “must” see. Maps and travel instructions are included.  The book is available in paperback or Kindle.

4) The Korea Society Live Webcast (Oct. 8) 
Topic: A Sacred Emblem: Trefoil in Early Korean Metalwork and Beyond
Date: Thursday, October 8. 06:00PM (New York)/ Friday, October 9. 07:00AM (Seoul)
Registration by clicking here (Free).

5) The 2nd North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Oct. 5)
Topic: Current Development Trends in North Korea
Date: Monday, October 5. 9:00-11:00AM (Eastern Time) / Monday, October 5. 10:00PM – Tuesday, October 6. 12:00 AM (KST)
Registration by clicking here (Free).

6) The GW Institute for Korean Studies (Oct. 9)
Topic: Immanuel Kim’s Book Talk – “Life and Culture in North Korea: Friend and North Korean Comedy Film”
Date: Friday, October 9. 4:00-5:30PM (Eastern Time) / Saturday, October 10. 5:00-6:30AM (KST)
Registration by clicking here (Free)

7) RAS Korea Online Lecture Video Archive

If you missed the RAS Korea’s previous lectures via Zoom,
you can find and watch them via the links below.
– SAMSUNG RISING (by Geoffrey Cain)
– Practicing Korean Traditional Archery (by In-Souk Cho)
– Witnessing Gwangju (by Paul Courtright)
– Hendrick Hamel, how I became interested and did the research on the crew who stayed 13 years in Korea in the 17th century. (by Henny Savenije)
– Blistered Fingers and Bleeding Throats: The Aesthetics of Korean Traditional Music (by Jocelyn Clark)
– Making Icons: The Rise of the K-pop Adjacent Industries (by CedarBough Saeji)
– Jeju Island’s Haenyeo: A User’s Manual (by Joey Rositano)
– Exploring Korean Diaspora through Korean Cubans (by Joseph Juhn)
– Finding common ground: Reconstructing contemporary Korean history with archival footage (by Taewoong Lee)
– Tourism and Engagement in North Korea: How It Works (by Simon Cockerell)

8) KF Virtual Concert Series: ‘STAY JOYFUL’ 
Dates: August 13 – October 15, 2020. (Every Thursday)
Freely available on the Korea Foundation’s YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/TheKoreaFoundation)

Every Thursday, from August 13 to October 15, the Korea Foundation presents you STAY JOYFUL, a virtual concert series. Through their performances, the acclaimed artists hope to deliver messages of hope and comfort to people in Korea and around the world during these challenging times amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
<Program>
   Aug 13 (Thu). THAILAND – POOM PROMMACHART (Piano)
   Aug 20 (Thu). COSTA RICA – ALONSO TORESS & LENIN IZAGUIRRE
(Guitar & Clarinet Duo)
   Aug 27 (Thu). KOREA – SANG JI KOH (Bandoneon)
   Sep 3 (Thu). BRAZIL – MARCO PEREIRA (Guitar)
   Sep 10 (Thu). ROMANIA – ALEXANDRU TOMESCU (Violin)
   Sep 17 (Thu). MEXICO – JUAN PABLO HORCASITAS (Piano)
   Sep 24 (Thu). KOREA – BULSECHUL
(Traditional Korean Music with a contemporary twist)
   Oct 8 (Thu). THE NETHERLANDS – JAZZKIA (Jazz)
   Oct 15 (Thu). KOREA – COREYAH (Korean Folk Music)

Very best wishes.
Stay safe and healthy.