Friday 7 May. I wake up at 3 o’clock. My body seems to be ready for early morning prayers even though I hadn’t signed up for them. I wanted to hear those moktaks and chants again, so I crawl into my clothes and stumble out to the main temple courtyard to wait for the prayers [...]

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Daewonsa – the 9 o’clock meditation

by Philip Gowman 31 July 2010
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Thursday 6 May. I’m not sure if the monks do their 108 bows every day. If they do, we did not see it because we did our bows in a separate chapel. And if they do, I’m sure they don’t listen to that CD when they’re doing it. But I was expecting the 9 o’clock [...]

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Traditional Korean Medicine in Korean Culture #1: Ondol and Samgyetang

by Sena Lee 29 July 2010
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Korea is a country of contrasts and contradictions, in which seeming opposites can coexist in harmony with each other: it is a developed modern country with a high standard of living while keeping tradition at the same time; it has world-leading technology, but it is not uncommon for people to consult a shaman for advice. [...]

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Remembering the Battle of the Imjin at the KCC

by Philip Gowman 28 July 2010
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“I’ve met Tom Cruise, and now I’ve met Sam Mercer. And when I met Sam I was truly star-struck. The man’s a legend.” So said a member of the audience at the Korean Cultural Centre after an instructive talk by Andrew Salmon on the battle of the Imjin on 15 July. Sam Mercer was sitting [...]

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Daewonsa – the 108 Bows

by Philip Gowman 27 July 2010
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Thursday 6 May. The time has arrived for the 108 bows. Strangely, we are told to meet in the car park. But that’s where a large side chapel has recently been built, mainly to minister to visitors on the temple stay programme. The chapel at the moment has none of the internal decoration of the [...]

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My Father’s Son – The resurrection of Cha Du-ri

by Aashish Gadhvi 26 July 2010
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Aashish Gadhvi rolls the red carpet out for the latest Korean footballer to his the British Isles. Glasgow Celtic have officially made themselves an unofficial Korea Town by signing their second Korean star in the form of right back Cha Du-ri. This is to add to their collection which already consisted of midfield dynamo Ki [...]

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Fashion & Passion: Knitting Design at the KCC

by Philip Gowman 26 July 2010
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News of an unusual exhibition at the KCC, starting today: The 12th KSKD Knit Invitational Exhibition 2010: “Fashion & Passion”, 26th July – 31st July 2010 at the Korean Cultural Centre, London, UK. KSKD stands for Korean Society of Knitting Design which aims to encourage access to knitwear design trends in various different ways. KSKD [...]

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LKL Weekly Tweets, 2010-07-25

by Philip Gowman 25 July 2010
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Study tour of Japan for European “Youth” (age 25-35). Looks great and seems to be free. Apply by 29 July. http://bit.ly/dbbcXm # Looks like a fascinating book on North Korean arts. Michael Rank reviews “Illusive Utopia” by Suk-young Kim: http://bit.ly/96S7hq # Donate to the commemorative display for the Imjin 60th anniversary at the The Soldiers [...]

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Daewonsa – the magic at sundown

by Philip Gowman 24 July 2010
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Thursday 6 May 2010. A monk sits in the corner of the room, brewing yellow tea, while we sit on the floor around the main table. Perfectly ripe fruits are laid out in front of us, including some of Sancheong’s famous strawberries. The conversation rumbles on, I’m not sure about what, because it was all [...]

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Seeing: 5 female artists from Korea

by Philip Gowman 23 July 2010
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News of an upcoming exhibition at the Coningsby Gallery, 30 Tottenham Street, London, W1T 4RJ, 2 – 7 August. Seeing: 5 female artists from Korea Artists: Honey Im, Hyemin Park, Jeehee Park, Jihee Kim, Woorim Chu Press Release: I am pleased to present “Seeing: 5 female artists from Korea.” the group exhibition in London of [...]

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Soon Yul’s Journey To Infinity: The Art Of Soon Yul Kang

by Paul O'Kane 22 July 2010
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by Paul O’Kane For London’s Artspace gallery, South Korean artist Soon Yul Kang exhibits a display of tapestries along with some paintings and collages. The works date from the mid-1990s to the present. The Artspace gallery has two rectangular floors, upstairs and downstairs, and on each of these Soon Yul and her curator have lined [...]

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Chichester’s finest Korean chef

by Jennifer Barclay 21 July 2010
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Inkun Kim, 26, from Seoul, Korea, is the newest chef to have joined the Dining Room (or as many locals still know it, Arthur Purchase’s) in a beautiful Georgian building on Chichester, West Sussex. And he’s already put kimbap on the menu. I’m impressed. He graduated at Korea Culinary Arts Science High School, the best [...]

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Whose generation?

by Darren Southcott 19 July 2010
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Darren Southcott finds the Korean Wave alive and kicking in South-East Asia Had I heard of the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, while I was in the UK I would probably have assumed it was an Asian take on a Central American football terrace tradition. The closest I ever came to being subsumed by it was [...]

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Failan to screen at the KCC

by Philip Gowman 18 July 2010
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It’s at or near the top of many people’s list of the best Korean weepie films. You can judge for yourself on Thursday 22 July at the KCC. One thing’s for certain: Cecilia Chung is very pretty. Failan 7pm, Thursday 22nd July 2010 Director: Song Hae-sung Cast: Choi Min-sik, Cecilia Chung Genre: Drama / Romance [...]

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Down the road of Globalisation: group show at St Martin-in-the-Fields

by Philip Gowman 18 July 2010
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Details of a group exhibition opening in the St Martin-in-the-Fields crypt starting on Monday: Down the road of Globalisation Artists: Tina Hage, Ayoung Kim, Jörg Obergfell, Beltran Obregon, Yo Okada, Gunwoo Shin, Hyemin Son Curator: Anna Miyoung Kim Venue: Crypt Gallery, St. Martin-in-the-Fields church, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 4JJ Date: 19th Jul 2010 – 1st [...]

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