British TV show Luther won the Best Mini-Series at Seoul International Drama Awards yesterday. http://t.co/wv1aLfq #. Via @UKinKorea [Read More]
Month: August 2011
Yun Ho-jin’s musical Hero, on stage in New York
“Bombastic” is the New York Times’s view of Yun Ho-jin’s musical Hero http://t.co/2tsHSdf – Exactly what I thought of his previous one, The Last Empress, when it showed in London in 2002 # [Read More]
From the Corner Window, at St Martin-in-the-Fields
News of a group show in the Crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields starting 5 September: From the Corner Window brings together five artists and three curators to respond to the theme of intriguing and investigative viewing of the representational space that makes up a city, its streets, and the crowds that gather within them. This group … [Read More]
Park Chu-young signs for Arsenal
Arsenal agree deal to sign Korea’s captain Chu Young Park http://t.co/xeMMLyn Would he have stopped the rout by Man Utd last weekend? # [Read More]
Festival visit: Gaksi, Mago
In Korean mytholoogy there is a legendary grandmother figure, a giant goddess who created islands and arranged the mountains and the oceans in their proper positions. In Jeju Island, she is known as Seolmundae Halmang – Grandmother Seolmundae; elsewhere in Korea she is known as Mago. The stories about her are sometimes comic, sometimes tragic. … [Read More]
Edinburgh Festival and Fringe 2011: review round-up
I didn’t make it to all the Korea-related events at the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe, and for one of the events I did get to I didn’t feel like writing a review. So here are some links to the reviews that are out there. For completeness, I include links to my own reviews. If … [Read More]
Frustrating experiences at the new Yongsan Art Hall, Seoul
The tragic tale of why I walked out of a show before it even started… http://bit.ly/q1ERFt. Could only happen in Korea (#). Via @Ajosshi [Read More]
A Japanese take on a Girls Generation video
This has been doing the rounds for a while, but still worth a look: Japanese middle aged men take off SNSD’s Gee MV, led by a member of J-pop boyband SNAP. http://bit.ly/qiCLxB (#) An alternative version is available here: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjk2MDIxNDY4.html. Many versions have been removed from YouTube following a complaint from the Japanese TV company … [Read More]
Hangawi – NYC Koreatown’s celebrity restaurant
Where does Gwyneth Paltrow eat Korean food? HanGawi in Manhattan’s 32nd Street K-town http://bit.ly/p67lTU (#). Nicole Kidman goes there too. Via @CoolstuffKorea [Read More]
Usain Bolt in Daegu
Usain Bolt marks the start of the Daegu World Athletic Championships by posing with some Korean dancers – WSJ http://on.wsj.com/qQX2vI (27 Aug) [Read More]
The forgotten story of Sohn Kee-chung, Korea’s 1936 Olympic hero
The forgotten story of Sohn Kee-chung, Korea’s 1936 Olympic hero and Marathon winner http://t.co/aNMnK13 via @guardian # [Read More]
New book on Korean artefacts in Oxford
Oxford’s Bodleian Library announces the publication of a new book on historic Korean artefacts in the University’s collections. It accompanies an exhibition which runs 26 August to 26 September 2011 in the Proscholium at the Bodleian Library: Korean Treasures: Rare Books, Manuscripts and Artefacts in the Bodleian Libraries and Museums of Oxford University by Minh … [Read More]
Hong Sang-soo’s film “The Day He Arrives” – same as all the others?
Is director Hong Sang-soo making the same film over and over again? With latest film, “The Day He Arrives,” Hong Sang-soo makes a return to the familiar. http://bit.ly/qDuiAd [Read More]
Is there a doctor in the peninsula? – Heo Jun and the Donguibogam medical textbook
Known as one of the greatest books in the history of Eastern medicine, the Donguibogam was composed by Heo Jun, a court physician in the early 17th century, and is today included as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Despite the huge advances in medicine since that time, it is still referred to by doctors … [Read More]
Is the gas pipeline a good idea?
The gas pipeline: why would the ROK, when Kumgang resort has just been confiscated, want to give DPRK another hostage? http://t.co/3ax8I5K # [Read More]
Concert notes: Sooeun Kwak with La-on G at the KCC
For the third event in the KCC’s concert series this year we were presented with Sooeun Kwak’s gayageum ensemble, “La-on G”. The ensemble’s name is a combination of the Korean word for “pleasant”, and “G” standing for any and all of Gayageum, Green, Global and Generation. The music performed by the ensemble is all composed … [Read More]