London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Book Review: Ahn Jung-hyo – White Badge

Ahn Jung-hyo: White Badge Soho Press, NY, 1989, 337pp Originally published as 하얀전쟁, 1983 Translated by the author If I saw Jeong Ji-young’s White Badge (1992) when it screened in London eight years ago, I do not remember it. I cannot imagine having a similar lapse of memory concerning Ahn Jung-hyo’s Vietnam war novel on … [Read More]

North Korea’s silkworm technology

Bored with shelling South Korean islands, North Korea looks to invest in Vietnamese silk. FT blogs: http://bit.ly/dQwPzB # North Korea’s contribution to any silk venture will be its “silkworm expertise and technology”, Vietnam would, in exchange, provide labour and investment in production facilities. [Read More]

The attractions of North Korean restaurants

If ever you're on holiday in Cambodia this looks like the restaurant to visit. A North Korean noodle restaurant known for its beautiful waitresses – including the “North Korean Kim Tae-hee:” http://bit.ly/bHmvzR # …but if you work in South Korea you haven't got long to get there: an average of only 4.1 days for your … [Read More]

White Badge: Korea and the Vietnamese War

In a year that we remember the 60th anniversary of the first post-WW2 US military involvement in Asia, it was a great idea to invite Director Jeong Ji-yeong (정지영) to the UK. Jeong is known for a number of well-received films, including Nambugun, a film which gives a nuanced view of the Korean War from … [Read More]

A view of Korea from Bangladesh

Peter Corbishley has just returned from a trip to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the Koreans are also active. In 2009 South Korea is putting some $320m investment into the Bangladeshi economy and nearly 160 companies are working there, including a third of all companies operating in the export processing zones. In addition in 2006, for example, … [Read More]

“Asia! Asia!” – Stephen Epstein at SOAS

Stephen Epstein had a busy week last week giving lectures in Cambridge, Oxford and London. He is on a lecture tour of Europe, using the trip as an opportunity to test various chapters from his forthcoming book with a critical audience. Friday’s lecture at SOAS focused on the portrayal of some of Korea’s Asian neighbours … [Read More]

Saemaeul Movement Goes International

I’m in the middle of reading Mark Clifford’s book Troubled Tiger, a history of the Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan era focusing on the connectedness between businessmen, generals and politicians. A brief review will be coming soon (here). While much of the growth-driven development was geared towards heavy industry and the export market, there was … [Read More]