Skip to content

Category Archives: 2006 year-end posts

Round-ups of the year’s events, and looking forward to the year ahead.

Happy lunar new year

16-Feb-07
Best wishes for the year of the golden pig to all our visitors. Related posts:Happy New Year to all our readers In London: In Seoul: ...Stay tuned for special year-end posts Coming up on New Year’s Eve: the inaugural London Korean...A Happy Christmas to all our readers Some seasonal snaps from London and Seoul First, Trafalgar Square... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Also filed in | | Comments (0) »

Darcy’s predictions for 2007

11-Jan-07
It's getting to be the case that the more interesting stuff over on Darcy's site is in his What's New page rather than his forums. Here are his predictions for 2007: Park Jin-pyo's VOICE OF A MURDERER is going to be a major critical and popular hit (at least 6 million tickets) There will be about 80 Korean films released in 2007, down from 103 this year Korean comedy will make a comeback Kim Ki-duk will fight with the press, and will not release his new movie in Korea Total annual admissions will drop for the first time in a decade Jeon Do-yeon (below) will win Best Actress at Cannes Darcy's been Jeon Do-yeon's number one fan for as long as I can remember. But it would be ...
Also filed in Film, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Ki-duk, Lee Chang-dong | | Comments (0) »

Think Korea 2006 - your feedback requested

10-Jan-07
Alice Bennell, Peter Corbishley and I went round to the Embassy yesterday to give some feedback to the organisers of Think Korea 2006. We discussed many of the issues set out in my post of 30 December. We briefly talked about the embassy's recently re-launched website. I visited it today and found that they are asking for feedback on Think Korea 2006 from anyone who cares to provide it. There's a very brief questionnaire for you to fill out, here. Feedback is accepted until 21 January, after which I think they are finalising their report back to head office. Do provide feedback if you went to any of the events. Related posts:Your input is valued Towards the end of last year I ...
Also filed in Korean marketing | | Comments (0) »

More 2006 statistics: theme parks and military thighs

10-Jan-07
First, some boring stuff December was a record month for advertising revenue: the princely sum of $11.17, making my life-to-date total $24.32. But if it stays at December's levels I'll be happy: that more than pays for webhosting. And something I get lots of, and wish I got less: my life-to-date spam comment count (as of the time of writing) is a staggering 34,000 Now this For those not hunting for celebrity news, or details of bookshops or restaurants in London, a very popular generator of traffic in 2006 was Chejudo Love Land theme park (100 visits to my site). The most work-safe image is above (credit: Matthias Streitz at Der Spiegl). There are links to less work-safe images in my original post here. Less ...
Also filed in Geek stuff, Koreans in UK, Lee Eon-jeong, Monthly site updates, Pictures | | Comments (0) »

A date with Rain? I’d rather have my hair done

07-Jan-07
"Sorry, I'm washing my hair that night" is the familiar put-down you get when the girl of your dreams doesn't fancy a date with you. But it's also true of LKL visitors. They're much more interested in finding the best Korean hairdressers in London, or reading about the techniques involved in a "Magic Straight" perm, than in perusing articles about the biggest male celebrity in Korea (and LKL Man of the Year 2006). I've been trawling the site statistics for the second half of 2006, and here are some of the shock facts: Lee Sabi continues to be the most popular Korean in the known universe (or at least on my site) In the battle of the Samsung babes, Hyolee is twice as ...
Also filed in Celebs, Geek stuff, Jeon Ji-hyun, Koreans in UK, Lee Eon-jeong, Monthly site updates, Rain | | Comments (0) »

Wish-list for 2007

02-Jan-07
Not quite a list of New Year's resolutions. It's part to-do list, part wish-list for 2007. The new Korean Cultural Centre 2007 will see the launch of the new Korean Cultural Centre. I don't know their detailed plans (yet), but here's some of the things I'd like them to be thinking about: Giving lots of advance notice of any of their planned activities - and maybe think about some of my other comments in my review of 2006 A focus on Korean literature (preferably that available in translation). I know there are vague plans to bring some authors to the UK, which would be great. A film festival which contains some classic back-catalogue films; or even better (something I've been wanting to do myself but ...
Also filed in | | Comments (2) »

Happy New Year to all our readers

01-Jan-07
In London: In Seoul: Related posts:A Happy Christmas to all our readers Some seasonal snaps from London and Seoul First, Trafalgar Square...Happy lunar new year Best wishes for the year of the golden pig to...Season’s greetings to all our readers Changdeokgung Palace in winter. From Sueann’s NWPR Blog Regent... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Also filed in Pictures, Seoul | | Comments (1) »

The London Korean Links Awards 2006

31-Dec-06

The London Korean Links Awards 2006

In the year-end spirit of reviewing the highlights and lowlights of 2006, here are the winners of the first LKL Awards - a personal and unscientific selection. The awards are in the following categories: Man of the Year Woman of the Year Best cultural promotion: Briton in Korea Best cultural promotion: Korean in Britain Best cultural promotion: Non-Korean in Britain Best photo Best album Best book Best film London event of the year Headline of the year and some miscellaneous awards... Man of the Year I don't think there's any competition. Rain, Rain, Rain. Time's most influential entertainer, Seoul's tourism goodwill ambassador, a starring role in Park Chan-wook's latest film, a sell-out concert in New York, a Christmas eve gig in Las Vegas, a good selling album (below). What have I missed? He hasn't ...
Also filed in Bong Joon-ho, Business, Celebs, General book news, Humming Urban Stereo, Music: K-pop, Performance arts, Pictures, Rain, Samsung, Sport | Tagged , | Comments (6) »

Think Korea 2006: a review of the year

30-Dec-06
2006 was a great year for Korean culture in London. I can't rank it against previous years because this was the first time I've taken it upon myself actively to follow as many Korean-related events as I can, but for the wide range of things on show I think it must be one of the best years ever. Part of the reason for this must be the existence of the Think Korea 2006 programme, part of the "Korea-UK Mutual Visit Year". But there are events of a Korean nature which take place independently of specific initiatives. For example, interest in Korean film is gaining its own momentum in the UK, with the result that it's not only Tartan that's releasing DVDs and ...
Also filed in Event reports and reviews | | Comments (3) »

Stay tuned for special year-end posts

26-Dec-06
Coming up on New Year's Eve: the inaugural London Korean Links Awards, 2006 - to honour people both famous and obscure who have made this year special. On 30 December, if I get round to writing it, a look back at all the great events we've had in London this year. What could have been even better? And on 2 January, my New Year's wishes and to-do list for 2007. Related posts:Happy lunar new year Best wishes for the year of the golden pig to...Think Korea 2006: a review of the year 2006 was a great year for Korean culture in London....“Related Posts” section mangled Ever since my ill-advised upgrade to a couple of plugins... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related ...
Also filed in Geek stuff | | Comments (0) »

A forlorn Abies Koreana

26-Dec-06

A forlorn Abies Koreana

This is the time of year when we think of people less fortunate than ourselves. There are special charity appeals, and soup kitchens spring up in church halls across the land. Spare a thought, then, for a Korean refugee in our back garden, whose days I think are numbered. He's picked on by the locals, and needs a stick for support. We found him in a garden centre three years ago and took pity on him. Actually, I had high hopes. On display was a splendid conifer bush, four feet high and with a spread of five or six feet, with pretty silver-blue foliage and interesting cones. I was immediately attracted to it, and when I saw its name was Abies Koreana, ...
Also filed in Horticulture | | Comments (1) »

A Happy Christmas to all our readers

25-Dec-06
Some seasonal snaps from London and Seoul First, Trafalgar Square and Regent Street during December 2006, from UK Student Life. And now December 2005 in Seoul, from Zofona. If anyone knows where the scenes are, leave a comment below. And finally, the light display currently gracing Seoul Plaza, entitled Luce Vista: Related posts:Happy New Year to all our readers In London: In Seoul: ...Season’s greetings to all our readers Changdeokgung Palace in winter. From Sueann’s NWPR Blog Regent...Welcome to new readers Browsing my blog statistics this morning I noticed an unusual... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Also filed in Pictures, Seoul | | Comments (2) »

Chosun Ilbo’s top K-pop of the year

23-Dec-06
Here's their list: Best Album Best Song 1 Vibe: Re-feel Vibe: He & She (equal with Lee Sung-chul) 2 Lee Sung-chul: Reflections of Sound Lee Sung-chul: Shout it out (equal with Vibe) 3 SG Wannabe: 3rd Masterpiece Baek Ji-young: I won't fall in love again 4 Nell: Healing Process Eru: Black Glasses 5 Sung Si-kyung: The Ballads Sung Si-kyung: On the street 6 Jaurim: Ashes to Ashes SG Wannabe: Partner for Life Ha Dong-gyun: Please, Love Her What are YOUR albums of the year, in any genre (the more indie the better)? I really want to know what's good out there. My buying is a bit random at the moment, and focused mainly on back catalogue when I can get it. Of the limited number of 2006 albums I've listened to (see the hyperlinks above), Vibe (바이브 - right) is certainly the best. ...
Also filed in Celebs, Lee Hyolee, Music: K-pop, Vibe | | Comments (1) »