Here are some of the books we’re looking forward to in 2021. For the first time in one of these posts we’re flagging the indicative cost of the titles listed here. For me, I have a psychological barrier at around £30: a book has to be offering something pretty special for me to be prepared […]
Book review: Yi In-hwa’s Everlasting Empire
Some time ago I watched Park Chong-wan’s 1995 historical mystery movie Eternal Empire on DVD, having purchased it on the strength of its inclusion in Darcy Paquet’s list of top films from the 1990s. I must have been tired when I watched it: I simply have no recollection of what I thought of it, though […]
Literature and poetry in translation titles for 2021: more than a dozen to look forward to!
This is now LKL’s fifth annual post that looks at the literature and fiction titles we’re looking forward to over the coming twelve months. Since last year we’ve made things easier for ourselves by investing some time building a book database that aims to catalogue all physical publications of Korean literature in translation, as well […]
Moon Jae-in’s 2021 New Year speech
Set out below is the unofficial translation of President Moon’s 2021 New Year’s Address, sourced from the Cheongwadae website: People-driven aspirations: Recovery, Inclusiveness and Resurgence Fellow Koreans, The Year of the White Ox is upon us. Painfully aware of the current situation, I wish everyone hope. I can fully understand why people are saying that […]
Interview with Bora Chung in Korea Times
There’s a nice interview with writer Bora Chung in yesterday’s Korea Times. Coming later this year from Honford Star is her short story collection Cursed Bunny, translated by Anton Hur. According to the article, Many of her recent works can be defined as a gripping amalgamation of absurdist, unrealistic stories that draw on science fiction, […]
January events 2021
It’s often the case that January is a little dry on the cultural front, and this year that’s particularly true. We have look to the Korea Society in New York and Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch, in Seoul for online offerings that will supplement our diet. Think of it as an opportunity to make inroads […]
Kim Jong Un’s 2021 New Year letter
Kim Jong Un’s 2021 New Year message is simple and brief, taking the form of a hand-written letter to his people. Below is the official release sourced from the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. The Rodong Sinmun has also posted on its website a facsimile of the letter, and an image of Kim Jong […]
A review of the Korean cultural year 2020
It would be an understatement to say that the cultural year 2020 has been markedly different from previous years. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the cultural scene, with most live events cancelled and event promoters falling back on the internet to provide us with our cultural fixes. Some of these attempts have […]
A look back at our 2020 reading diary
Like many readers, we started the year with good intention of blitzing through the pile of new titles that were promised for the coming months, as well as making inroads into the backlog. And we genuinely got off to a good start with a string of fun K-thrillers, some of them new, some not: The […]
Season’s greetings to all our readers
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all of LKL’s readers, friends and contributors. Have a peaceful break with as many of your nearest and dearest as you are permitted to see, and whatever you do stay safe. When I wrote a similar post this time last year I expressed the wish that […]
Layers of paint, paintings of feelings: the abstract works of Sunyoung Hwang
Brush stroke after brush stroke, an artist can create a wonderland for the heart to explore feelings, emotions and, perhaps, also memories. The depth of life, the human emotional world and the experiences we go through can’t often be easily conveyed to others or even explained to oneself. Some argue that art is healing to […]
Review: Hong Sang-soo – The Woman who Ran
The time was right. Not having seen a Hong Sang-soo film for a few years – and he himself has had an unusual two-year break since his last one – I was perhaps ready to reacquaint myself with his work. It was a cold misty winter’s afternoon. I had just taken a rare day off […]
December events 2020
As we emerge from the lockdown: Exhibitions The KCC’s Artist of the Year exhibition featuring Jewyo Rhii lasts until the end of January. There’s a series of online talks associated with the exhibition. Han Collection has an exhibition of buncheong ceramics all month. Skipwiths have an online exhibition featuring Hyojin Park – Spiritual Garden Awakening […]
Julie Park wins Sir Karl Jenkins Music Award
Belated congratulations to London based violist Julie Park for winning the prestigious Arts Club Sir Karl Jenkins Award in October. She follows violinists Songha Choi, who won second prize in 2019, and Joo Yeon Sir who won the prize in 2014. Julie Park performs tomorrow in Korean Cultural Centre UK’s ‘Home Theatre’ season of online […]
Shin Seung-tae’s new Trot persona
When Lee Hee Moon announced the disbandment of his glam rock minyo outfit Ssing Ssing last year, I forewent gnashing of teeth and rending of garments, prophesying instead that an abundance of interesting projects must surely follow. And Lo, it did come to pass. Female vocalist Chu Da-hye started her band, Chudahye and The Chagis […]
Review: City of Ash and Red
City of Ash and Red is a novel for 2020, even though it was originally published in 2010. Inspired no doubt in part by the SARS outbreak of 2002-3, Pyun Hye-young imagines a world where a virus has the potential to shut down whole countries, in which visitors are tested for infection on arrival at […]
Gallery: START Art Fair 2020
A few installation views of the Korean artists and galleries displaying work at START Art Fair in the Saatchi Gallery at the end of October: A show-stopping display of Ceviga’s work by Skipwiths – who also introduced a work by Kim Hayoung; Intricate musical sculptures by Eunhyue Shin – constructed in part from broken musical […]