Another talk has been arranged for lunchtime on 3 April, on the topic of Inside North Korea: Changes and Continuity. The speaker will be Dr Kongdan Oh. Biography, courtesy of the Korea Discussion Group: Dr. Kongdan (Katy) Oh is a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at … [Read More]
Month: March 2007
British-owned culture cafe opens in Bucheon
Thanks to Peter Orange for letting me know about an interesting new venture in Bucheon (부천): Cafe Nicolia, run by British / Korean couple Nicholas and Lia Young. From their website, it looks like a version of Seoul Selection, but obviously with more food and, I’m guessing, fewer books. On my rare visits to Seoul … [Read More]
The Japanese counter-wave
March’s edition of Seoul magazine has an interesting article discussing how cultural waves do not travel in just one direction. Supporters of Korean culture are keen to point out the unstoppability of the hallyu: Rain in the Philippines, BoA in Japan, Super Junior in China, TV Dramas everywhere (except the UK it seems). Back home, … [Read More]
Catering for the Audience – a review of Sora Kim’s Melting Alaska
Sora Kim — Melting Alaska, BALTIC, Gateshead 14 February – 29 April 2007 Review by Beccy Kennedy Whilst munching on spicy chorizo stotties — a dish given the name Smoky Mountain — we browsed the inimitable menus, commented on the amorous musical medley and read the bright red words stuck to the windows, trying to … [Read More]
“Experience” the mass games without leaving London
Andreas Gursky: new work White Cube Gallery, 23 Mar – 5 May 2007 One day my fairy godmother will wave her wand and magic me an all-expenses paid trip to Pyongyang to see the Arirang festival. Ever since seeing Dan Gordon’s film A State of Mind I’ve been wanting to experience the spectacle live. The … [Read More]
James Salter: The Hunters
Penguin 2007 (originally published 1956) A ripping yarn set among the US fighter pilots in the Korean war. Apart from the passing references to Korean houseboys, and the fact that the dogfights take place over the river Yalu, there’s nothing to distinguish this novel plot-wise from your average Commando war mag. There’s the experienced and … [Read More]
The last days of Daechuri
As a follow up to my previous post linking to Bum Lee’s project, here’s a link to a short film made by Chris and Shirley Gelken at Daechuri last weekend. Well worth a look. There’s some great written coverage and photos on their blogs. A sample of Chris’s photos is shown above. See the full … [Read More]
Amnesty International on Human Rights in North and South Korea
Rajiv Narayan’s talk at Chatham House last week about Amnesty International’s activities and concerns on the Korean peninsula was timely but yet somehow seemed to miss the point. I was reminded about the story of a drunk who was found grovelling on the pavement underneath a streetlamp at 3am. A concerned passer-by asked him what … [Read More]
A feeble contribution to the Oh! Soojung blogathon
Today is the Virgin Stripped Bare blogathon, when anyone who cares about the work of Hong Sang-soo is meant to be writing about his third film — to coincide with a screening of the film in the San Francisco Bay area as part of a retrospective. A splendid idea, provided you have anything to say … [Read More]
Seoul lags as an international financial hub
The Corporation of London has just launched a new index: the Global Financial Centres Index. It’s a way of ranking various cities that aspire to being recognised as international financial services centres. It was launched in Cannes last week at MIPIM, the international property industry boondoggle. The occasion provided the opportunity to update the City’s … [Read More]
DPRK Foreign Ministry comment on UNDP withdrawl
Just received Pyongyang, March 13 (KCNA) — The United Nations Development Program recently announced that it would suspend its country program for the DPRK and, accordingly, withdraw the staff members of its office from Pyongyang. A spokesman for the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday answered the question raised by KCNA in this regard. The … [Read More]
The Irish Contribution to Joseon Korea
Another post in honour of St Patrick: OhMyNews has a piece on the Irish contribution to Korea’s early modern history Arguably the first Irishman to live in Korea arrived in Seoul in the mid 1890s. His name was John McLeavy Brown, and he was a lawyer by trade, but was employed with the Imperial Chinese … [Read More]
Are Koreans really the Irish of Asia?
A St Patrick’s Day special from Tom Coyner. This was written for the Korea Times, but never got published. It is published here with his permission. Read it, then go buy his book, Doing Business in Korea, which is an expanded version of his Mastering Business in Korea mentioned in the below article. The stereotype … [Read More]
The art of Daechuri
Many thanks to David Kilburn for pointing out a video project by Bum Lee, animation artist and illustrator. It’s a short film that he shot at Daechuri, a farming village which is to be evacuated to make way for the expanded US base at Pyongtaek. David’s take: I found it creative both in film making … [Read More]
DPRK on the BBC and elsewhere
On Radio Three, on BBC TV, and also on the National Geographic Channel. First up, what you’ve all been waiting for: the screening of Dan Gordon’s latest film, Crossing the Line. It’s on BBC4 on 22 March. Set the video, because of course most of you in London will be having some Ferrero Rocher with … [Read More]
Does hybrid music work?
I looked in briefly at St John’s Smith Square on Sunday for the Thames Philharmonia concert. Hee-jo Kim’s Kayagum Concerto in A minor was the first item on the programme. Here is an extract from the programme notes, written by John Morrison: This concerto is based on the most traditional sanjoh with its classic and … [Read More]