It seems that Hanbok events are like buses. You wait for ages, and then three come along at once. The first week in November brings the opportunity to (1) admire, (2) try on and (3) buy your own (genuine antique) hanbok, at (1) the Royal College of Art, (2) the V&A and (3) Linda Wrigglesworth. … [Read More]
Year: 2007 (page 6)
The Han Style campaign
Realising that the Hallyu may not last for ever, and recognising that the best marketers do not stake the financial health of the company on just one product, the Culture and Tourism ministry earlier this year decided to diversify their product portfolio. Recognising that some of the key differentiating features of Korean culture are designated … [Read More]
Event news: a one-week course on Asian Contemporary Art
Designed to coincide with Asian Art in London, there’s an intensive five-day course at SOAS, University of London, focusing on Asian Contemporary Art. Well worth exploring if you have the opportunity: Asia Contemporary 5th — 9th November 2007 Course includes: Lectures and seminars by leading experts and working artists Visits to galleries and auction houses … [Read More]
Asian Art in London – 10th year
Asian Art in London is an annual event which unites London’s leading Asian art dealers, major auction houses and societies in a series of gallery selling exhibitions, auctions, receptions, lectures and seminars. These are complemented by exhibitions at the leading museums. This is its tenth year and it runs from 1 – 10 November 2007. … [Read More]
Rent-a-loo
The Korean Toilet Association makes it into the news again. If you’re looking for an innovative public-hygiene-themed mini-break in Korea you could do worse than rent a toilet-shaped house for the night. All proceeds will go to support that splendid and worthwhile organisation. HT to Jim Hoare. Links: World’s first toilet house to be built … [Read More]
A Chuseok-themed marketing campaign
US retail banking giant Chase have been aiming to show their cultural awareness. They missed the golden opportunity to launch this marketing campaign at the turn of the lunar Year of the Golden Pig, but have made up for it by running it to coincide with Chuseok. The deal is this. You have to go … [Read More]
Clazziquai #2: Color your Soul
Clazziquai’s second main album has some of the same formulae as their first, the blend of lounge, electronica and Latin, but includes an additional influence: a slight funk element. There’s a slightly greater emphasis on the bass, and the horns in the background of some of the tracks – for example, #4, Cry out loud … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: To the furthest verge
I-MYU’s new gallery space was launched last week with a show by two Korean and one Korean-American artist. The gallery itself is situated in the slightly unfashionable north-east fringes of the City. Unfashionable at least from the perspective of us City types, but if your eyes stray slightly northwards on the map from I-MYU’s street … [Read More]
Che in Verse launched
Loyal readers who have followed this site from its early months may recall a question posed by a visitor about a year ago. Gavin O’Toole was working on assembling a compilation of poems from around the world about the great revolutionary Che Guevara. He’d heard that there was a couple of poems about him by … [Read More]
Busan, hub city?
OK, so I didn’t make it to PIFF this year. I don’t think I’m ever likely to: time away from work is precious, and to be spent with one’s beloved. If one’s beloved isn’t in to sitting in a darkened movie theatre straining to read the subtitles for days on end (and I’m not sure … [Read More]
Shades of Shamanism: Chuseok celebrations at the British Museum
Peter Corbishley‘s sketch of the BM’s Chuseok festivities. Times change. The small but significant Korean Collection at the British Museum includes a Moon Jar which so inspired the English potter Bernard Leech. But the drum beat of Shamanistic trance was not perhaps what Dr Sloane or the Smirke family had in mind for the front … [Read More]
September statistics
Popular posts and search terms Joining the list of popular search terms such as Super Junior and Rain is an unlikely new celebrity: disgraced curator and art lecturer Shin Jeong-ah. For a while last month my collection of links on her story even overtook anything to do with those 12 or 13 cute K-popsters. Even … [Read More]
Dramatic pictures of Chuseok at the BM
Samuel Cho has a great collection of photos from the Chuseok celebrations at the British Museum last month, really capturing the energy of some of the performances. Here’s a sample: Links: See the remainder of his album at www.samuelcho.com [Read More]
Thomas steams in to Korea
A while ago I saw the following headline in the Chosun Ilbo: ‘Thomas the Train’ Toys Recalled. Rather like the Mattel “Sarge” toys recently recalled, there were fears that the paint contained lead. I wondered if the headline meant Thomas the Tank Engine, that friendly, hard-working little creation of the Reverend W Audry, whose books … [Read More]
A look at the London Korean Film Festival 2007 programme
Not to be confused with the excellent range of Korean films on offer at the 51st BFI London Film Festival in late October, this is the second London Korean Film Festival to be organised by the Korean Cultural Centre and the Korean Culture and Content Agency (KOCCA). Last year they sprung it on us at … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2007 programme details
Here’s the running order. Some commentary to follow tomorrow. Breath (숨) (12A) (2007) Dir Kim Ki-duk (김기덕) 84 min / Opening Gala Special Preview 19:30 / Introduced by special guest Ambassador Dr. Cho Yoon-Je of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea 2 Nov 07 / 19:30 / Cinema 1 The latest film from the … [Read More]