I-MYU Projects present their third exhibition since opening near Old Street towards the end of last year. One thing I like about the I-MYU gallery is the quality of their press releases. For someone as unversed in art appreciation as me, their materials always seem both intelligent and intelligible, informative without being too high-brow, and … [Read More]
Month: January 2008 (page 2)
Suju confirmed as LKL’s top drawer
I’ve been trawling the 2007 website statistics for interesting trends. Search terms, popular pages and the like. I wish I had something earth-shattering to report, but the trends in terms of readers’ interests stay pretty consistent. The thing I notice on a daily basis is that the same old (and I mean old) posts keep … [Read More]
The top 30 LKL pictures of 2007 – part 2
Here’s #11-20, in reverse order: #20: Tottenham Hotspur’s Lee Young-pyo: #19: 1970s Seoul: #18: The first appearance of top K-pop star BoA, in her campaign for Olympus: #17: Shinhan Bank’s Manchester United Credit Card: #16: The cover image from Kyung-Hyun Kim’s heavyweight book on Korean Cinema — a still from Peppermint Candy: #15: Robot Taekwon … [Read More]
Class struggles: a report from Loren Goldner’s talk
Those Koreanists who looked at the timing of the talk by Loren Goldner and decided to give it a miss were probably well advised. 6pm on a Saturday night is not the best time to pull in the punters. But inside the rather pokey Kings Cross bookshop it was standing room only. Those who turned … [Read More]
The top 30 LKL pictures of 2007
Part 1: #21-30 Inspired by the cheap TV programmes which seem to have taken over the evening schedules in the UK, simply recycling clips from other TV programmes (The 100 most embarrassing celebrity moments, and the like), here’s a chance to sample again the pictures most viewed on this site during 2007, according to AWstats. … [Read More]
Welcome down the local any day
A still to go with this current TV commercial: The rather unrefined drinking mannerism brings to mind the classic Boddingtons commercial from the 1990s: and while we’re on the subject, the one featuring Melanie Sykes: Of course, it’s the spokesmodel rather than the product that would be welcome in the local boozer. The general consensus … [Read More]
Kim Soo-hee comes to London
In a top-secret event known only to selected members of the New Malden Korean community, Trot star Kim Soo-hee (below) is coming to London. She will be performing at St John’s Smith Square on 26 January at 7:30pm. The event is sponsored by one of the local Korean newspapers. The event is so secret that … [Read More]
Books to look forward to in 2008
Here’s some of the books I’ll be looking out for in 2008. First, Mark James Russell’s Pop Goes Korea From kim chee to kim chic! South Korea came from nowhere in the 1990s to become one of the biggest producers of pop content (movies, music, comic books, TV dramas, online gaming) in Asia-and the West. … [Read More]
Discussion: The South Korean class struggle
As a conservative prepares to take over in Seoul, in London a Marxist provides some commentary on the class struggle in South Korea. At the slightly anti-social time of 6pm on Saturday evening at Housman’s bookshop near Kings Cross, Loren Goldner will speak as follows: From Mass Strike to Casualization and Retreat: The Korean Working … [Read More]
North Korea – New Approaches
Received from Chatham House: North Korea: NEW APPROACHES The 8th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights & Refugees January 22, 2008 – London, UK Venue: Chatham House — The Royal Institute of International Affairs 10 St James’s Square, London SW1Y4LE AGENDA Language of proceedings: Korean/English Tuesday, 22 January, 2008 09:00 Registration (Chatham House, 10 … [Read More]
The redemptive power of Lee Young-ae
As we all know, Jewel in the Palace is a hit in many countries. It’s watched all around the world. Including in Indian jails. A convict in India has sent a letter of gratitude to a top Korean network for airing the historical drama “Jewel in the Palace,” or “Daejanggeum” in Korean. Narendra Kumar Sharma, … [Read More]
Francesca Cho’s January shows
Korean-born artist Francesca Cho is exhibiting work in two group shows, in London and Bergamo, this month. The London show, Sacred, in the Novas Contemporary Urban Centre London Bridge (73-81 Southwark Bridge Road, SE1 ONQ [map]) near the Financial Times offices in Southwark Bridge Road — two minutes’ walk from Tate Modern — is to … [Read More]
Inheriting the gifts of grief: Brenda Paik Sunoo’s moving memoir
Brenda Paik Sunoo: Seaweed and Shamans – Inheriting the gifts of grief Seoul Selection, April 2006 I remember logging this book in my memory sometime in early 2006, having read some advance notice of in, I think, the Seoul Selection weekly email. I didn’t read the small print too closely, and confess I didn’t read … [Read More]
Sex, modernity and the Korean war: a review of Ahn Junghyo’s Silver Stallion
Ahn Junghyo: Silver Stallion – a novel of Korea Soho Press, 1990 First published in Seoul in 1986 Translated from the Korean by the author As the book opens, we encounter a small village which is somehow untouched by the Korean war which seems to have passed them by. The old order, personified by Old … [Read More]
Spring term SOAS free seminars
The event schedule for the SOAS Centre of Korean Studies has just been announced for the current term Fridays, 5pm Room G52, Ground Floor, Main Building SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG (except where otherwise stated) For further details contact: Rahima Begum (rb41 AT soas DOT ac DOT uk) All Welcome These Seminars … [Read More]
Woyzeck comes to London from Edinburgh
As part of the London Mime Festival 2008, one of the hits of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe will be coming to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, 24-26 January. Sadari Movement Laboratory – Woyzeck Thursday 24 January 2008 – Saturday 26 January 2008 George Buchner’s Woyzeck, based on the true story of a poor German soldier driven … [Read More]