Here are the winners and losers of the third annual LKL Awards. Again, a personal and unscientific selection. Cultural event of the year (UK) There was a lot of competition for this particular award this year, but the winner is the Dano Festival in Trafalgar Square. The performance of Noridan was almost enough on its … [Read More]
Month: December 2008
LKL Quiz of the Year 2008
LKL’s second quiz of the year 1 Stressful times What does the current credit crunch and the most recent DPRK nuclear test have in common? a) the media blame them on an incompetent government who should have seen it coming and somehow prevented it b) they would both cause a baby boom in South Korea, … [Read More]
Saharial gets it spot-on
Congratulations to LKL’s K-pop pundit Saharial for correctly gauging the mood of a nation. Back in early December nominated Shinhwa’s JunJin as Artiste of the Year. “JunJin’s popularity soared with the launch of his solo album in May,” said Saharial. “Continued exposure on variety shows as participant and presenter along with promoting the song ‘Wa’ … [Read More]
The London Korean year 2008 – events of the year
It’s been a busy year, a year of change. A new cultural centre, a re-launched Artists’ Association, new ambassadors in both London and Seoul. Jane Portal left the British Museum for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, while Michael Shin became the first full-time Korean Studies lecturer at Cambridge. Down in New Malden, things … [Read More]
2008 Thanks. And, meet the LKL contributors
Another fun year of blogging, and so it’s time to thank all those who have made things possible. In no particular order: The regular and one-off contributors who provide coverage, insight and expertise that are beyond me, and make LKL much more than what it would otherwise be. The regular contributors now have their own … [Read More]
What the KCC is for
About 18 months ago, there was a meeting of local supporters of Korean culture, held at the Korean Embassy as part of an initiative by the embassy for getting feedback on its marketing efforts. One of the topics of conversation was whether there was be a business plan or a mission statement for the soon-to-be-opened … [Read More]
Happy holidays
LKL will be taking a break for a couple of days. In the meantime, here are some seasonal pics. First, from last weekend’s FT front page: postmen in Seoul on a charity mission: Next, K-pop band Jewelry: And because I haven’t posted many pictures of Lee Hyori this year, here she is in a festive … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Smile of Buddha, the big Korean show in Brussels
The Smile of Buddha exhibition is the centrepiece of the Made in Korea festival currently showing in Brussels, which also includes photography, ceramics, architecture and video art. As the Korean ambassador to the EU says in his introduction to the exhibition catalogue, not many people in the West know much about Korea, and this exhibition … [Read More]
LKL Critics’ Choice 2008: Philip
The last of a series in which regular and guest LKL contributors nominate their CD releases of the year. As Mark Russell notes in his 2008 roundup, we had some good reissues this year. This is great news, as it shows that the Korean music industry is showing some maturity. Why after all should fans … [Read More]
Candle Night exhibition in Kilburn Art Space
A couple of years ago tea-merchant David Kilburn appeared in the Korea Times: he had organised a mini arts festival in Bukchon hanok village in Seoul – where he lives in one of the last few remaining unspoilt hanoks. The festival had artistic aims – “to place traditional performances in the intimate traditional setting of … [Read More]
Inshalla – Detente in the Desert
It’s Lee Young-ae’s first film, released at the very beginning of 1997. It’s pretty difficult to get hold of. Unavailable on Region 3 DVD, you might be able to find a cheap Hong Kong version of the film from Panorama. Currently, YesAsia only lists it on VCD. Filmed mainly in Morocco, there’s plenty of exotic … [Read More]
Watching Korea with the British Museum
Peter Corbishley reviews the recent Korean Film double bill On Saturday 6th November 2008, Margaret O’Brien of The British Museum and Jeon Hye-Jung of the Korean Cultural Centre put on a somewhat sparsely attended family programme of Korean films. Margaret O’Brien, who has been Head of Lifelong Learning at the Museum since 2000, presented the … [Read More]
Indieful ROK joins the Music Alliance Pact
It’s a sort of FTA for indie musician blogs, and it works like this. It’s all a great idea originating from The Pop Cop, and currently the pact consists of 21 fine music blogs from all over the world. Each month every blog selects a song from their own region to be posted on every … [Read More]
LKL Critics’ Choice 2008: Mark Russell
Mark Russell from Korea Pop Wars and Korea Gig Guide presents his pick of 2008’s CDs I think it is safe to say that 2008 was one of the best years for new music in Korea in quite some time. Maybe not for K-pop, which continues to take a beating (certainly financially, and I would … [Read More]
Forms without Pro formas
‘Entry Forms’ The Korean Cultural Centre, Grand Buildings, 1-3 Strand 9 December 2008 – 15 January 2009 Jeong Mun Hur, Heena Kim, Yun-Kyung Kim, Minho Kwon, Bommsoon Lee, Younjeong Lee, Soonnam Lim, Jun-Gu Noh, Jee Oh, Jihye Park, So Young Park, Changwoo Ryu, Gee Song, Hyemin Son Review by Beccy Kennedy Rephrase the title of … [Read More]
Books for your Christmas shopping list
For those pondering what to buy your loved ones for Christmas, here’s a few suggestions from the many books published this year: Meeting Mister Kim. If you haven’t already bought lots of copies of this entertaining book by Jennifer Barclay, shame on you. Awarded 5 stars by LKL, and, to show we’re not biased in … [Read More]