So I walked into a restaurant and this ajumma put her arm around me all smiles and started talking to me like we had known each other forever. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel a bit, and picked up bits of languages here and there and always, always tried to pick up the basics of … [Read More]
Month: August 2009 (page 3)
The Western Korean War PoWs who chose to stay in China
A fascinating documentary about twenty-four American and one British Korean War prisoners of war who chose to remain in China after the war: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 #. Part 1 is below [Read More]
BoA’s US album disappoints
Oh dear. I thought BoA’s US album was going to be a bit better than that. If you have to use a vocoder to make it in America, stay in Asia. #. I suppose the sound production is geared towards a US market. Shame. [Read More]
The British fighter pilot buried near Pyongyang
Michael Rank in the Asia Times on the British fighter pilot buried near Pyongyang. Well worth a read. http://bit.ly/1Os32 # There can be no lonelier grave anywhere on Earth. Amid fields close to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, lie the remains of Flight Lieutenant Desmond Hinton, a British fighter pilot who flew for the United … [Read More]
Korean heritage at UNESCO
Korea is rightly proud of some of its heritage, much of which has been given official recognition by UNESCO. For those of you who like lists, here are the various items of Korea’s tangible and intangible heritage which have been so listed. Also included below are links to any LKL articles on these treasures. (1) … [Read More]
Korea Yearbook 2010 Call for Papers
Korea Yearbook 2010: Politics, Economy and Society Call for Papers The editors of the Korea Yearbook – Politics, Economy, Society, published since 2007 by Brill (Leiden and Boston), are now calling for papers for the 2010 edition of the yearbook. The Korea Yearbook consists, on the one hand, of four concise overviews of domestic and … [Read More]
Han Style in a necktie
We’ve all seen modern reinventions of the hanbok, maybe worn by a western celebrity. We’ve seen t-shirts and other items of female clothing and accessories adorned with hangeul, Korea’s script. But, short of wearing hanbok – which maybe is not the thing to wear at chic cocktail parties in Primrose Hill – what is a … [Read More]
A Love in Dream: Edinburgh’s must-see production
Every year Colin Bartlett goes to Edinburgh to sample the various productions at the Fringe, and makes a point of seeing the Korean talent. Each year I hope he’s going to write a survey of the various shows for LKL. This year, I’ve managed to intercept an email he wrote to a friend recommending Modl … [Read More]
The Korean War: the Korean version
General Paik Sun Yup: From Pusan to Panmunjom Potomac Memories of War, 2007 (original English version pub 1992) Your typical book on the Korean War centres on Generals MacArthur and Ridgeway, on the landing at Incheon and maybe (if it’s a British account) the battle at the Imjin. It’s a war fought by Americans, with … [Read More]
Beethoven in a bin bag
Tonight’s Storm and Stress evening at Goldsmiths: if I’d been playing Beethoven in a bin bag on such a hot and sweaty evening, I’d have been a bit stressed too http://bit.ly/jyQ9i #. But it was different, and unexpected. [Read More]
Shadows in the Palace at the KCC
This Thursday’s screening at the KCC is Shadows in the Palace (궁녀) (Kim Mee-jeong, 2007): part costume drama, part mysterty, part horror. “More than anything, it’s the conceptual energy and narrative momentum of Shadows in the Palace that makes it an exciting discovery among this year’s Korean films,” says Darcy Paquet at koreanfilm.org Synopsis: A … [Read More]
In Peril in Pyongyang?
Great Daily Mail piece on the two Korean American journalists recently released by North Korea: http://bit.ly/13N7xN # Indeed, from the whole tawdry affair only one clear winner has emerged – an exuberant Bill Clinton – even if, according to an insider, ‘the joke in the White House was that the girls were safer in North … [Read More]
The LKL Korea Trip 2009 – reflections
My quick break in Korea was a bit of a last-minute affair. I seized an opportunity which presented itself – a five-week break between jobs – and I really had no time to plan anything beforehand. Sylvia Park of Park Air Travel (15 Hanover Square, 0207 495 2525) fixed my flights with Korean Air at … [Read More]
What’s the official story on the Clinton visit?
Still no tweet from kcna_dprk about the release of the US journalists. Was the whole thing a big surprise to the official news agency? #. Or haven’t they figured out what the spin should be? The @kcna_dprk coverage of the Clinton visit is still remarkably factual. When do we get the REAL version? # [Read More]
Learn Samulnori with Dulsori
Don’t miss a rare chance to learn and experience the fun you can have playing samulnori percussion. Over the past few years Korean percussion group Dulsori have had a regular slot in the SOAS music summer school teaching percussion for a week. This year they’ve gone independent, and will be giving weekly classes over an … [Read More]
Man with three coffins – needs more than one viewing
Just watched “Man with Three Coffins” (Lee Jang-ho, 1987) and am mightily puzzled. #. It’s one of those classic films that people rave about, but it’s going to take me more than one viewing to get to grips with it. [Read More]