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]
Year: 2009 (page 16)
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]
The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 9: Hails and farewells
Thursday 23 / Friday 24 July I’ve left it rather too late to do my LKL-related networking, and I’ve been up too late most nights trying to do on my netbook what I could do in a quarter of the time at home, so I have little energy today – despite all the Korean food … [Read More]
Jean Chung’s Seoul photos for Time magazine
Good Seoul photos, plus 10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul, some recommendations for side trips, and more, on the TIME magazine website: http://bit.ly/Time-photos #. Photographer Jean Chung comes across the practice of couples fastening metal locks to a fence on Namsan Tower (above) as a symbol of their eternal love for each … [Read More]
GI Joe – “utterly relentless”
“Big, dumb, loud and utterly relentless. Everything you could want from a summer blockbuster,” says Time Out on GI Joe (Lee Byung Hun) out now #. Actually, it’s rather good. [Read More]
The Shining Fortress part 2: its remarkable story.
by Matthew Jackson The story which surrounds the building of the Hwaseong fortress is an extraordinary one. The fortress was originally built as part of the new Suwon city, a project initiated by King Chongjo. King Chongjo (or King Jeongjo, depending on your preferred romanization) had been greatly devoted to his father, Sado Seja, who … [Read More]
Ku Hyeyoung’s black-clad performances
At the opening of the Crossfields exhibition last week at the KCC Ku Hyeyoung treated us to a preview of a performance she is doing with Kora Terao next week at Goldsmiths. Dressed in a dramatic black creation she stood under a muslin-covered chandelier like an animated statue, declaiming, miming, performing to the music of … [Read More]
The Crossfields fashion designs
Glad that they’ve got some of the fashion on display at the KCC Crossfields show. It was too crowded to appreciate them at the opening. # [Read More]
Crossfields: Young Korean artists at the KCC
Claire O’Connell was among the crowds at the opening of Crossfields: the KCC’s latest show. This was the launch of “Crossfields”, a new exhibition at the KCC showcasing the work of 23 young Koreans who are all promising artists, architects, illustrators, photographers and designers. All the artists have studied in London at some point and … [Read More]
The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 8: Galleries old and new
Wednesday 22 July 2009 A pleasant late start to the morning. Im Jeongae from London’s I-MYU gallery happens to be in town, looking after the show of British artists at the Total Museum. We cruise the Samcheong-dong galleries together as the heat of the day becomes slightly cooler, and the daylight light becomes milkier. People … [Read More]
LKL v5 launched
Really pleased with the look of the new LKL front page. Now, if only I could figure out custom templates to get blogwatch working again… # [Read More]
Gwanghwamun unveiled
I’m amazed that the Gwanghwamun plaza was ready on time. It was a building site when I passed by only two weeks ago. http://bit.ly/RPuac # Read an in-depth article over on Popular Gusts. [Read More]