Thursday 6 May 2010. I’m somewhat stiff from sleeping on the floor. Throughout the night different parts of my body were suffering from pins and needles. But the location was peaceful, and I get up rested. Overnight rain has made everything seem greener, but low cloud clinging to the hilltops and wisps of mist rolling … [Read More]
Month: June 2010
An evening with Changrae Lee
LKL reports from the evening with Korean American author Changrae Lee, chaired by Erica Wagner, as part of the Asia House Festival of Asian Literature, 24 May 2010. The Asia House Festival of Asian Literature, now in its fifth year, for the first time included Korean representation this year. With such a title, you might … [Read More]
Struggling with all the Shinga
Well, I just finished this year's essay book (Park Wan-suh’s Who ate all the Shinga?) and it's even harder than last year. Nothing to get your teeth into. And that wasn’t meant to be a pun. Last year’s text at least gave you a challenge in trying to understand it. This year’s adds very little … [Read More]
Republic of Korea thanks UK war veterans
LKL reports from an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, held on HMS Belfast on 25 June 2010. The HMS Belfast was the perfect venue for one of many events taking place across the globe to mark the 60th anniversary of Kim Il-sung’s troops storming south over the 38th … [Read More]
DPRK in the Football World Cup
“North Korea will receive at least US$10 million from FIFA for fielding its national team in the World Cup” says the Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/bccbuj. That should keep its nuke programme going for a while… # An amazing invention by the Dear Leader: the invisible mobile phone. http://bit.ly/cT9Aw8 # British blogger in Pyongyang reports on the … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #21: The jjimjilbang experience
Wednesday 5 May 2010. It was only a couple of hours ago that we had eaten lunch, but Koreans seem to have dinner early. During the tea festival, our guide Isabelle does well for food: she is usually entertained by the people she is showing around, and this time is no exception. We go to … [Read More]
Pimatgol at Night, by the Metropolitician
"To Hell and Back" and the "Dirty" Streets of Seoul. The Metropolitician’s essay on Pimatgol and Seoul at night is well worth a read: http://bit.ly/9QhkKv # [Read More]
Brother Anthony translates Until Peonies Bloom
UNTIL PEONIES BLOOM: Brother Anthony brings the complete poems of Kim Yeong-Nang to an English-speaking audience. http://bit.ly/d1TdT0 # [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #20: The House of Choi Champan
Wednesday 5 May 2010. What is authenticity? Probably, over the course of Korea’s long history, most of Korea’s precious buildings have burned down and been rebuilt. It’s a natural hazard of building from sustainable materials such as wood. Marauding invaders or revolting slaves can cause great destruction with just a single spark. The reconstruction work … [Read More]
Mother (마더, 2009) review: when devotion becomes obsession
Bong Joon-ho’s Mother explores the unsettling symbiosis between a protective mother and her mentally disabled son. The film highlights how guilt and desperation drive a parent to abandon moral guidelines, eventually transforming her into a “monster” to protect her child. A gritty, multi-layered critique of how easily the line between love and depravity blurs. [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #19: Hadong, the home of Korean green tea
Wednesday 5 May 2010. As we pick up the signs to Hadong, along the Seomjingang river, the other side of which is Jeollanam-do, we see our first neatly trimmed tea-bushes. These, I am later told, are the cultivated tea plants. You know the famous photos of the Boseong tea slopes in Jeollanam-do, with beautifully serried … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #18: Networking in Hongdae and a journey into the unknown
Tuesday 4 May 2010. I had intended to go to see Yi Chuljin’s Seungmu performance this evening, having failed to see it on Sunday, but there are too many conflicting appointments to fit them all in. I’m heading towards Hongdae to meet some new blogging friends – always something I like to do when coming … [Read More]
New Korean prizewinning work performed in competition
Just like last year, the competitors in the Queen Elisabeth Music comp in Brussels play work by a prize-winning Korean. Jeon Min-je won the Grand Prize for composition in the 2009 competition. All 12 finalists in this year’s piano event performed Jeon’s work for piano and orchestra, “Target.” http://bit.ly/aH9U5o # [Read More]
Kim Ayoung in the Summer Exhibition
This is the first year I've noticed Korean work in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Kim Ayoung won a British Institution Award from the Royal Academy of Arts for her Crop of Dope to Help My Kids, 26 May 2008 http://bit.ly/HoRSCk # [Read More]
Lee Hyori caught with plagiarised songs. Again.
Not again! Isn't it about time Lee Hyori hired some composers who compose rather than copy? http://bit.ly/bXynR8 # [Read More]
Time for Stillness…Time for Silence: Solo Exhibition by Soon Yul Kang
News of an exhibition starting today at Artspace Gallery: Time for Stillness…Time for Silence Solo Exhibition by Soon Yul Kang June 21 – July 3, 2010 at Artspace Galleries Artspace Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of works by Soon Yul Kang. Soon Yul Kang will exhibit her unique meditative hand woven tapestries and … [Read More]