A visceral, brutal yet at times beautiful film, I Saw The Devil pits a sadistic serial killer against a grieving secret agent, and shows that no closure, appeasement or fulfillment is to be found in the act of revenge, with only emptiness and the unforeseen consequences of vengeful actions ultimately resulting from it. [Read More]
Month: November 2010
Wikileaks on North Korea: hardly controversial
So the Dear Leader is a “Flabby Old Chap“? Who doesn’t put on a bit of weight when getting older, particularly if you don’t get much exercise? # Wikileaks cables reveal China ‘ready to abandon North Korea’. Former UK ambassador Chun Yung-woo quoted. Guardian. http://bit.ly/grAjhw # RT @fcaidan: China is NOT ‘abandoning N Korea.’ WikiLeaks … [Read More]
Future’s Future’s Future: Young Korean Artists at the KCC
The Korean Cultural Centre UK presents the 3rd annual exhibition of contemporary art by UK based Korean Artists. Future’s Future’s Future brings together the exciting and inspiring work of eight Korean artists, each living and working in the UK. Two years ago was Entry Forms; last year was Supervisions. Jinkyun AHN | Jung Pyo HONG … [Read More]
Korean War: Memory and Legacy – at Asia House
The event originally scheduled for back in September is now taking place tomorrow, 1 December at Asia House. Korean War: Memory and Legacy, North and South Panellists include Daniel Levitsky and Michael Shin, chaired by Jim Hoare Wednesday 01 Dec, 2010 6:45 PM – 7:45 PM Location: Asia House Doors 18.30 The Korean war of … [Read More]
First Thoughts on the Last Godfather
From @ajosshi: An unmissable movie: http://bit.ly/ezQ7CQ A few thoughts on Shim Hyung-rae’s new film. # From the trailer it seems as if he’s trying to add a Charlie Chaplin feel to his creation, but if the slapstick is that old and the jokes that unfunny then I’m not sure if even the presence of Harvey … [Read More]
Where to start in Korean literature, and five “Classics” to avoid
Charles Montgomery has a great post on where to start in translated Korean literature, and in another article shares Five Korean “Classics” To Avoid: Heartless (Yi Kwang-su, 1917) Aunt Suni (Hyeon Ki-young, 1978) Between Heaven and Earth (Yun Dae-nyong, 1996) A Man (Hwang Sun-won) and Buckwheat Season (Yi Hyo-sok, 1936). One day, I’m going to … [Read More]
Ki Sung-yueng and Racism in the British Game
A few weeks ago I was interviewed by a young talented Korea photographer – Daewoong Kim, studying here in London. Daewoong, being interested in photography and football wanted to discuss my experiences interviewing Korean footballers and working within BBC Sport. Needless to say this is the first (and probably last!) time I have been interviewed, … [Read More]
A Man Who Was Superman (슈퍼맨이었던 사나이, 2008) review: memory, empathy and a broken hero
A Man Who Was Superman is a moving character study showing the frailties of the human mind and the resultant effects of both physical and emotional trauma. A film which ultimately reminds us that though the past can’t be changed the future has not yet been written. [Read More]
T-ARA boosts national defense
Never let it be said that K-pop girl groups are soft on national security. T-ara donates 20 million won to the cause: http://bit.ly/hs5OHu. Via @bournecinema [Read More]
North Korea’s silkworm technology
Bored with shelling South Korean islands, North Korea looks to invest in Vietnamese silk. FT blogs: http://bit.ly/dQwPzB # North Korea’s contribution to any silk venture will be its “silkworm expertise and technology”, Vietnam would, in exchange, provide labour and investment in production facilities. [Read More]
Liz Chae’s stories of the sea
Finding Iodo: The Sea Woman and the Man in Exile. Interesting project – a film featuring a poet and female diver. http://bit.ly/dQv9PS #. This follows on from Liz Chae’s previous film The Last Mermaids, about the diving women of Jeju-do. [Read More]
Korean Eye returns to Seoul
The Korean Eye: Fantastic Ordinary exhibition which started in London has now made its way to Seoul: a feature on Ji Yong-ho's tyre sculptures can be found in the Joongang Ilbo http://bit.ly/dOv5sN # [Read More]
Barbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy lives up to the hype
Barbara Demick: Nothing to Envy – Real Lives in North Korea Granta, 2010 Why, when Korean Studies bookshelves are dominated by volumes about the North, about which so much less is known than the South, do we need yet another volume? Why, when we have so many defector eye-witness accounts of starvation, torture and oppression, … [Read More]
LKFF Festival Bites: Film Students are Softies
We’d just seen Jang Jin’s contribution to the Human Rights Watch short film collection If You Were Me 2: Someone Grateful (고마운 사람). In it, a student demonstrator is befriended by his police interrogator in the KCIA’s underground torture chambers in the 1980s. It’s a provocative short, because instead of railing against police brutality and … [Read More]
Calling all book hoarders: the National Library wants your old books
An announcement received via EJ Shin, the librarian at the KCC in London: The National Library of Korea (NLK) has announced that they would very much like to purchase any antiquarian books on the subject of Korea (published outside of Korea prior to 1950). Any publications on the subject of Korea, regardless of the languages … [Read More]
Anglo Korean Society annual parliamentary dinner
Notice of the AKS’s annual festive dinner in the Houses of Parliament. This year it’s been upgraded to the House of Lords. The tour of the Houses of Parliament before dinner is also worthwhile. ANGLO – KOREAN SOCIETY JOINT PRESIDENTS H.E. The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Choo Kyu-Ho Dr Robert Hawley CBE CHAIRMAN … [Read More]