Isabelle Huppert now shooting new Hong Sang-soo film. Moon So-ri and Hong Sang-soo regular Yu Jun-sang will also be appearing. Via Screen Daily bit.ly/nK9T4O [Read More]
Month: July 2011 (page 3)
Spike Lee to direct Oldboy remake
Spike Lee confirmed as director of Oldboy remake — a “shocking but intriguing prospect” (Twitch). But do we really need it? http://bit.ly/qzR94v #. John Brolin to take Choi Min-sik’s role. Christian Bale suggested for Yu Ji-tae’s. [Read More]
The Great Outdoors at James Freeman Gallery
LKL has been following the work of Luca Sangjun Kim for almost four years now. His work is the visual equivalent of a tenor church bell ringing. It seems to sing and resonate with complex harmonics. Go along and see what I mean at James Freeman Gallery in Islington: The Great Outdoors Jon Braley & … [Read More]
Mother to screen at the KCC
The 74th evening screening at the KCC this Thursday, 14 July, is Bong Joon-ho’s 2009 hit Mother: Time and date: 7pm, Thursday 14th July Film Title: Mother Director: Bong Joon-ho Cast: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin Genre:Thriller Certificate: 15 (UK) Running Time: 128 mins Venue: The Korean Cultural Centre UK Ground Floor, Grand Buildings 1-3 Strand, … [Read More]
DPRK spills beans on summit talks
Hitting Below the Belt: Pyongyang Spills the Beans on Secret Summit Talks. Aidan Foster-Carter at 38 North http://bit.ly/o9rRmv #. It’s standard practice for North Koreans to ask for cash. Now they’re portraying it as bribes. [Read More]
A review of Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism
Here’s a link to a review of Jin Y Park, ed. Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism on H-Net: a book which has been on my reading pile for far too long. http://bit.ly/o5grgG #. The book’s rather heavy going though… [Read More]
London YG flashmob gets Korean media attention
Flashmobs don’t normally go on for an hour and a half, nor do they normally travel down to the London Eye and back filmed by most major Korean TV channels, nor do they dance, sing, wave banners and scream their enthusiasm for YG Family. This however is flash mobbing k-pop style and there are no … [Read More]
Pyeongchang wins the 2018 Winter Olympics
On Radio 4 this morning an Ex British Olympic chief tipped Pyeongchang to win the 2018 winter olympics by 10 votes today. # Congratulations to the bid team. BBC Sport – Pyeongchang will host the 2018 Winter Olympics http://bbc.in/nDPICE # Inevitably, a lot of the attention became focussed on Kim Yu-na, “Kim Yu-na’s Pyeongchang fashion” … [Read More]
Book review: Walking the Baekdu-Daegan trail
Roger Shepherd & Andrew Douch, with David A Mason: Baekdu Daegan Trail Seoul Selection, 2010, 446pp Korea is a mountainous country. If you google that phrase you will learn that 70% of South Korea’s land mass is designated as upland or mountains. And everyone knows that a lot of Koreans love hiking in the hills. … [Read More]
Kpop Flashmob, Food Fest with Samulnori, or photo exhibition with children’s event? You decide
This Saturday (9 July) offers several options for Korea enthusiasts. Fortunately it’s the only Saturday this month when Kiejo Sarsfield isn’t running one of her cookery classes, but even so you won’t be able to do it all. And don’t forget the ongoing exhibitions at the KCC and the V&A. 1. Discover Korea at Leytonstone … [Read More]
Yellow Hair (노랑머리, 1999) review – controversy, desire and rebellion
While Yellow Hair could never be described as subtle, and though its narrative depth is less involved than it could perhaps have been, this dark and twisted tale is nonetheless far more worthy of merit and discussion than the description “adult thriller” would suggest… [Read More]
Double Agent (이중간첩, 2003) review: loyalty, ideology and the cost of devotion
Set against Cold War tensions between North and South Korea, Double Agent examines absolute ideological loyalty, personal sacrifice and betrayal. Though flawed, Double Agent resolutely shows that it doesn’t need CGI pyrotechnics or secret agent gadgets to be an engaging spy thriller throughout. [Read More]
Live Long and Prosper – Food Advice from Old Choseon
Traditional fermented dishes such as doenjang and Kimchi form the basis of the Korean diet. It is a known fact that the inhabitants of cultures and regions which have fermented milk products as part of their daily diet (e.g. the Caucasus) tend to live longer. In the case of soybean-based dishes such as doenjang, the … [Read More]
North Korean refugee gives testimony
Radio interview with Kim Hye Sook, an escapee from one of North Korea's prison camps, on the BBC website: http://bbc.in/lFPRlO # The testimony of concentration camp escapees before the All Party Parliamentary Group now seems to be an annual event. This year courtesy of Christian Solidarity Worldwide Michael Rank reports from the hearing in the … [Read More]
July daytime screenings: fantasy films
Each month the KCCUK library have been spotlighting cities or provinces of Korea with daily screenings of films set or filmed in those places. This month is no different as we celebrate the wonderful area of Puchon and, in particular, the Puchon Int’l Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan). Puchon is deemed the cultural centre between two … [Read More]
Korean musicians at the Tchaikovsky competition
Korea does well at the Tchaikovsky competition. Voice Results: Female: 1st Prize: Sun Young Seo (South Korea); Male: 1st Prize: Jong Min Park (South Korea). Piano results: 1st Prize: Daniil Trifonov (Russia); 2nd Prize: Yeol Eum Son (South Korea); 3rd Prize: Seong Jin Cho (South Korea). On BBC Radio 3 Music Matters on 2 July … [Read More]