My visit to Korea in October 2012 was planned to attend the Jeonju International Fermented Food Expo. Well, when I arrived from Seoul, actually it was more like a busy city market day, with some fermented salted fish stalls and a local food exhibition. I felt slightly let down. But I had not visited this … [Read More]
Year: 2013 (page 28)
Is this for real? I’m so dead!
“A fine for a person who exposes his or her skin is too much. Is this for real? I’m so dead!” Lee Hyori is said to have tweeted in this week’s non-story. Park Geun-hye’s cabinet approved a revision on 11 March that regulates certain “inappropriate” social behavior such as stalking and public indecency, which includes … [Read More]
Invitation to gallery tour of the current cosmetics exhibition at the KCC
Many of you might have this notice in your email inbox direct from the KCC, but for the record here are details of an exhibition tour tomorrow: Gallery Tour of the Exhibition Inspired by Nature, the Traditional Cosmetics of Korea at the Korean Cultural Centre UK We are currently presenting Inspired by Nature, the Traditional … [Read More]
Kim Young-ha: Black Flower – an imaginative re-telling of a fascinating byway of Korean history
Kim Young-ha: Black Flower Originally published in Korean as 검은 꽃 in 2003 This edition Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2012, 305pp, Translated by Charles La Shure Black Flower tells the fascinating story of a thousand or so Korean emigrants who sailed from Jemulpo (now Incheon) in 1905 in search of jobs in Mexico, and ended up … [Read More]
Nah Youn Sun on reducing an audience to tears
LKL’s favourite jazz singer, Nah Youn Sun, fresh from singing at Park Geun-hye’s inauguration talks to the JoongAng Daily about her career, about her new album, Lento, which will be released in the UK in April, and about singing Arirang to foreign audiences: To my surprise, audiences, regardless of their nationality, shed tears while listening … [Read More]
Lee Chang-dong’s Oasis screens at the KCC
Lee Chang-dong’s Oasis figures in most people’s list of top ten Korean films of all time, or at least of the first decade of this century: a compelling storyline which is both moving and shocking, with stand-out performances from Sol Kyung-gu and Moon So-ri. It will be screening this Thursday at the KCC as part … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: the week of the younger siblings
The Park Shi-hoo scandal, as predicted, still has a lot of mileage. The full Kakao talk conversations between the trainee and her actor friend have been released by his law firm. They indicate the trainee and her friend were in communication after she had filed charges – contrary to her claims they were not. The … [Read More]
Camp 14 – Total Control Zone at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival
One of the most prominent publications last year on the subject of North Korea was Escape from Camp 14 – the story of an escapee from one of North Korea’s death camps. While such a story is rare in itself, what makes Shin Dong-hyuk’s tale more remarkable is that he was actually born in one … [Read More]
Thousand Years Old Fox (천년호, 1969) review: gumiho myth and classic Korean horror
Ultimately as important as it is enjoyable, Thousand Years Old Fox takes a ‘classic horror’ tack in its depiction of a disembodied gumiho spirit taking possession of a human body to exact revenge; standing almost as a bridge between standard Asian ghost/evil spirit horror tales and the gumiho horror-romances that would eventually follow. [Read More]
Guardian list of Seoul music
Annie Ko from Seoul electro rock band Love X Stereo selects her perfect playlist for her home city, in the Guardian. It’s also a great introduction to South Korean music. Seoul Seoul Seoul by Cho Yong-pil (pictured) tops the list. Mark Russell adds his own suggestions over on his own website, too. It’s good that … [Read More]
John Lewis in successful partnership with Shinsegae
John Lewis Partnership announced its 2012/13 results yesterday – a much more successful year than many UK retailers. The partnership with Shinsegae Department Stores it announced last spring, in which it sells premium homewares in its own store-within-a-store, merited special mention in the results announcement. According to the FT: Andy Street, managing director of John … [Read More]
Wayne Rooney more important than WWIII?
A well-known commentator on North Korea was phoned by BBC Radio 5 Live today to talk on air about the recent escalation of tension on the peninsula. They held him on the line for 15 minutes, and then said that they were sorry but they would not be doing North Korea because they had a … [Read More]
Kimchee To Go: two K-food takeaways coming soon to Central London
The staff at the KCC have been getting excited about this for a while, and now the opening date is getting nearer: Kimchee, the popular Korean restaurant in Holborn affiliated to the Wasabi Japanese food chain, is opening two takeaways, one at 388 Strand WC2 (near Covent Garden) on 2 April, and the other at … [Read More]
Bankable and emerging Korean artists at Art13: London’s latest international art fair
To a casual observer, there might already seem to be a wide range of art fairs in London. The season starts with the London Art Fair in January and finishes with the Frieze in October. In between there’s plenty of smaller shows to keep various parts of the market satisfied. So launching a completely new … [Read More]
Sun, Moon and Tree — Ceramics Exhibition at Mokspace
Looks like another good exhibition coming up at Mokspace. And to launch the show, Jung Ji-eun (kayageum) and Choi Jeung-hyun (changgo) will give a performance of Korean traditional music at the opening event. Sun, Moon and Tree Chang Sook Lee & Soyeop Kim Ceramic Exhibition Opening Reception: Friday 8th March 2013, 6 – 9pm Korean … [Read More]
New Visions New Voices at MMCA
It’s nice to see two familiar names from the London Korean art scene making it into a prestigious show of young artists at the National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art in Korea. Kim Minae and Baak Je are in a group of nine in the exhibition, whittled down from a longlist of 97. New … [Read More]