London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Year: 2016 (page 2)

In praise of Sancho and Flat Three

posted updated 15 Aug 2022 by Philip Gowman 4 minute read

When you tuck into your bowl of warming chueotang muddy loach soup, with its tangle of green vegetables, shoots and mysterious fishy bits suspended in a tangy reddish-green-brown broth, the condiment you reach for to give it that extra taste sensation is a liberal sprinkling of sancho powder. The pungent, fragrant taste rounds out a … [Read More]

Exhibition news: Jinhee Park — Surface Layer Time, at Clerkenwell Gallery

event date 06 Dec - 11 Dec 2016 posted

News of Jinhee Park’s upcoming exhibition in Clerkenwell. Jinhee Park: Surface Layer Time Clerkenwell Gallery | 20 Clerkenwell Street | London EC1R 0DP 6th – 11th December Opening Hours: 11-6 Vestiges of the ever-changing intensity of sunlight, hues, and shadows, clocks without conventional functions, arrows of an asymmetrical branch, awkwardly disconnected landscapes. Jinhee Park’s second … [Read More]

December events 2016

posted by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

After a hectic autumn, the start of winter is a bit quieter. But there are still some things to enjoy: Performance At King’s Place, the final Korea Sounds concert of the year is on 7 December. Exhibitions At the KCC, Son Hyemin’s and John Reardon’s show entitled Flat Flat Shiny Cat lasts until 22 December. At … [Read More]

The folding plug makes it on to the high street

posted updated 11 Mar 2026 by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

Seen in Maplins Canary Wharf branch yestserday: The electrical and gadget retailer is stocking the folding plug designed by Choi Min-kyu. Fantastic news that the product has made it onto the high street. We first noticed the idea back in 2009, and saw the next iteration in 2013. Looking at the elegant USB chargers I … [Read More]

Liberation Day gets international premiere at IDFA

posted updated 11 Mar 2026 by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

Morten Traavik, the man who brought us a North Korean accordion quintet covering a Norwegian synthpop track, now gives us a documentary about a Slovenian art-rock band performing versions of songs from The Sound of Music in North Korea. Read a review of the “documentary musical” Liberation Day in the Guardian. More info on Morten … [Read More]

Book review: Park Wan-suh — Lonesome You

posted updated 27 Jul 2022 by Philip Gowman 5 minute read

Park Wan-suh: Lonesome You Translated by Elizabeth Haejin Yoon Dalkey Archive, 2015, 252pp Originally published as 너무도 쓸쓸한 당신, Seoul, 1998. I came to Lonesome You with fairly neutral expectations. I had read Who Ate All the Shinga, the story of Park’s childhood in the late 1940s and through the war years. It was an interesting … [Read More]

K-indie on BBC World Service

posted updated 17 Mar 2026 by Philip Gowman 2 minute read

Bernie Cho of DFSB Kollective (@DFSB_Kollective) presented a 50-minute programme for BBC World Service Radio this weekend highlighting some of the freshest indie sounds from Korea. Bernie interviews all the musicians and we get a few videos as well on the BBC website. The playlist is as follows: Goonam: Jangdan, from their 2011 album Woojung … [Read More]

Festival film review: Yourself and Yours

posted updated 15 Aug 2022 by Robert Cottingham 2 minute read

Hong Sang-soo (홍상수) Yourself and Yours (당신 자신과 당신의 것, 2016) Review by Robert Cottingham. You can tell from the opening titles exactly the kind of film this is going to be. Black Korean calligraphy on a white background suggests an intelligent and possibly artistic film and the lively classical music hints at a sophisticated comedy on … [Read More]

Book Review: The Story of Hong Gildong

posted updated 27 Jul 2022 by Philip Gowman 3 minute read

Anon (attr Heo Kyun): The Story of Hong Gildong Translated with an introduction and notes by Minsoo Kang Penguin, 2016, 100pp Penguin has done us a favour by bringing us this new translation of a classic Korean tale, along with a useful introduction and notes. Hong Gildong is often described as the Korean Robin Hood … [Read More]