London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

A look back at some of the books of 2017

This year, I haven’t even come close to keeping up with the volume of newly-published literature in translation, let alone the plethora of new non-fiction. Perhaps to balance my feelings of guilt at falling behind the pace of new publications, I’ve tried to make inroads into my guilt pile in respect of previous years – … [Read More]

A look back at some of the films of 2017

A review of some of the films that screened in London during the 2017 – another busy year. For me the undoubted highlight of the London film year was the Bae Chang-ho retrospective at the London Korean Film Festival: a chance to see a couple of his movies – including the classic Whale Hunting (1984) – … [Read More]

Exhibition: The Winter Wonders of PyeongChang

News of the KCC’s first exhibition of 2018: The Winter Wonders of PyeongChang Korean Cultural Centre UK | Grand Buildings | 1 – 3 Strand | London WC2N 5BW 10 January – 17 February 2018 The Winter Wonders of PyeongChang is an exhibition presented by UK Sport and the Korean Cultural Centre UK. Opened exactly … [Read More]

Season’s greetings to all our readers

As Team GB’s great hope for the Pyeongchang 2018 speed skating event gets some last minute tips from his Korean coach, once again it’s time to wish you all the best for Christmas and the New Year. Have a peaceful break. As in previous years, thanks are due to Jieun Kim aka The Drawing Hand … [Read More]

Hopefully the last techie post for a while

LKL’s look and feel hasn’t changed much since the summer of 2009, when we moved onto the current theme template, but believe me: during the second half of this year I spent a lot of time behind the scenes on the site, working on significant changes which aren’t immediately obvious. The changes have nothing to … [Read More]

Documentary: the Jangmadang Generation

In January last year Sokeel Park from the NGO Liberty in North Korea gave a talk at Chatham House about the younger generation of entrepreneurs in North Korea, and other ways in which society is inexorably changing. Somewhere I’ve still got my notes and the handout from that talk – which I probably won’t get … [Read More]

Kim Ae-ran: The Essay Contest

UPDATE: Deadline now extended to 30 April 2018. It’s been ages since we last had an essay contest. If I remember right, we’ve had two that have been specifically targeted at UK-based readers: back in 2009 we had one based on Ch’oe Yun’s There a Petal Silently Falls, and then the following year we were … [Read More]

Event news: Jay Park plays the Troxy

Jay Park returns to London for another gig on 4 February 2018. Tickets go on sale on 12 December. I’d be tempted to go along to this, but why are so many of these events on a Sunday evening? Jay Park (with SIK-K, Hoody, DJ Wegun) Sunday, 4 February 2018 | Doors: 7:00 pm | … [Read More]

MinJung Baek piano recital at Guildhall School

News of an upcoming recital by MinJung Baek. Looking forward to this one. MinJung Baek Friday 15 December at 7:30pm Milton Court | Silk St | London EC2Y 9BH Part of the Guildhall School Alumni Recital Series Tickets £15 (£10 concessions) available from the Barbican Box Office. Highly-acclaimed pianist MinJung Baek returns to the Guildhall … [Read More]

A visit to the British Ceramics Biennial

The first work to greet you as you entered the Spode China Works – the primary venue of the British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent – is the monumental work created in situ by Lee Kang-hyo. At the opening of the exhibition Lee did one of the performances for which he has become known: the decoration … [Read More]