The Seollal New Year holiday in Korea is 22-24 January. Best wishes for the upcoming Year of the Dragon. Film Weekly screenings (Thursdays at 7pm) at the KCC this month feature Lee Myung-se. The running order is Nowhere to Hide, M, Gagman, and finally Duelist with the director himself for Q&A. Shin Sang-ok’s Pulgasari (1985 … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 116)
Ji Dong-won humbles Man City
Ji Whizz – even the Telegraph resorts to feeble puns to celebrate Ji Dong-won’s last minute goal for Sunderland against top of the league Man City on 1 January. Ji was clearly off-side, but a great goal anyway. [Read More]
A look back at 2011 – part 3
In the final part of our look back at 2011, we summarise some of the news stories which caught our eye. China This year the region’s biggest economy continued flexing its muscles: it conducted the first test flight of its new stealth fighter, announced that it had deployed stealth missile speedboats in the East China … [Read More]
A look back at 2011 – part 2
In the second of our articles we look at stories relating to Sports, Tourism, and national branding and marketing. And K-pop and celebrities are never far away when talking of Brand Korea. Sports and Tourism Jeju was provisionally listed as one of the worlds New 7 Wonders, after a multi-month international marketing campaign. Celebrities ranging … [Read More]
Season’s Greetings
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to readers, supporters, contributors and fellow bloggers past present and future. Here’s hoping for a brighter 2012. [Read More]
A look back at 2011 – part 1
LKL’s annual look back at the stories and events of the last 12 months; this year, a multi-part piece, starting with some heritage, film, and the development of Korean food among world cuisines. Heritage The Ilsungrok (diaries of the daily lives of Joseon kings) and the written and visual logs of the pro-democracy movement in … [Read More]
KCNA on the death of Kim Jong-il
The death of Kim Jong-il has provided many Korea-watchers the opportunity to write retrospective assessments of Kim’s life, and speculations about the future. But it is a commonplace that not much can be known for certain about North Korea. The official government mouthpiece is the Korean Central News Agency. It has reported the ice on … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival round-up and Ryu Seung-wan’s The Unjust
The 2011 London Korean Film Festival gave the London audience a chance to assess, and in my case reassess, the work of Ryu Seung-wan. Ryu has had several of his films released in the UK on DVD, but he is not as well-known to the viewing public as the likes of Park Chan-wook and Bong … [Read More]
North Koreans mourn the death of Kim Jong-il
Bewildering sights and sounds of North Koreans mourning the death of the Dear Leader – videos on the KCNA website http://t.co/pRK5edK1 [Read More]
KCC wins award for SNS marketing
Congratulations to the KCCUK for winning the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade ‘Minister’s Award’ for Best Performance in relation to PR & marketing on social networking sites. http://on.fb.me/rFO3wK [Read More]
London Korean Catholics in their own building at last
Congratulations to the London Korean Catholic community. After 20 years, this morning is their first Mass in their own building, down in Sutton. Till now, they’ve had to borrow buildings. [Read More]
Thomas the Tank engine wins Korean hearts
Thomas the Tank engine is second only to Pororo the Penguin in the hearts of Korean kiddies, according to a survey: http://t.co/BGeJONhD. There’s even an exhibition in Seoul right now. [Read More]
Sena Gu’s ceramics on show in Canary Wharf
Nice to see Sena Gu‘s ceramics in Canary Wharf. I spotted her work at 100% Design London this year, and now I pass it on the way to work every morning, at least until 4 January 2012. Pretty and imaginative. [Read More]
London joins in global protest against DPRK rights abuses
Last Friday was a global day of protest against North Korean human rights abuses. 9 December 2012 was the 63rd anniversary of the adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which North Korea acceded in 1989. For many people in the West, the human rights abuses … [Read More]
Lee Byung-hun lives again in GI Joe 2
Lee Byung-hun in GI Joe was one of my guilty pleasures of 2009, so I’m looking forward to the follow-up next year! http://t.co/O8bc06sZ [Read More]
Letters from British Korean war vets in Chelsea Flower show
Letters from British Korean war veterans will feature in Hwang Ji-hae’s DMZ Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2012. Interview with the garden designer in the Joongang Ilbo: http://t.co/lvTZYkgs [Read More]