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]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 129)
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]
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]
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]
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]
Jeon Ji-hyun with Li Bing Bing in US Vogue
Annie Leibovitz photographs Jeon Ji-hyun with Li Bing Bing in July's US Vogue to mark the release of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. http://bit.ly/iUJsCo # [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Lee Ufan – Marking Infinity at the Guggenheim
Lee Ufan’s current exhibition at the Guggenheim New York is his first major show in the US, and only the third by an Asian at the prestigious space – the previous being by Cai Guo-Qiang (I Want to Believe, 2008) and fellow Korean Paik Nam-june (The Worlds of Nam June Paik, 2000). With three-dimensional installations … [Read More]
Chung Myung-whun awarded Chevalier des Arts et Lettres
Conductor Chung Myung-whun to join distinguished list of Koreans winning France's top cultural honour – the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres http://bit.ly/iv5hKW # [Read More]
Haegue Yang’s exhibition in Oxford
Joongang Ilbo has an interesting interview-feature on Haegue Yang’s exhibition in Oxford. http://bit.ly/kbwxFI #. I wondered about going on a day trip to her exhibition this weekend, but then realised I needed to do something practical with my own clothes dryer instead. [Read More]
The 5 Most Anticipated Korean Movies in Second Half of 2011
The 5 Most Anticipated Korean Movies in Second Half of 2011: a useful preview from Namhanman http://bit.ly/l0Minb # Sector 7 (7광구) (Kim Ji-hoon) My Way (마이 웨이) (Kang Je-gyu) Only You (오직 그대만) (aka. Always) (Song Il-gon) The Front Line (고지전) (Jang Hoon) La Quotidienne (오늘) (Lee Jung-hyang) [Read More]
Bridge of National Defense collapses into Nakdong River
‘Bridge of National Defense’ Collapses into Nakdong River – reportedly due the Four Rivers project. The Marmot has a timely feature on some of these historic bridges: http://bit.ly/kHg19s. Photo above from Joongang Ilbo # [Read More]
Lee Ufan at the opening of Marking Infinity
The opening of Lee Ufan’s “Marking Infinity” at the Guggenheim. Lee tells his audience how he spent three weeks wrestling with the curved interior space of the Frank Lloyd Wright rotunda. http://twitpic.com/5h3ui5 [Read More]
China claims Arirang as its own
Why 'Arirang' isn't listed among Korea's cultural assets – and why it soon will be thanks to the Chinese. Interesting article in the Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/jFz2MM with a counterblast by Roboseyo (Nobody owns Arirang) # [Read More]
Noodles in NYC K-town
A farewell lunch of noodles at Shanghai Mong in NYC K-town yesterday. Thanks, Insoon. I'll see you in Seoul next year. http://twitpic.com/5gndzp # [Read More]
Culture ministry to launch K-pop academy
Do we need another K-pop academy? Government support for the film industry was needed in the 1990s, but there are plenty of commercial K-pop operations. But we should welcome support for Korean indie music. http://bit.ly/iSJR5f # [Read More]