As you might expect from an Iron Chef, Judy Joo’s handshake is firm. Not bone-crushing; just confident and strong. We are meeting in one of my favourite pubs, in Marylebone Lane, just around the corner from Joo’s London home. I’m always impressed when someone who isn’t an Englishman goes for traditional bitter, and Joo duly … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 158)
Schama reviews Surrendered
"A novel of desire and displacement that is brilliantly flawed". Simon Schama reviews Changrae Lee's The Surrendered in the FT http://bit.ly/auQAMl # [Read More]
Lee Chung-yong is Bolton’s player of the year
Bolton names Lee Chung-yong player of the year, and he's in the Times top 20 rookies of the year: Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/bdfGJe # [Read More]
The Ministry of Love
A solution to the low birthrate? Korean government sets up group blind date between employees at government offices and private companies, following an earlier “family day” initiative. via Brian in Jeollanamdo [Read More]
Royal Ancestors: Preface
About this travel account These pages contain the record of nine days in Korea at the beginning of May 2010. The trip was at the generous invitation of the Korean Culture and Information Service, part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The visit was part of their programme for meeting the needs of … [Read More]
Breen under pressure from Samsung
Which is more likely to make me stop buying Samsung products: an irreverent article by a British writer, or Samsung's heavy-handed response? http://bit.ly/cWnWfy # Update 13 May 2010: Samsung backs off from the civil suit, but Mike Breen still faces criminal charges [Read More]
Royal Ancestors: the index
The diary of LKL’s 2010 trip to Korea at the invitation of the Korean Culture and Information Service’s Foreign Media Fellowship programme. Preface About this travel account A note on intangible cultural heritage Introduction 1. Royal Ancestors and Lee Young-ae 2. The Schedule Friday 30 April: Arrival 3. Moon Vases and Kim Gun Mo Saturday … [Read More]
Royal Ancestors – the Live Tweets
8 March: Just heard some good news. Time to start planning a trip to Seoul in early May # 13 April: Really looking forward to my Korea trip later this month. Jongmyo rituals in Seoul and springtime herbs in Sancheong, Gyeongsannamdo. Perfect. Provided the volcanic ash lets up.# 18 April: Will the 30 April Indieful … [Read More]
How close is this to your typical Korean TV drama?
Here’s collection of YouTubes of a Korean TV Drama spoof courtesy of MADtv. Although I’ve never watched a Korean TV drama from start to finish (the most I can claim is two episodes of Winter Sonata), I can kind of see that this spoof looks spot-on. How true to the mark is it? Starring Bobby … [Read More]
May Events 2010
Here are the events that I know about for May. Apologies for the poor presentation of this post, and probably a greater number of omissions than usual: a snail’s pace netbook, poor internet connection (yes, even in Seoul) and limited free time are conspiring against me at the moment. Featured event Chang-rae Lee, author of … [Read More]
What to do about the Cheonan?
Ask a Korean has a great article proposing various responses to the Cheonan sinking, including the eccentric "buy stealth bombers" http://bit.ly/aqrKWb. Someone else suggests the ingenious "sink the Pueblo" #. And another in-depth think-piece from AAK is here: ROKS Cheonan — What You Need to Know, What You Need to Think About [Read More]
60% of actresses have been offered benefits for sex
A report jointly conducted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Korean Women’s Development Institute interviewed 111 actresses and 240 actress-hopefuls between September and December of last year, says the Korea Times. The findings? More than 60 percent of the interviewees received at least one proposal to have sexual intercourse from influential figures … [Read More]
2010: a bumper year for Korean film?
Not so long ago, the Korean film industry seemed to be in the doldrums. Darcy, Twitch and others were sounding notes of gloom that Korean cinema had lost its way. But then things picked up again, with blockbusters such as Haeundai, and new indie films such as Breathless making the headlines and bringing in the … [Read More]
PhD studentship in Korean Catholicism at Leeds Trinity
Korean studies seems to be in rude health in the UK at the moment. So soon after the job posting for a professorship at Sheffield, an interesting studentship at Leeds Trinity University College: Leeds Trinity University College, UK, is offering a PhD studentship in Korean Catholicism. The studentship will be to the value of £13,300 … [Read More]
Oh Eun-sun’s disputed climbing race
Good luck Oh Eun-sun in race to be first woman to conquer the 14 summits over 8,000m. Annapurna is the last. http://bit.ly/cDBoAF #. But the BBC reports that her ascent of Kangchenjunga is disputed (HT: James Turnbull) [Read More]
Exhibition review: Far East Fine Art at the Mall Galleries
The debut exhibition by Far East Fine Art, a joint venture between a Brit experienced in the gallery market and a Korean with access to artists in South Korea, shows promise for the future. The choice of location was deliberate – central and high profile, and, for a start-up venture like this, offering the flexibility … [Read More]