I don’t know how you discover new Korean bands and music to listen to, but the way I go about it is to read the recommendations of other people. So I hope you all checked out Anna Lindgren’s choices for album of the year 2009. Coming soon, LKL will have one or two other lists … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 168)
Petal essay contest Salon des Refusés 2
The LKL Editor contributes his own unsuccessful entry into the “There a Petal Silently Falls” essay contest. Ghosts of Kwangju Ch’oe Yun’s There a petal silently falls is an interesting choice for a first Korean literature essay contest. Elusive in content, obscure in characterisation and insubstantial in length, it encourages a discussion not about the … [Read More]
Day trading in Derivatives, ajumma-style
South Korea boasts the world’s largest market for equity derivatives by number of contracts traded, with 2.7bn stock index options contracts traded in 2008, according to the World Federation of Exchanges. This compares with 514m traded on Eurex, the next biggest market on that measure. Private traders, encouraged by high leverage gains and low trading … [Read More]
Korea Chic: a cosy, western, “How to Spend it” view of Korea
We review a diabolical book with no identifiable readership Raymond Bartlett and Brandon Lee: Korea Chic Editions Didier Millet Pty Ltd, 2009 When Korea is seeking to increase its visibility as a tourist destination, any guidebook must be welcome. This recently published book, however, is not a guidebook. In fact, it is not quite sure … [Read More]
The Chaebolization of the Korean music industry
The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Mark Russell on how Vietnam is following Korea’s example in how to produce pop stars http://bit.ly/68KLpD #, while in a related series of articles Richard Stansfield talks about The Chaebolization of the Korean Music Industry http://bit.ly/8W37mD #. [Read More]
LKL featured in Weekly Donga
LKL was featured in a one-page interview in the Donga Weekly dated 1 December 2009. I had a quick email interview with a reporter based in Glasgow about my views on Korean film, Korean food, and the promotion of Korean culture abroad, plus the normal questions about how I got mixed up with Korean stuff … [Read More]
Nineteen Years in South Korea’s Gulag
Suh Sung: Unbroken Spirits – Nineteen Years in South Korea’s Gulag Rowman & Littlefield, 2001 Original Japanese version, (Gokuchû 19 Nen, Nineteen Years in Prison) 1994 We are all familiar with stories reporting the horrors of torture and starvation in North Korean prison camps. What we can forget is that over the past decades South … [Read More]
North Korean jeans on sale in Sweden
North Korean jeans on sale in Sweden. A snip at $215! The brand name? “NoKo”. # http://nokojeans.com/ After being turned down by North Korea’s largest textile company, the group managed to secure a manufacturing deal with its largest mining company, Trade 4, which also happens to run a small textile operations on its site. Source: … [Read More]
December events 2009
Here are the events for December. Featured event Yi Chul-jin is in London for a not-to-be-missed performance of Seungmu and Salp’uri at Roehampton on 2 December, with a more modern dance from Nam Young-ho. Talks The Korea Discussion Group at Chatham House on 1 December features Song Jiyoung on Military-First politics in the DPRK. Michael … [Read More]
Recent highlights on LKL
I hope you don’t mind a bit of trumpet-blowing to thank some new contributors to London Korean Links. Some of them may be one-off, others more long-lasting; all are welcome. Elizabeth Grace covered Stephen Epstein’s recent talk in Cambridge, while Darren Southcott visits Jeju Stone Park and Colette Balmain compares Bong Joon-ho’s murder mysteries. Other … [Read More]
Girl bands through the ages
A disappointing piece from the tabloids – Five Decades of Korean Girl Bands http://bit.ly/608Pro #. Fortunately Mark Russell over at Korea Pop Wars rectifies the situation. [Read More]
Brief review: Kyung Ran Jo: Tongue
Kyung Ran Jo: Tongue Tr Chi-young Kim Korean version 2007 English version Bloomsbury 2009 A lightweight and enjoyable book set among the foodies and fashionistas of Kangnam. A talented young cook is ditched by her trendy architect boyfriend, and spends much of the book getting over it, in a way that is a pleasure to … [Read More]
KIKOs are enforceable after all
Invest Korea Journal: Knock-in, Knock-out (KIKO) contracts may be enforceable after all, but normal suitability principles apply: http://bit.ly/zLXq3p # [Read More]
Foreigners’ Favorite Korean Souvenirs
Nail clippers – the obvious souvenir of your holiday in Korea: “In China, Korean nail clippers are regarded as luxury goods. Chinese people like gold, so they buy dozens of gold-colored nail clippers when they come to Korea,” says the Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/5nMSMJ # [Read More]
Honey Lee crosses over into musicals
Honey Lee on Her Love for the Gayageum – The Chosun Ilbo has a brief feature which mentions her latest outing as the Reese Witherspoon character in Legally Blonde http://bit.ly/4uTbW3 # [Read More]
Aiding North Korean defectors
“Aiding North Korea defectors: A high-stakes spy mission” an interesting and well written case study or two in the LA Times: http://bit.ly/8alWaQ # [Read More]