A fascinating documentary about twenty-four American and one British Korean War prisoners of war who chose to remain in China after the war: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 #. Part 1 is below [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 175)
BoA’s US album disappoints
Oh dear. I thought BoA’s US album was going to be a bit better than that. If you have to use a vocoder to make it in America, stay in Asia. #. I suppose the sound production is geared towards a US market. Shame. [Read More]
The British fighter pilot buried near Pyongyang
Michael Rank in the Asia Times on the British fighter pilot buried near Pyongyang. Well worth a read. http://bit.ly/1Os32 # There can be no lonelier grave anywhere on Earth. Amid fields close to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, lie the remains of Flight Lieutenant Desmond Hinton, a British fighter pilot who flew for the United … [Read More]
Korean heritage at UNESCO
Korea is rightly proud of some of its heritage, much of which has been given official recognition by UNESCO. For those of you who like lists, here are the various items of Korea’s tangible and intangible heritage which have been so listed. Also included below are links to any LKL articles on these treasures. (1) … [Read More]
Korea Yearbook 2010 Call for Papers
Korea Yearbook 2010: Politics, Economy and Society Call for Papers The editors of the Korea Yearbook – Politics, Economy, Society, published since 2007 by Brill (Leiden and Boston), are now calling for papers for the 2010 edition of the yearbook. The Korea Yearbook consists, on the one hand, of four concise overviews of domestic and … [Read More]
Han Style in a necktie
We’ve all seen modern reinventions of the hanbok, maybe worn by a western celebrity. We’ve seen t-shirts and other items of female clothing and accessories adorned with hangeul, Korea’s script. But, short of wearing hanbok – which maybe is not the thing to wear at chic cocktail parties in Primrose Hill – what is a … [Read More]
The Korean War: the Korean version
General Paik Sun Yup: From Pusan to Panmunjom Potomac Memories of War, 2007 (original English version pub 1992) Your typical book on the Korean War centres on Generals MacArthur and Ridgeway, on the landing at Incheon and maybe (if it’s a British account) the battle at the Imjin. It’s a war fought by Americans, with … [Read More]
Beethoven in a bin bag
Tonight’s Storm and Stress evening at Goldsmiths: if I’d been playing Beethoven in a bin bag on such a hot and sweaty evening, I’d have been a bit stressed too http://bit.ly/jyQ9i #. But it was different, and unexpected. [Read More]
In Peril in Pyongyang?
Great Daily Mail piece on the two Korean American journalists recently released by North Korea: http://bit.ly/13N7xN # Indeed, from the whole tawdry affair only one clear winner has emerged – an exuberant Bill Clinton – even if, according to an insider, ‘the joke in the White House was that the girls were safer in North … [Read More]
The LKL Korea Trip 2009 – reflections
My quick break in Korea was a bit of a last-minute affair. I seized an opportunity which presented itself – a five-week break between jobs – and I really had no time to plan anything beforehand. Sylvia Park of Park Air Travel (15 Hanover Square, 0207 495 2525) fixed my flights with Korean Air at … [Read More]
What’s the official story on the Clinton visit?
Still no tweet from kcna_dprk about the release of the US journalists. Was the whole thing a big surprise to the official news agency? #. Or haven’t they figured out what the spin should be? The @kcna_dprk coverage of the Clinton visit is still remarkably factual. When do we get the REAL version? # [Read More]
Man with three coffins – needs more than one viewing
Just watched “Man with Three Coffins” (Lee Jang-ho, 1987) and am mightily puzzled. #. It’s one of those classic films that people rave about, but it’s going to take me more than one viewing to get to grips with it. [Read More]
The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 9: Hails and farewells
Thursday 23 / Friday 24 July I’ve left it rather too late to do my LKL-related networking, and I’ve been up too late most nights trying to do on my netbook what I could do in a quarter of the time at home, so I have little energy today – despite all the Korean food … [Read More]
Jean Chung’s Seoul photos for Time magazine
Good Seoul photos, plus 10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul, some recommendations for side trips, and more, on the TIME magazine website: http://bit.ly/Time-photos #. Photographer Jean Chung comes across the practice of couples fastening metal locks to a fence on Namsan Tower (above) as a symbol of their eternal love for each … [Read More]
GI Joe – “utterly relentless”
“Big, dumb, loud and utterly relentless. Everything you could want from a summer blockbuster,” says Time Out on GI Joe (Lee Byung Hun) out now #. Actually, it’s rather good. [Read More]
The Crossfields fashion designs
Glad that they’ve got some of the fashion on display at the KCC Crossfields show. It was too crowded to appreciate them at the opening. # [Read More]