The Korean War through Literature and Art (M.E. Sharpe, 2001) An interesting and approachable collection of papers addressing how the Korean war is represented in the arts of the different countries involved. Chapters address Korean film, visual arts, and poetry, and also how the war impacted the lives and work of six Korean novelists. For … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 211)
South Korea 1, Greece 0
It was a lacklustre first half, in which neither side looked like scoring. Greece were the more impressive side, but that was not saying much. They were first division, Korea were second division, and we were all expecting a bit of premiership sparkle. Fortunately, though, the half slipped by very quickly. As I had been … [Read More]
Uhm Jung-hwa #9: Prestige
Uhm Jung-hwa: Prestige (2006) After all the high jinks required to get this album off the ground, my expectations of the music to be enjoyed therein were low. They were triumphantly met. There’s nothing terribly objectionable about anything on this album, but then there’s nothing terribly arresting either. The thing which most sticks in the … [Read More]
Kim Young-na: Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea
Kim Young-na: Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea (Hollym, 2005) A brief but action-packed overview of twentieth century Korean art history, which can be read alongside Kim’s other book covering the same period, published by Lawrence King. While her Lawrence King book is a collection of essays focusing on particular subject areas, the Hollym book … [Read More]
January statistics
It’s the end of January and I’ve already hit some of my objectives for the year. From here the only way is down. So what happened in January? A link from the Marmot, firstly in a post following that Korea Times piece, and now I’ve made it into his blogroll. Visitor numbers were looking good … [Read More]
February events 2007
In London / the UK Jump returns to the Peacock Theatre, London The Red Devils take on Greece in a friendly at Fulham on 6 Feb Grain in Ear, the Chinese / Korean film co-production, shows at the Chinese film festival on 7 Feb Ballet Black (including Korean dancer So-Yeon Kim) finishes its brief run … [Read More]
Kissed by the Devil
First the Iranians, now an Algerian. A gent (or maybe a gal – one shouldn’t be sexist about this) who goes by the name of cRu$ty paid me a visit and placed a picture of a skull with a very fetching blue rose, together with the above motto, where my home page should be. Have … [Read More]
The Spirit of Kahoidong
Bukchon (북촌), a genuine old part of Seoul, a haven of peace preserved between the two major palaces. A little bit of old Seoul carefully preserved and nurtured, saved from the twenty-first century metropolis below. Stroll around the quaint streets of Kahoidong, one of the most protected parts of Bukchon, and if you’re not looking … [Read More]
Next week’s football
Next week’s friendly between Korea and Greece will be my first ever football match, would you believe. I know many of the Korean supporters will be behind the goal at the Putney end, but I’d rather get a better overview of the game and sit as near the half way mark as I can, and … [Read More]
The Rise of the Korean Art Market
The Korea Times records how the Korean Art market is beginning to boom. Perhaps carried on the coat-tails of the ebullient Chinese art market, prices for major Korean artists are edging up. Lee Ufan is one of the hot artists, and also Park Soo-keun, Kim Whanki and Chang Uc-chin. And last year Elton John made … [Read More]
An offer he could refuse
The Japan Times discloses Kim Jong-il’s love of Western classical music, and of one interpreter thereof in particular. Seiji Ozawa, formerly chief conductor of the prestigious Boston Symphony Orchestra, and now at the Vienna State Opera, received an approach from the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun), at Kim’s request, to become conductor … [Read More]
In-flight entertainment
No marks to British Airways for assuming that all their customers, regardless of flight origin and destination, are British or American and have no interest in the culture of wherever they’re flying to or from. The in-flight entertainment provides mainly Hollywood stuff and a bit of British TV, while the audio channels are western classical … [Read More]
Farewell to Seoul
Some of the highlights and not-so-highlights of my visit to Seoul. First the good. Soundday in Hongdae Gwacheon’s National Museum of Contemporary Arts The Leeum Gallery (post to come soon once I’ve done a bit of research. Now done. Post is here) Insadong. Yes, there’s some touristy tat for sale, but there’s also some really … [Read More]
Hacker and WordPress 2.1 update
I figured out that if I change the blog templates the hacker problem goes away. So maybe I’ve isolated where my Iranian friends have done their damage, and possibly I’m on the way to fixing it. In the meanwhile, please bear with the slight shortcomings in the visuals. Then it’s just a question of working … [Read More]
Hacked
If you click on any of the article category links, or monthly archive links, you will get a friendly message from some Iranian hackers. I’m working on remedying this, but in the meanwhile browsing through the site will be a bit more difficult. You can still use the search tool. [Read More]
Some pictures of Insadong
As I’ve been on a plane for what feels like the last 24 hours, a lazy post today. Insadong on a Sunday morning, before it gets busy: One of the products for sale: Question: If the diary is designed for the Japanese market, why is the writing in English? And a British style icon somehow … [Read More]