After becoming preferred bidder earlier this year, On December 20, 2006, Shinhan Financial Group signed an agreement with Korea Development Bank, the Presiding Bank representing the 14 Creditor Financial Institutions, to acquire a 78.58% stake in LG Card at KRW67,770 per share. The price amounts to 6.68 trillion won ($7.19 billion), according to Reuters. The … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 214)
Francesca Cho’s meditative work
I happened to meet artist Francesca Cho at the Jerwood gallery yesterday lunchtime. Korean-born, but now based in London, she is the more established artist among the exhibitors in the Still Dynamics show, which closes today. Her contemplative work, to which the images below and my words here can’t do justice, recalls Rothko but also … [Read More]
Is it Mrs Blair who’s farting Hangul?
Prompted by Beccy Kennedy’s thoughtful comments on the Still Dynamics exhibition, I popped over the river to the Jerwood Space yesterday lunchtime. The result is this somewhat tabloid counterblast — hoping to prompt some more of you to go along to see it for yourself. The most eye-catching work in the show is Seunghee Kang’s … [Read More]
South Korean artist’s response to the Division of Korea
South Korean Artists’ Response to the Issue of Divided Korea Lecture by Jim Hoare and Jiyoon Lee Monday 11 December at Asia House 6.45-7.45pm The current exhibition at Asia House is producing much food for thought. This is now the third post devoted to the exhibition and is unlikely to be the last. In an … [Read More]
Death of the worlds oldest company
A Japanese company which, according to the Chosun Ilbo, has its roots in Korea, is to go into liquidation in January 2007. The company, temple builder Kongo Gumi, was founded in 578. Links: Family Business list of the world’s oldest companies Time Magazine article (Feb 2004) Kongo Gumi website [Read More]
A visit to New York Koreatown
On the rare occasions when I have to travel to New York to see my US co-workers I always try to pay a visit to 32nd Street. The two places I make sure to visit are Koryo Books and AM Records — and I also scout round to see if I like the look of … [Read More]
A visit to the New York Korean Cultural Centre
The New York Korean Cultural Centre fits well into the chaotic streets of mid-town Manhattan. They’re both full of good things, a bit bewildering to the outsider, in need of a facelift, and short of space. I paid a visit at lunchtime yesterday, walking the 10 blocks from my boss’s office to the Centre at … [Read More]
But is it Art?
Encounters with Painters in North Korea 5pm SOAS, 8 December 2006 Koen De Ceuster, Centre for Korean Studies, Leiden University “But is it Art”?: that was the question posed by Koen De Ceuster on Friday night at SOAS, as part of the series of talks held by the Centre for Korean Studies. The talk started … [Read More]
Seoul Magazine’s book of the month
One of the features of the British book market is the grassroots book club movement: suburban housewives gather to discuss the latest novels over a coffee; there are even workplace book clubs (the UK’s Financial Services Authority has one). The popularity of this movement has now been hijacked by the popular daytime TV double-act Richard … [Read More]
Movie industry export earnings decline
A rather gloomy article in the Chosun Ilbo, following on from a melancholy thinkpiece by Darcy a few weeks ago. 1. The number of loss-making Korean movies is on the increase An increasing number of Korean movies are losing money due to a surge in the number of movies and sluggish overseas interest. The number … [Read More]
For your daily dose of celebrity gossip…
As I’ve mentioned before in my periodic reviews of my wesbite’s statistics, celebrities are a big generator of traffic. Lee Sabi continues to be the most searched-for celeb which results in my site being hit, and the Celebs category seems to be the most popular. Readers will have gathered that, yes, every once in a … [Read More]
Books on Korean Heroes
Probably a fairly straightforward question from a visitor in the US: I have children born in U.S. For education purposes, I am trying to find good (series of) books written in English for Korean Heroes in old history. Could someone refer me to website links? Thanks. My immediate thought is to recommend the series recently … [Read More]
Think Korea 2006 draws to a close – with some free tickets
The closing event of Think Korea 2006 takes place on Wednesday 13th at the Fairfield Hall. Full details of the event are on the Think Korea website here. The event there earlier on this year was very well attended, so make sure you book. There are a few complimentary tickets for LKL readers who are … [Read More]
Top singer-actors, a Chungmuro A-list wedding, a record deal and the Last Vampire
I haven’t posted about any celebs recently, so here’s the latest clips I’ve come across: 1 Singers turned actors With an eye on the success of canto-pop stars on the big screen, K-pop stars and their managers have been looking to maximise brand value and revenue streams. Uhm Jung-hwa, I only recently noticed, has been … [Read More]
Jump receives royal approval
At the Royal Variety Performance at the Colisseum on Monday Night there was an unusual item. The show, fronted by K-film fan Jonathan Ross, is held every year in aid of the Entertainment Artistes Benevolent Fund, and this year was attended by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall (usually, for non-Brits among our readers, … [Read More]
London lawyer smells a rat
A while back I posted about the various creative fund-raising techniques the DPRK is accused of using. Michael Payton, a senior partner in Clyde & Co’s insurance practice, is homing in on another one. The Korea Times reports on the smoking gun: The alleged fraud involves a wide variety of North Korean industrial and personal … [Read More]