Industrial Bank of Korea celebrated the opening of its London branch yesterday evening, at an event attended by the ambassador. Set out below is the ambassador’s speech. It is a great pleasure to be here with you all this evening. Firstly I would like to congratulate the Industrial Bank of Korea on opening its branch … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 215)
Welcome to a new contributor
I’d like to welcome a new contributor to this site. Beccy Kennedy first visited this site a few weeks ago asking to be put in touch with Korean artists in the UK and with Korean societies in Manchester. Once again daeguowl came up with the answers. But it didn’t take me long to spot that … [Read More]
Master Oh’s apology to Korean youth
Romeo & Juliet – adapted by Oh Tae-seok (Oh T’ae-sŏk, 오태석) Mokhwa Repertory Company 23 November 2006 – 9 December 2006 / 19:00, 19:45 The Pit, Barbican, Part of bite06 Oh Tae-suk, born in 1940, had a traumatic start to his life. When I was 11, the Korean War broke out. One day a car … [Read More]
Che Guevara in Korean poetry (part 2)
Thanks to daeguowl for researching this interesting question, and for coming up with some additional poems to consider. And a special thanks to Brother Anthony of Taize for giving of his time, and providing translations for the two key poems which our visitor was interested in. Here they are: Memoirs by Ko Un Translated by … [Read More]
November site statistics
Another brief round-up of site traffic, more for my own interest than anything else. Traffic The big news of November was the TV slot on YTN, a 24 hour news channel in Korea. I’m guessing that the news story started screening on 20 November, because that’s when my number of visitors jumped from around 500 … [Read More]
December events 2006
Keep your eyes on my events calendar. I don’t always specifically announce updates to the calendar, and there’s always a last-minute event or two which are worthwhile. For December, here’s what’s happening: The Mokhwa Theatre Company’s presentation of Romeo & Juliet continues at the Barbican until 9 December. Director Oh Tae-Suk participates in the Symposium … [Read More]
Im Kwon-taek – The making of a Korean National Cinema
David James & Kyung-hun Kim: (Wayne State UP, 2001) A wide-ranging collection of essays which usefully documents Im’s importance as a filmmaker, from his first attempt in the early 60s to his latest (at the time this book was published, Chunhyang was the most recent). Kim Kyung-hyun’s lucid account of Im’s career put in the … [Read More]
The financial pulling power of Korea’s soccer stars
Readers may recall that during this year’s World Cup I spotted a couple of news items reporting how Korean banks were using football to get in new business. But it’s not just the national team which pulls in the financial punters. Park Ji-sung, the sportsman with the biggest brand power in Korea, has been used … [Read More]
Che Guevara in Korean poetry
Here’s a fascinating query I just received from a reader. I am compiling a book of poetry from around the world about the Argentine-Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. I have been referred to the titles of two Korean poems that make indirect references to Che: In front of Kim Nam-ju’s grave written by Min Yeong in … [Read More]
The magic straight perm
After receiving two requests from readers about Korean hairdressers in London who do hair straightening, I thought I’d do a bit of research. My first problem was this: why on earth would Koreans (and Japanese for that matter) want to develop complex mechanisms for straightening hair when their hair is straight anyway? The Chosun Ilbo … [Read More]
Liberalisation of the Korean legal services market: a view from inside
Last week the England & Wales Law Society posted a press release on their site announcing the publication of the draft bill that “would give foreign legal consultants access to the country’s legal services market”: The publication of the draft bill on foreign legal consultants paves the way for solicitors’ firms to open offices in … [Read More]
Pyongyang’s latest statue and other DPRK humour
One view of recent events: Pyongyang’s latest statue © Chappatte – www.globecartoon.com (where you can find more along the same lines: filter on “Nuclear North Korea”). Plus, for “On-the-spot whimsy and wisdom from a Benevolent Despot” – an irreverent blogger claiming to be from within the DPRK – visit the Beloved Leader. And some unintended … [Read More]
“Through the Looking Glass” panel discussion at Asia house
Yesterday morning’s panel session gave a priveleged (1) insight into the work of some of the artists represented at the stimulating show at Asia House. Chaired by Beth McKillop of the V&A, the discussant panel included Alessio Antoniolli from Gasworks, Hans Ulrich Obrist from The Serpentine, curator Jiyoon Lee and artists Duck-hyun Cho, Yeondoo Jung, … [Read More]
Fame at last?
Thanks to UK fan for letting me know that a (thankfully) heavily-edited version of my recent interview aired today on YTN as part of a bigger piece on the hallyu in the UK. The Times’s recent Korean supplement was featured, as were Korean footballers in the premier league. They also interviewed Mr Choi who will … [Read More]
Is Korean cinema’s heyday over?
Darcy has a thoughtful piece on his “What’s New” page, sensing a lack of dynamism in mainstream Korean cinema. While noting that Korean films in September took 83% of local box office, and Hollywood was beaten into third place by Japan, But you’ll have to forgive me if, despite the numbers, I feel a lack … [Read More]
Pyongyang rock festival to be managed from London
I was browsing the DPRK’s Voice of Korea yesterday while writing an upcoming more flippant post. The site contains information of a rock festival in Pyongyang next year organised by the VoK. The festival is billed as “Rock for Peace” – the 2007 version of Woodstock. The story is picked up in the Guardian and … [Read More]