A review of some of the highlights and trends in the Korean cultural year, primarily in London but also with half an eye to anything we might have seen elsewhere in the UK. The review is a personal one, inevitably skewed towards the events we managed to get to. Introduction This time last year I … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 22)
What have we been reading in 2019? Here are the highs and lows of our reading diary
I alternate my reading, on no systematic basis, between fiction and non-fiction, trying to maintain a balance between keeping up to date with the most important new publications and working through the guilt pile of past publications that I failed to read when they came out. I don’t have time to read much apart from … [Read More]
Kim Un-su interviewed in Korea Times
Anna Jiwon Park has a good interview with Kim Un-su (author of The Plotters, among other things) in the Korea Times this week. It’s a nice leisurely two-page read for the Weekender section, clocking in at 3,000 words. Park has an engaging conversation with him, and makes an interesting observation: His books not only have … [Read More]
Season’s greetings to all our readers
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all of LKL’s readers, friends and contributors. Have a peaceful break, and may 2020 turn out better than 2019. As in previous years, thanks are due to Jieun Kim aka The Drawing Hand for the London Korean Christmas design which adorns the cards that some of … [Read More]
Brief book review: Suni Samchon
Hyun Ki-young: Suni Samchon Translated by Lee Jung-hi Asia Publishers Bilingual Edition, 2012, 186pp Jeju Island, in Korean literature of the late 70s and 80s, is not the honeymoon destination of more recent years. It was a place of poverty, of bitter memories – a place to escape from rather than a destination to visit … [Read More]
Son Heung-min’s astounding goal against Burnley
It’s already been called the goal of the season. Son Heung-min’s goal against Burnley which contributed to Spurs’s 5-0 home win on 7 December was magical – a solo effort that starts just outside his own box and ends, after a run the length of the pitch, with a shot inside the Burnley penalty area. … [Read More]
Brief review: Kim Sagwa – Mina
Kim Sagwa: Mina Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Two Lines Press, 2018, 237pp Originally published as 미나, Changbi Publishers, 2008. Hell Joseon has become an increasingly familiar context for contemporary Korean literature. But the novels and stories I can think of all focus on the struggles of the poor or those who are just … [Read More]
December events 2019
Thankfully, this is a much quieter month. Exhibitions Still on: Nam June Paik at Tate Modern (till next year) Suh Do-ho near Liverpool Street (till next year) Suh Shinuk at Unit 1 | Workshop (till early January) Oh Man Chul at Han Collection (till 21 December) Coming this month Kang Kyungsuck at the KCC (from … [Read More]
Review: Hyun Kil-un – Dead Silence and other stories of the Jeju Massacre
Translated by Hyunsook Kang, Jin-ah Lee and John Michael McGuire Eastbridge Books, 2006, 206 pages On a trip to Jeju Island a few years ago I remember having a slightly tipsy interaction with a Jeju-based journalist and intellectual, as we staggered from 2cha to 3cha via a liquor store. “I don’t like America”, he solemnly … [Read More]
Joo Yeon Sir: Chaconnes, Divertimento & Rhapsodies
Hearing Joo Yeon Sir’s barnstorming performance of Pancho Vladigerov’s Bulgarian Rhapsody “Vardar” at St James’s Piccadilly with Irina Andrievsky in August made me want to return to her recently-released second CD, Chaconnes, Divertimento & Rhapsodies, for which Vardar is the penultimate track. The album, from Rubicon Classics, follows on from her successful first album Suites and … [Read More]
Gig review: Kyungso Park, SB Circle + Hey String
Isn’t it refreshing when a band exceeds expectations? When you were expecting something pretty good, and you get something astoundingly good. When the newbie support band has the class to headline their own gig. OK, to call the gayageum trio Hey String a newbie band neglects to mention their success as prizewinners in Seoul Namsan … [Read More]
Gallery visit: Shin Meekyoung’s Weather, at Barakat Gallery
Meekyoung Shin’s current show at Barakat Gallery is the first major London exhibition to feature her new ceramic work. In the past, Shin has been known for her soap sculptures, many of which are designed to resemble Chinese or Korean ceramics. Now, having studied ceramics and glass at the RCA she is experimenting with clay, … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Najeon and Ottchil, at Asia House
The current exhibition at Asia House, featuring exquisite work by contemporary master craftsmen and women, celebrates 70 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and the Republic of Korea. Najeon is the craft of decoration using mother of pearl, usually made from abalone shells, while Ottchil is the craft of creating objects out of lacquer. … [Read More]
Film Review: Love, Lies (Park Heung-sik, 2016)
An historic album made by a hitherto unknown Korean popular music singer from the colonial period is literally unearthed in a modern-day construction site. Miraculously, although the LP is damaged, audio engineers can restore the sound to something like the original, for broadcast on a golden oldies radio show. But who is the singer, and … [Read More]
November events 2019
The autumnal calendar cornucopia, wastefully overflowing, continues into this month. Even the most assiduous devotees of Korean culture will only be able to attend around half of the screenings, performances and other events that clamour for your attention in the first full week of the month. Thanks to similar diary clashes and inconvenient screening times … [Read More]
Gig review: Kim Doo Soo at Cafe OTO
Kim Doo Soo’s stage set-up is simple but carefully planned. The stage hand has marked out the precise place where the music stand is to be positioned, and the chair – which offers the minimum of comforts. A table to the musician’s right has some water and a surface to keep the various harmonicas; also … [Read More]