A South Korean soccer fan protests against what he considers to be the referee’s unfair judgment after South Korea’s national soccer team lost to Switzerland in their World Cup Group G match as they watched the match on a screen in Seoul, Saturday, June 24, 2006. Switzerland defeated South Korea 2-0. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon). It’s … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 225)
Kim Ki-duk: the Coast Guard
While browsing Play.com over the weekend I noted an upcoming Tartan release: Kim Ki-duk’s neglected The Coast Guard. The title of the film, to a westerner, is somewhat misleading. In the peaceful west, a coast guard is something to do with lifeboats, or air-sea rescue. He sits in a lookout post all day scanning the … [Read More]
Dear Leader’s Heir Apparent fills Independent News Void
The UK’s Independent is getting increasingly soft-focus. It’s more like a Sunday supplement than a newspaper. Yesterday’s page 1 and 2 (you don’t get much to a page in the new tabloid format, once you’ve sold all the advertising space) contained the shock horror news that 4x4s are bad and their drivers are stupid. On … [Read More]
Il Mare remake opens in London
As I flicked through the Independent on my way to work today trying vainly to find some real news (of which more tomorrow) I was vaguely aware of Keanu Reeves entering my consciousness. Not a frequent occurrence I can assure you. Maybe there was a story about him in the gossip section. I turned to … [Read More]
Prof Kim Chang-nam: history & characteristics of modern Korean culture
(SOAS, 5 June 2006, 7pm: the concluding event of the London Korean Festival 2006) I’m more reluctant than usual to make this post. The ground covered in Professor Kim’s hugely stimulating conclusion to the London Korean Festival was more than extensive, and left the audience wanting to ask tons of questions. To condense a hundred … [Read More]
Park’s equalizer costs Woori Bank millions
I’m still running this as a business story. It’s a follow up to my post a few days ago. The Korea Times today provides more detail on banks’ exposures to the world cup. As well as Hana Bank’s Red Devil Reserve Account, Woori Bank has opened 19,000 “I Love Park Ji-sung” time deposits. Every goal … [Read More]
If you’re going to trash a film in a British newspaper…
… the least you can do is use British English. Mark Kermode’s strange review in the Observer of Fruit Chan’s full-length version of Dumplings (above) reveals a prissiness that I don’t expect of a reviewer. Cat III sleaze it is not. His comment raises the question of whether he has ever watched any Cat III … [Read More]
Nobble your vicar
The organisation of the Global Week of Prayer for North Korea has been impressive. The website has been up for ages, allowing ample time for word-of-mouth. And then a week or so ago there was a bulk mailing. I happened to be around at the vicarage the other day for a meeting of the church … [Read More]
Four emerging artists
From a recent two-part article in the Korea Herald: Four emerging artists by Shin Hae-in 6 April 2006 In recent years, young artists in their 20s and 30s have emerged as the mainstream of the art world, bringing rapid changes to the domestic art scene. The Korea Herald met four of these emerging artists in … [Read More]
Saemaeul Movement Goes International
I’m in the middle of reading Mark Clifford’s book Troubled Tiger, a history of the Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan era focusing on the connectedness between businessmen, generals and politicians. A brief review will be coming soon (here). While much of the growth-driven development was geared towards heavy industry and the export market, there was … [Read More]
Danoje: an enjoyable but slightly baffling event from Think Korea
If you had read the blurb on the Bloomsbury Theatre website you might have been expecting two seperate pieces to be on the programme at the NewRa Dance Company’s performance: a performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring; and a performance of a Korean springtime ritual. Here’s the material from the Bloomsbury site, which was repeated … [Read More]
Photos of Danoje: springtime rites at the Bloomsbury
After my lacklustre snaps of Lee Soo Young at the Fairfield Hall on May 1st, I thought it was time I entered the 21st century, and persuaded Louise that we needed a pocket digital camera for my birthday. Last night was its first outing in the service of this site. In case anyone’s interested, they … [Read More]
Book now for Madrid 07
First the good news. You have an excuse to escape from the UK in dreary February next year for a long weekend in Madrid (15-19 February 2007): ARCO, a contemporary art expo in Madrid, has Korea as a guest of honour, so 20 Korean galleries will be exhibiting. Not so good news: in a classic … [Read More]
DPRK: Japan and the abduction issue
It’s been a while since I last received a copy of the DPRK e-bulletin. Here’s the latest one. The related BBC story is here. DPRK FM Spokesman Exposes Japan’s Moves to Internationalize “Abduction Issue” Pyongyang, June 13 (KCNA) — A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued a statement on June 13 as regards the … [Read More]
Koreans masquerading as Japanese (and vice versa) – a visit to Yoshi Sushi in Hammersmith
There’s a presumption that when you go to an ethnic restaurant the staff are going to be from the country whose food is on offer. Of course, it’s not always the case. The first counter-example I came across in respect of London Korean restaurants is Young Bean Kwan, where I can often be found stuffing … [Read More]