All eyes are currently on Cho Seong-jin, winner of this year’s Chopin competition. But while we wait for the reviews of his debut Deutsche Grammophon release, let’s not forget other Korean pianists with an affinity for Chopin. In this months’s Grammophone one of the Editor’s Choices is a disk of Chopin preludes by Lim Dong-hyek: … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 57)
Book review: Han Kang — The Vegetarian
Han Kang: The Vegetarian Translated by Deborah Smith Portobello Books, 2015, 183pp Originally published as 채식주의자, Seoul 2007 Sometimes, reading translated Korean literature can be a bit of a private affair. You read it, you maybe enjoy it and appreciate it, but you think twice about recommending it to a non Koreaphile; or if you … [Read More]
BBC North Korea service takes a step closer
A couple of years ago a campaign started for a BBC Korea service. At the time my attitude was one of polite and disengaged interest, taking the view that South Koreans probably wouldn’t be particularly interested, and North Koreans wouldn’t be able to tune in, so the impact of a new service would be limited. … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Lee Kwang-guk focus
If I had seen no other films at the 2015 London Korean Film Festival, the evenings of films by Lee Kwang-guk would have made the whole festival worthwhile. The first evening featured his second film, the short Hard to Say (2013), along with his debut feature Romance Joe (2012), while the second evening followed up … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Chung Chang-wha focus
Each year the LKFF includes a few golden oldies among its line-up of the latest commercial and art house offerings. This year the festival gave us the opportunity to get to know three films by veteran director Chung Chang-wha, made before he was scouted by Shaw Brothers in 1969. The earliest film to be screened … [Read More]
Festival film review: Zhang Lu’s Love And…
Two years ago the revered Korean film critic Tony Rayns asked Moon Sori an awkward question. The question was followed by a sharp intake of breath from the audience who couldn’t believe what they had just heard, and by a few false starts at a response by Ms Moon before she answered fluently. At the final … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Socialphobia
Socialphobia, a debut film from Hong Seok-jae, was one of the fifteen sold-out screenings at this year’s LKFF. For an indie film, it had a strong reception at the Korean box office, aided in part by the actor Byun Yo-han who played in the hit TV drama Misaeng, but also because of its contemporary theme: … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Sleepless Night
There is something slightly hypnotising about seeing a movie which seems to aspire to do nothing more than lovingly record the daily lives of a couple who face the same everyday challenges and questions that most of us face. How and whether to stand up to the boss at work when he seeks to make … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Collapse
The second screening in this year’s documentary strand, this movie left you wondering what the director’s intentions were. Indeed, it made you wonder whether there was another guiding spirit which took over the film-making process, editing and shaping the unfinished work of the director. And then you looked at the credits, and discovered that there … [Read More]
Inside the Corinthia – home to the LKFF stars
As you settle into your seat before a screening at the London Korean Film Festival there’s a familiar set of brief films you watch before the main feature starts: first the official trailer, and then three short promotional videos for the sponsors. Of these, the one that probably sticks in the mind for all the … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: The Classified File
As goodwill ambassador for Sancheong County, I was delighted when Sancheong’s most famous Buddhist monk, the late Seong Cheol sunim, got name checked in The Classified File as the Seon Master of the Buddhist-trained fortune teller who unofficially assisted the police in the real-life 1978 kidnap case that was the subject of the movie. One … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Ode to My Father
The time is the present. Yoon Deok-su, a grandfather living in Busan but born in South Hamgyong province in North Korea, looks back at his life of hardship which has coincided exactly with the life of the Republic of Korea. Surrounded by his grandchildren, he has managed to raise his family from nothing to relative prosperity, … [Read More]
Classics revisited – an opportunity to get to know the films of Chung Chang-wha
One of the things we like about the London Korean Film Festival the range of different perspectives it offers us on the vibrant Korean film scene, from emerging directors to actor retrospectives via documentaries and more. One of the strands we appreciate most is the opportunity it gives us to see classic movies from the … [Read More]
CheeMc reviewed in The Observer
There’s an enthusiastic review of the fried chicken at CheeMc, 310 Walworth Road, London SE17 2TG (020 3645 0772) in this weekend’s Observer. “Without visiting Korea, it is impossible to tell how authentic CheeMc’s fried chicken is. No matter. It’s delicious…” HT to the Korean Class Massive [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Kim Eungsu — The City in the Water
Write down on a piece of paper a list of techniques you expect to be used in a documentary about a controversial episode in recent history. Maybe it will include archive footage; expert talking heads giving their views of the historical problem; interviews with people who lived through it, witnessed it or even contributed to … [Read More]
LKFF 2015: an index of reviews
Here is an index to reviews of some of the films screening at LKFF 2015. I’ll update this article with more links when I find them. Films are listed in order of screening. LKL = London Korean Links | EK = Eastern Kicks | THN = The Hollywood News | HC = Hangul Celluloid Film … [Read More]