The last time I ate in the rooftop restaurant in the London Hilton was nearly thirty years ago, and somebody else was paying. It was very good, but since then much has changed. In 2006 the space was taken over by Chris Galvin (ex Orrery, Wolseley), and the establishment got a Michelin star in 2009. … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 61)
EU-ROK FTA used in pro-EU campaign
Interesting to see how the pro-Europe lobby are targeting Korean interests to support their cause. @lklinks, our Twitter account, was recently tagged by @euromove, who describe themselves as “the biggest grassroots, independent, nationwide organisation making the case for the UK’s membership of the EU”, in the below tweet. Also tagged, somewhat bizarrely, were the London … [Read More]
Book review: Shin Kyung-sook — I’ll be right there
There are people who liked Shin Kyung-sook’s most famous work – Please Look After Mother – and those that didn’t. In the latter camp is Tony Malone and Charles Montgomery. And those in that camp seem to like I’ll Be Right There. Now, call me a sentimental old softie (and yes, like many others I … [Read More]
The KAA’s residency at the KCC – a video of the opening performance
Here is a video of the opening performance of this year’s Korean Artist Association’s residency at the KCC – entitled Arirang – by Jason Verney of Native Nomad Pictures. [Read More]
Book news: Our Korean Kitchen by Jordan Bourke and Rejina Pyo
Fashion designer Rejina Pyo has joined with her husband, chef and food writer Jordan Bourke, to produce Our Korean Kitchen, available from 3 September (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £25). Judging by the extract published today in The Guardian, the recipe book is user-friendly, full of welcoming photographs, and adapts traditional recipes to accommodate ingredients available in … [Read More]
Street food and cooking sauce start-up gets Dragon funding
Congratulations to Ben Ansah and Sue Youn, the couple behind street food and Korean sauce company Yogiyo! who secured £50,000 of funding from one of the investors in TV show Dragons’ Den in the episode screened on Sunday 16 August. You can watch their TV pitch on the BBC website here (43’10” into episode 6 … [Read More]
A year of Korea-France cultural events starts in September
The official website opens at the end of this month; the year of Korean events in France starts on 18 September, lasting until August 2016; and the year of France in Korea runs from March till December 2016. The celebrations mark 130 years since diplomatic relations were established in 1886. Looks like the Eurostar might … [Read More]
Understatement of the year: Joint concert “not quite a success”
There’s a delightful and very detailed account of the grand Independence Day North-South musical collaboration in the Korea Joongang Daily. The headline reads “DMZ concert not quite a success, but not a failure”. Less politely put, the affair sounds like it was a bit of a fiasco: Only “13 musicians … turned up: one violin, … [Read More]
Event report: the 2015 Trafalgar Square Korean Festival
Trafalgar Square is one of London’s premier venues for free open-air events, and Korea is ideally situated to take advantage of the space to showcase its culture, given that the Cultural Centre is a stone’s throw away. The square had already hosted two Korean festivals in the summer of 2007 and 2008, presenting a mixture of … [Read More]
The ultimate hiking refreshment
Seen on instagram: You’ve got to hand it to Korea. 70 years of independence has produced the ultimate innovation — soju packaging designed for hiking: [Read More]
A weekend of women’s sport dominated by Koreans
Koreans seem to have been dominating the world of women’s golf for quite a while (just take a look at the LPGA page showing tournament winners), so it was no surprise that they did well in the British Open (30 July – 2 August). But it was quite an achievement that the top four names … [Read More]
August events 2015
This is a busy month… Festivals We’re already well into Kingston Welcomes Korea, which lasts until 8 August. A schedule of events can be found here. The KTO and KCC have combined to put on a big event in Trafalgar Square, 9 August. Full details here. The Edinburgh Fringe has at least seven Korean performance … [Read More]
Film Review: Korean Undertaker and Not One of the Forgotten
For about four years Bona Shin of Theatre for All has been getting to know some of the British veterans from Korean War, particularly those based in the Virginia Water area; and as she got to know them she decided to collect some of their memories and preserve them in documentary form. The resulting two … [Read More]
The Massive reports from the Boys Republic concert
It seems the Boys Republic gig in Islington on 4 July went down well with the audience. The Korean Class Massive has a detailed account of the evening on their blog, and loads of photos on their Facebook page. Sounds like a good evening. [Read More]
Echoes and connections – an introduction to LKL’s 2015 Korea Trip
A few days into this year’s Korea trip, my brain was threatening to explode. Coming to Seoul is always a pretty full-on experience: so many things to pack in, so many people to see; and inevitably the first few days you are also pretty sleep-deprived as you adjust to the time zone. But this year … [Read More]
Brief book review: Mark James Russell — Young-hee and the Pullocho
So annoying. I get sent a review copy of a work of fiction. I warn them that I probably won’t have time to read it properly, but promise to do my best to have a quick flick through it and to write a polite notice for the website to note that the book has been published. … [Read More]