Take your pick. Here are the choices you have on the first day of the fair at Earls Court. And of course you have to choose between Yi Mun-yol at the British Library and Yoon Tae-ho at the KCC in the evening too. Click on the graphic for a more legible version, and click on … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 78)
“Asian Literature” in Hong Kong
Before we get carried away by the idea of the new Korean Literature Wave, here’s the “Asian Literature” (in English translation) section of a decent Hong Kong bookstore this week (Page One in Times Square). Almost 50% Murakami, some Japanese Asia Extreme, and some Chinese. While this would be a normal state of affairs in … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Kim Jihee — Between the Lines, at cueB Gallery
In quick succession, London has had three exhibitions by Korean artists who use books as a medium. All three artists destroy the book: Kwon Jukhee shreds the pages into tiny strips to transform the books into sculptures in which the paper cascades like a waterfall; Chun Kwang-young tears pages out of the books and uses … [Read More]
10 things to read before the London Book Fair
The London Book Fair is nearly upon us, and as you well know: the more you put into something, the more you get out. So here is your preparatory reading (and listening) list: The April edition of Words without Borders: a Korea special, including works by Shin Kyung-sook, Kim Young-ha and Han Kang (all present … [Read More]
Great Britain featured in Garosugil
Ever since the 2012 Olympic year, the British embassy in Seoul has been running the Great Festival featuring the best of British. And over the weekend they took over one of Gangnam’s most popular streets. The JoongAng Ilbo has the story. [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Tak Ki-hyoung — Loyalty, at Mokspace
Tak Ki-hyoung is Senior Director of Photography at the Hankyoreh newspaper. He lives in Northeast Seoul near Mount Cho An (초안산), where there is the site of graves of Joseon dynasty court officials. The site is now overgrown, and nestling amidst the woodland are solitary statues which acted as sentinels for the tombs. Tak is … [Read More]
April events 2014
Books and Literature In case you hadn’t noticed already, this is the month of the London Book Fair (8 – 10 April), in which Korea is the market focus. A complete chronological list of talks and other events related to the fair can be found in LKL’s special LBF events page. Outside of London, there … [Read More]
In pictures: Leonard Johansson — Confessions of an Opium Eater, at Hanmi Gallery
Hanmi Gallery’s latest exhibition – on for a month, which is twice as long as most of their previous shows – features Leonard Johansson, who is based is London and of Swedish and Korean parents. Johansson takes his inspiration from Thomas De Quincey’s account of his quest for heightened experiences through substance abuse. In the … [Read More]
Book review: Lee Ki-ho — At Least we can Apologize
Lee Ki-ho: At Least We Can Apologize Translated by Christopher J Dykas Dalkey Archive, 2013, 185pp Originally published as 사과는 잘해요, 2009 What do you do to make money when you have a limited set of skills? In this dark comedy the two central characters, who find themselves unexpectedly set free from a mysterious mental … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Ha Young Kim’s Modern Soup at 43 Inverness Street
The first exhibition of 2014 at 43 Inverness Street drew to a close last weekend: their second solo show by Ha Young Kim. Gallery director Suzie Lee talks about the work and its reception in the below video: The opening of the exhibition was a festive affair, with daegeum player Hyelim Kim performing behind Ha … [Read More]
Book review: Jungu Yoon — Spirituality in Contemporary Art
For a westerner struggling to understand some of the spiritual or mystical elements in both traditional and contemporary Asian art there is a huge barrier in that Taoism and other Eastern philosophies are not something that we have lived with since our childhood. The concepts of the void and non-existence, and the idea that blank … [Read More]
UN launches its report on human rights in North Korea
On 17 February the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea launched the report of its findings. On 17 March the Chair of the Commission, Michael Kirby, formally presented it to the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The Commission “found systematic, widespread and … [Read More]
Kim Yuna’s Lark of Emergency and other popular classics
Browsing in the Hankyoreh yesterday I came across some charming pictures of Queen Yuna. This particular one, with the famous yellow logo on the CD cover … … got me googling for Deutsche Grammophon compilations of Kim’s backing tracks. And I came across this: Scrolling down to the tracklist I find that the label hasn’t … [Read More]
The BKVA Annual Report 2013-14
The following is the text of the annual report of the British Korean Veterans Association, as presented to the AGM of the newly-named British Korean Society. This is likely to be the last such report, for reasons which will become apparent as you read the following paragraphs. Chairman’s Report to the AGM of the Anglo-Korean … [Read More]
Book review: Mark James Russell — K-POP Now!
If the only thing you know about K-pop is Gangnam Style, this book is for you. And even for someone who knows a bit about the subject, this is a handy book to browse. For me, as an occasional lurker and puzzled observer in K-pop fan forums, there were several moments of minor revelation. Ah, … [Read More]
Book review: The Hairy Bikers’ Asian Adventure
Si King and Dave Myers: The Hairy Bikers’ Asian Adventure BBC / Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014, 319 pp There are plenty of Asian cookery books out there, but I can’t think of a western recipe book that focuses on Korean cuisine. The Korean cookery books that are in my own library are written by Koreans. … [Read More]