Beopgyesa Temple, Jirisan, Sancheong-gun, Sunday 8 September, 4am. It’s still pitch black. In parts, the sky is thick with cloud, but one or two stars manage to find a break to peek through. We set off up the trail, I with my head torch, and Mr Yoon using the flashlight from his mobile phone (he has … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 88)
2013 Travel Diary #8: Prayers to the Sanshin
Danseong-myeon, Sancheong-gun, Saturday 7 September, 4pm. After last year’s abortive attempt to get to the top of the highest mountain on mainland South Korea, I was determined to give it another go at a time of year when there was guaranteed not to be any ice on the path. As an added bonus, what would … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #7: Min Young-ki’s new directions
Danseong-myeon, Sancheong-gun, Saturday 7 September, 2pm. We’d had dinner with him the day before last, but this afternoon it was time to pay a more formal visit to Min Young-ki and to see his latest work. When I had visited the previous year, he had been preparing for an exhibition of his famous tea bowls … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #6: An editing project is born
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Saturday 7 September, 7am. We must have done some good work on the Blue Label the previous evening, because I wake up very groggy. The forecast for later that day is for clear skies – good news for my Jirisan hike – but for now there is little but grey. In an … [Read More]
Edinburgh Fringe visit: Kkumdongi Puppet Theater — Climb a Willow to the Sea God’s Palace
A strange title for a tale of brotherly love and filial piety, and a storyline which is a little hard to follow, but a show which is a treat for the eyes. The story is told in four ways: you have an English translation of the script in the programme (if you have a chance … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #5: The official duties
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Friday 6 September, 2pm. After lunch, I realise that I now have to perform my ambassadorial duties. My sense of gloom is at odds with the enthusiastic spiel that I have to present to the camera. We proceed to the Donguibogam Museum where we meet up with a few people in an … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #4: Honouring the spirits, feeling the gi
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Friday 6 September, 9am. In the daylight, I am beginning to get my bearings. The Sancheong World Traditional Medicine Expo is set in a 109 hectare (269 acre) site dominated by the dramatic peaks of Pilbongsan (pencil-peak mountain) and Wangsan (the King’s mountain). The natural slopes of these mountains establish the geography … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #3: Preparing for the Expo
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Friday 6 September, 7am. Four hundred years ago, a ground-breaking medical encyclopaedia was published. The Donguibogam, literally the Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine, was compiled and edited by Heo Jun, a Korean royal doctor, with the support of a team of medical scholars and academics. The work had been commissioned by … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #2: Arrival in Sancheong
Incheon, Thursday 5 September, 2pm. As I leave the plane at Incheon, one of the hostesses says: “I hope it’s alright. We tried to get most of the tomato juice off…” Ah, so that’s what my neighbour had been apologising about in the first place, before he added to the offence by tipping water on … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #1: The release of stress
London, Wednesday 4 September, 3pm. The stress of clearing the desk before leaving the office, of wondering if you’ve packed everything you need, immediately evaporates as you get into the taxi. There’s nothing more you can do, as you make your way through the rush hour traffic to Heathrow for the evening flight to Seoul. … [Read More]
LKL’s 2013 Travel Diaries: Mountain Medicine Land and Grain — Introduction
In 2010, I travelled to Korea on a visit sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Culture Sports & Tourism, and ended up getting my travel diary printed up as a book courtesy of that Ministry. My visit had encompassed things I myself had wanted to do, and things that my hosts and Korean friends had … [Read More]
LKL’s 2013 Travel Diaries: Mountain Medicine Land and Grain — Index
Here is a detailed table of contents for the LKL 2013 Travel Diaries: 4-5 Sept Arrival Introduction | 1 – Leaving London | 2 – Arrival in Sancheong 6 Sept The International Traditional Medicine Expo, day 1 3 – Preparing for the Expo | 4 – Honouring the spirits, feeling the gi | 5 – … [Read More]
September events 2013
It’s Chuseok time, which also means it’s Thames Festival time, but this year there will be no major Korean involvement in the festival. But Samsung is partnering with Arts Council England and others to present Portrait of a River, a film by Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen, near the OXO Tower during the festival. Film The … [Read More]
합 Collaboration: video of the opening performance
For the first time the KAA’s performance at their KCC residency was filmed in its entirety. Good news for those who couldn’t manage to squeeze in to the standing-room-only event! Thanks to Jason Verney of miniminimovie.com for the film. The event programme can be found on the KAA website here. [Read More]
K-pop as peace-builder?
Two recent stories from Israel and Palestine: Middle East: Korean pop ‘brings hope for peace’, BBC, 7 August 2013. “It’s something that gives you hope, and in Jerusalem it is sometimes hard to find hope,” an Arab student is quoted as saying. Israeli troops caught doing Gangnam style with Palestinians on the West Bank, Evening … [Read More]
Edinburgh Fringe visit: Othello – two men
Othello – Two Men is a retelling of the Shakespearean play, in the space of one hour and played by, as suggested by the title, two men. It’s a cut-down version in a cut-down set – simply a free-standing frame to stand in for a prison wall (see image at the bottom of this page). … [Read More]