Inkun Kim, 26, from Seoul, Korea, is the newest chef to have joined the Dining Room (or as many locals still know it, Arthur Purchase’s) in a beautiful Georgian building on Chichester, West Sussex. And he’s already put kimbap on the menu. I’m impressed. He graduated at Korea Culinary Arts Science High School, the best […]
Author: Jennifer Barclay
The East is Tasted at Tower Bridge
We’ll remember this summer heat: after so many Korean summer festivals in London marred by rain and cold, this one was a scorcher. Blue skies, Tower Bridge in the background heaving with tourists, the Gherkin to the north, and on the south side on some of the greenest lawns I’ve seen for weeks during this […]
Korean Eye: anything but ordinary
Jennifer Barclay pays a quick visit to the varied exhibition of contemporary Korean art at the Saatchi Gallery Korean Eye was founded by David Ciclitira, who became a fan of contemporary Korean art when visiting South Korea on business, and decided to bring an exhibition to the UK for the first time last year. As […]
Book review: Life on the Edge of the DMZ
Lee See-woo: Life on the Edge of the DMZ Global Oriental, 2008 Translated by Kim Myung-hee I’ve been dipping in and out of this fascinating though often overly complex book by peace activist Lee Si-Woo. It’s sometimes hard to tell whether the English translation – for the most part unfussy – is sometimes too literal, […]
Korea, recharge your energy
In fifty years since the Korean War, South Korea was catapulted from being one of the poorest countries on the planet, on a par with Ethiopia and Bangladesh, to being one of the OECD countries with a GDP that hovers between 11th and 13th in the world, depending on exchange rates. Now Mr Charm Lee, […]
Margaret Drabble’s search for the Crown Princess
Jennifer Barclay, author of MEETING MR KIM: OR HOW I WENT TO KOREA AND LEARNED TO LOVE KIMCHI, reports from the Korean Cultural Centre on Dame Margaret Drabble’s lecture based on her novel THE RED QUEEN Dame Margaret Drabble, CBE DBE, looks elegant with her hair in a natural bob and a touch of red […]
Concert notes: Gong Myoung at the Chichester Festival Theatre — Korean Musicians Win English Hearts
Jennifer Barclay, author of Meeting Mr Kim, reviews Gong Myoung at the Chichester Festival Theatre, 12 October 2009 He enters the stage wearing an oversized orange hat and sunglasses, carrying a toolbox and a walking stick. From the toolbox he takes out a saw and a drill, saws off the end of the walking stick, […]
Summer cooking with Kiejo
Jennifer Barclay, author of Meeting Mr Kim: Or How I Went to Korea and Learned to Love Kimchi, learns to cook traditional Korean food… Kiejo Sarsfield stands in her Cath Kidston apron in a kitchen stuffed with cookery books in leafy Chalfont St Giles. Having left South Korea thirty years ago and lived all over […]
The epic stand on the Imjin
Jennifer Barclay, author of Meeting Mr Kim: Or How I Went to Korea and Learned to Love Kimchi, looks at Andrew Salmon’s exciting new book on the battle of Imjin River: To The Last Round (Aurum Press, June 2009) To the Last Round by Andrew Salmon gives the most exhaustive account to date of what […]
A scientific look at ancient Korean art
Jennifer Barclay reports on the Anglo-Korean Society evening at the Korean Cultural Centre, 16 June 2009 Short documentaries on some of Korea’s ancient cultural artefacts were shown at the Korean Cultural Centre on 16 June, presented by members of the non-profit Korean Spirit and Cultural Promotion Project. Matthew Jackson and Hang-Jin Chang, who graduated together […]
Warrior at the Imjin
Bob Warrior describes life as a prisoner of war in North Korea, over 55 years ago. Jennifer Barclay’s compelling interview.
Book Review: Reginald Thompson — Cry Korea
Jennifer Barclay reviews a contemporary war reporter’s account of the Korean war, “Cry Korea” (Reginald Thompson)
Surprise and a sense of fun: the UK’s gateway to Korean culture
Jennifer Barclay visits the Korean Cultural Centre on its first birthday, experiences Choi Jeong-hwa’s exhibition, and meets the KCC’s director, Kyuhak Choi.
Dulsori gets Chichester jumping to the beat
Jennifer Barclay meets Dulsori at their performance in Chichester’s Festival Theatre, 24 January 2009.
A veteran remembers
Today, 27 July, is the anniversary of the end of the Korean War in 1953 – a war in which millions died, and which only ended with a ceasefire, Korea remaining divided by a heavily guarded border for fifty-five years now. Jennifer Barclay marks the occasion. Peter Poole served in the Korean War as a […]
KFC – Korean Fried Chicken – and French Korean Links
Jennifer Barclay reports from the Korean Food Festival, held in the garden of the Fountain Pub, New Malden, Saturday 12 July 2008 By 10.30 on Saturday morning, I’d already done my best to introduce millions of BBC Radio Four listeners to the delights of kimchi. I’d been invited onto the travel show Excess Baggage to […]
From Elgar to Shamans and Spicy Squid
An Evening with UK-based Korean Artists, sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Centre, 27 June 2008 Report by Jennifer Barclay, with photos also by David Kilburn and Saharial Let’s hope this is the first of many evenings devoted to young Korean artists living in the UK, because the […]