London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

LKL Celeb of the month #5: Kim Ah Joong

Over the past couple of weeks the internet has been buzzing with searches for Kim Ah-Joong. Which makes her LKL’s fifth Celeb of the Month. Kim Ah-joong (김아중) was born in 1982 in Seoul. She shot to fame with the film 200 Pound Beauty, where she stars as a talented but tubby singer who undergoes … [Read More]

Happy holidays

LKL will be taking a break for a couple of days. In the meantime, here are some seasonal pics. First, from last weekend’s FT front page: postmen in Seoul on a charity mission: Next, K-pop band Jewelry: And because I haven’t posted many pictures of Lee Hyori this year, here she is in a festive … [Read More]

LKL Celeb of the month #4: Won Bin

Won Bin (원빈) was born Kim Do Jin (김도진) on 10 November 1977 in Gangwon province. His 1996 TV debut was little noticed, but then he hit the big time in the hit drama Autumn Fairy Tale (2000), the first part of the Endless Love seasonal series which includes Winter Sonata. Alongside Won Bin appeared … [Read More]

LKL Celeb of the Month #3: Lee Dong Wook

Reviewing my website statistics one month I was surprised and delighted to find that there was so much interest in one of the artists I had written about. But then, when I saw that many googlers were not interested so much in his artwork as in seeing pictures of him naked, I realised that there … [Read More]

LKL celeb of the month #2: BoA

I had been planning on giving Lee Dong-wook the honour of being LKL’s second celeb of the month. But Chinese netizens had other ideas. A massive spike in interest in BoA during the month resulted in certain posts about her getting ten times as many visits as any other page on this blog. So, BoA … [Read More]

LKL Celeb of the Month #1: Lee Da Hae

The first in a series – we select the celeb who’s come to our attention this month, often driven by the number of times readers have searched for the name. Lee Da Hae (이다해), real name Byun Da-hae (변다해), born April 19, 1984. Best known for her role in My Girl (right), a TV Drama … [Read More]

Easter celebrity round-up

It’s been a while since I rounded up some of the celebrity news as an excuse for posting some pictures, so here’s some recent items: First – Brits with Korean connections: Korea Beat has a translation of an interview with David Beckham, recently in Korea with LA Galaxy Kate Moss gets an advertising contract with … [Read More]

The top 30 LKL pictures of 2007: the top 10

Here’s the top ten. And probably not all that work-safe. #10: The second appearance of LKL’s favourite ex-playboy model, Lee Sabi (806 views): #9: The Chejudo Love Land theme park (884): #8: Sassy girl and last vampire Jeon Ji-hyun displaying her smooth thighs as a rock chick (969): #7: Pop diva, CF queen and all-round … [Read More]

The top 30 LKL pictures of 2007 – part 2

Here’s #11-20, in reverse order: #20: Tottenham Hotspur’s Lee Young-pyo: #19: 1970s Seoul: #18: The first appearance of top K-pop star BoA, in her campaign for Olympus: #17: Shinhan Bank’s Manchester United Credit Card: #16: The cover image from Kyung-Hyun Kim’s heavyweight book on Korean Cinema — a still from Peppermint Candy: #15: Robot Taekwon … [Read More]

The top 30 LKL pictures of 2007

Part 1: #21-30 Inspired by the cheap TV programmes which seem to have taken over the evening schedules in the UK, simply recycling clips from other TV programmes (The 100 most embarrassing celebrity moments, and the like), here’s a chance to sample again the pictures most viewed on this site during 2007, according to AWstats. … [Read More]

Welcome down the local any day

A still to go with this current TV commercial: The rather unrefined drinking mannerism brings to mind the classic Boddingtons commercial from the 1990s: and while we’re on the subject, the one featuring Melanie Sykes: Of course, it’s the spokesmodel rather than the product that would be welcome in the local boozer. The general consensus … [Read More]

The redemptive power of Lee Young-ae

As we all know, Jewel in the Palace is a hit in many countries. It’s watched all around the world. Including in Indian jails. A convict in India has sent a letter of gratitude to a top Korean network for airing the historical drama “Jewel in the Palace,” or “Daejanggeum” in Korean. Narendra Kumar Sharma, … [Read More]

Banish your Monday blues

Two little items to brighten your Monday. First, if ever you thought the TV in your particular country was trashy, just be thankful they haven’t plumbed the depths of “Racing Model Billiard Championship”. “This is a sport I really would like to see catch on,” comments the Party Pooper. “Some geniuses over at the Xports … [Read More]