North Korean art is tied to the genre of socialist realism, producing works of blatant propaganda as well as those with more subtle allegorical story lines. All artists work for the DPRK state, producing artworks which typically portray loyal citizens marching in the vanguard of the revolution, vanquishing enemies and fulfilling quotas. However, within this … [Read More]
Author: Nick Bonner
Selected publications by Nick Bonner
Dan Gordon’s North Korean documentaries now available on Vimeo
If you think that progressing beyond the group stages of the Euros is worth celebrating, maybe you’re right. But the success of the North Korean football team in the 1966 World Cup, in which they reached the quarter finals, was a much bigger achievement. They were the first Asian team to have proceeded beyond the … [Read More]
A fun addition to the smallest room in the house
Even as lockdown is gradually relaxed in the UK, we need to be reminded to be on our guard, that Covid-19 is still a threat. The nice folks at Koryo Studio – an affiliate of the travel company that brought us Dan Gordon’s series of feature-length documentaries on North Korea – have commissioned a work … [Read More]
Nick Bonner’s Made in North Korea arrives in Seoul
The Korea JoongAng Daily has a nice feature on Nick Bonner’s collection of North Korean everyday graphic design. His collection was on show in London’s House of Illustration last year, and arrived at the Hongik Daehangno Art Center (Hyehwa subway) in December, where it will remain until early April. It is well worth a visit. … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Nick Bonner’s Made in North Korea
When one thinks of North Korean graphic art, images of strident anti-American propaganda posters spring to mind. Fortunately, and in the current climate of reduced tension on the peninsula, the posters that greeted you in the first room of Nick Bonner’s exhibition at the House of Illustration focused less on stirring up national hatred against … [Read More]
Movie review: Comrade Kim goes Flying — Whimsical
The London East Asia Film Festival gives us the second chance this year to see Comrade Kim Goes Flying in the company of two of its directors, Nicholas Bonner and Anja Daelemans. The screening in March was in fact the UK premiere, which came almost six years after its international premiere in Toronto in early September … [Read More]
London East Asia Film Festival 2018 programme announced
As in previous years, the London East Asia Film Festival has a strong representation of Korean films. Although this year there is a focus on Taiwan and the Nara International Film Festival, there’s also a focus on the work of actor Kim Yoon-seok, who also features in the opening movie, Dark Figure of Crime. At … [Read More]
Screening: Comrade Kim Goes Flying
If you pop along to the House of Illustration to see Nick Bonner’s current exhibition, you can pick up a DVD of Comrade Kim Goes Flying. You can also find copy of Centre Forward (reviewed here). Both disks are on the pricey side. But for less than half the price of one of them, you … [Read More]
Made in North Korea: Everyday Graphics from the DPRK
A nice feature in The Guardian tells you everything you need to know about the upcoming exhibition from Nick Bonner’s collection. Made in North Korea: Everyday Graphics from the DPRK 23 Feb – 13 May 2018 Tuesday – Sunday 10:00am – 6:00pm House of Illustration | 2 Granary Square | King’s Cross | London N1C … [Read More]
Made in North Korea: In Conversation with Nicholas Bonner
A Q+A to go with the opening night of the Made in North Korea exhibition. Made in North Korea: In Conversation with Nicholas Bonner 23 February 2018, 7:00pm House of Illustration | 2 Granary Square | King’s Cross | London N1C 4BH | www.houseofillustration.org.uk Tickets £15 including exhibition viewing | Book tickets Followed by a … [Read More]
Korea wins Golden Lion in Venice architecture biennale
There have been a lot of Korean Ministry of Culture bigwigs in town this week for the opening of the City of London Festival, in which Korean performers are playing a major part. And many of the officials are going home to Seoul via Venice. Why? Because the Korean Pavilion has been awarded the Golden … [Read More]
2011: the year of North Korean art?
Is 2011 the year of North Korean art? As a Mansudae show closes in Moscow at ВИНЗАВОД, http://bit.ly/ffagtg … # … another show of North Korean linocuts, from Nick Bonner’s collection, opens in Toronto: http://bit.ly/fN8Ezg # [Read More]
A North Korean Feelgood Lecture
By Peter Corbishley The first of the Spring Term SOAS Lectures heard Nicolas Bonner (right) talking to extracts from his and Daniel Gordon’s three films on North Korea: The Game of their Lives (2002), A State of Mind (2004), Crossing the Line / 푸른 눈의 평양시민 / A Blue-Eyed Pyongyang Citizen (2006). The often almost … [Read More]
Nick Bonner – Filming North Korea
The SOAS spring seminar series kicks off this Friday, 16 January, with a talk by Nick Bonner, founder of Koryo Tours and collaborator with Daniel Gordon on three fascinating documentaries on North Korea, showing a very different side from the picture we see from reading the newspapers. The seminar will take place at 5pm in … [Read More]
New and upcoming books
Tom Coyner and Jang Song-hyon have just brought out Mastering Business in Korea – A Practical Guide. The ad in Seoul Magazine reads as follows: In an engaging and easy-to-read format, two experienced business consultants explain the ins and outs of contemporary Korean business culture, etiquette, work rules, and marketing to the Korean consumer. Pick … [Read More]