The 2020/21 season isn’t over yet, but Tottenham’s Son Heung Min and Harry Kane have just become the top goal-scoring partnership in the history of the English Premiere League. The milestone was reached in Spurs’s 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace yesterday, when Son assisted the final goal from Kane. Son scored his 100th goal for […]
Category: Koreans in UK
Building bridges between North and South in New Malden
We do not need reminding that the Korean peninsula is divided. But the implications of that division for Koreans in Britain are not so obvious. I remember at a British Korean Society event ten years ago at which the North and South Korean Ambassadors were speaking, as audience and speakers mingled over drinks afterwards, one […]
Bora Kwon interviewed in the Guardian
Bora Kwon, Labour councillor for Hammersmith and Fulham, and one of only two councillors of Korean background in the UK, gets a nice interview in the Guardian this week. She talks about her life in the UK, politics and of course health. Read the interview in full here. You can follow Councillor Kwon on Twitter […]
A visit to New Malden’s 2019 Korean Independence Day celebrations
Having arrived back in town from the Edinburgh Fringe around midnight the previous evening, I was never going to make it to the 11am speeches and other formalities that kick off the traditional Korean Independence Day celebrations in New Malden. But it was clear that there had been a good turnout: by the time I […]
Book review: Min Kym — Gone
Min Jin Kym: Gone — A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung Viking, 2017, 256pp When Min Jin Kym’s Gone came out, I mentally heaved a sigh of relief. Here’s one Korea-related book, I thought, among the dozens that will be published this year, that I don’t need to read. The story of how her […]
War Veterans honoured in Kingston’s Guildhall
Yesterday a group of Korean musicians and performers entertained a group of British veterans from the Korean War in Kingston’s Guildhall. The event was organised by the Korean Veterans Association UK, a group of volunteers committed to the continuing remembrance of the sacrifice made by soldiers who came to the aid of the Republic of […]
Little Pyongyang – screening and Q+A
A screening and associated events in aid of Connect North Korea. Separately, a reminder that you can contribute to their Crowdfunding campaign to launch their community centre to provide targeted assistance to North Korean refugees in the UK. Lush Film Fund presents… Little Pyongyang Thursday 21 June 2018 7:00pm – 10:00pm Lush Studio Soho | […]
Min Kym’s stolen Strad – the Classic FM podcast
“This is the story of violinist Min Kym and what happened when her instrument was taken from her. It’s a tale of giddy love, devastating loss and the healing power of music.” Listen to the podcast here, with a summary on the Classic FM website here.
UK gets its first elected Korean councillors
Congratulations to Ha Jaesung and Kwon Bora, who have become the first Koreans to be elected councillors in the UK following the local elections on 3 May. Ha was elected to the Kingston Council for the Lib Dems, while Kwon was elected to Hammersmith and Fulham for Labour. He stood for the first time in […]
Connect: North Korea launches community centre crowdfunding campaign
LKL is happy to pass on this press release from Connect: North Korea: In 2003, the first North Korean refugee arrived in the UK. Today, nearly 700 North Korean refugees live in New Malden, Surrey. Upon arriving in the UK, North Korean refugees are ill-equipped to integrate and settle into British society and few services […]
Sad news
Kim Hyewon, a 22 year-old student who was studying English here fell to her death after jumping in the air to pose for a photo at the edge of the Seven Sisters. According to the Telegraph: A statement by witness Young Choi, 24, said: “I went to the Seven Sisters for tourism. Another Korean girl, […]
Look forward, not back: how best to work with North Korean exiles
If I had been given a fiver every time a journalist or PhD student asked to be put in touch with North Korean refugees in the London area I wouldn’t be exactly rich, but there would be a few more books overflowing from my already full bookcase. Whether it be for reaction to the latest […]
Event news: Support for North Korean Exiles – a talk in New Malden
EAHRNK will be hosting an event in New Malden on April 5th in conjunction with TNKR (Teach North Korean Refugees). Come along to find out how you can get involved in North Korean human rights: Empowerment and Integration: Support for North Korean Exiles Wed 5 April 2017 | 19:00 – 21:00 New Malden Methodist Church […]
Exhibition news: Korea Town, at Wimbledon Space – and a Korea Day
It’s a bit difficult to tell from the below announcement what artists are participating in this Wimbledon College of Art show. The accompanying blog post assumes almost a similar amount of insider knowledge. But it may be of interest to this readership. There is a Korea Day at the college on 4 February in the […]
The folding plug makes it on to the high street
Seen in Maplins Canary Wharf branch yestserday: The electrical and gadget retailer is stocking the folding plug designed by Choi Min-kyu. Fantastic news that the product has made it onto the high street. We first noticed the idea back in 2009, and saw the next iteration in 2013. Looking at the elegant USB chargers I […]
Event news: an introduction to the UK Exceptional Talent visa
The KCC is hosting a talk aimed at a Korean-speaking audience on the UK’s Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa on 29 November. Full details on the KCC website.