Hallyu

BTS’s busy couple of weeks

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by Philip Gowman on 16 October, 2018

in Event reports and reviews | Hallyu | In the news | Pop rock and indie | TV shows

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Korea’s biggest band: A speech for UNICEF at the United Nations on 24 September. The speech, by the band’s leader Kim Namjun (aka RM), ended as follows: Like most people, I’ve made many and plenty mistakes in my life. I have many faults and I have many […]

The end of the journey: desire, recognition and redemption in BTS’s “IDOL”

by Colette Balmain 1 October 2018

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Dr Colette Balmain examines the culmination of the BTS Love Yourself series: “IDOL” is the lead single from BTS’s final album in the “Love Yourself” series. The series comprises one extended storyworld music video, Love Yourself 起 Wonder; one mini album, Love Yourself 承 Her; one full length album, Love Yourself 轉 Tear; and one […]

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The Garden of the Forking Paths: Difference and Repetition in BTS “Epiphany”

by Colette Balmain 21 August 2018

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Dr Colette Balmain examines the BTS comeback trailer for Love Yourself 結 Answer: “Epiphany” is the comeback trailer for BTS’ last entry in the LOVE YOURSELF Series: Love Yourself 結 Answer. LOVE YOURSELF is a transmedia and multimedia project involving the expansion of the BTS Universe through the construction of a metafictional storyworld established by Music […]

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Artistry, Creativity & Emotionality: Choreographies of the self in “Fake Love”

by Colette Balmain 31 May 2018

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Dr Colette Balmain examines the lead single from BTS’s Love Yourself 轉 Tear: “Fake Love” is the lead single from BTS’ third studio album Love Yourself 轉 Tear (they have also released three Japanese studio albums, two repackages, five EPs and two single albums to date) and follows, both temporally and thematically, the comeback trailer “Singularity” […]

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Trajectories of Meaning in “Singularity” – the BTS Comeback Trailer: Love Yourself 轉 Tear

by Colette Balmain 14 May 2018

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Dr Colette Balmain analyses the comeback trailer for BTS’s third studio album: From Serendipity to Singularity: A Universe of Meaning “Singularity” is the comeback trailer for BTS’ third studio or full length album, Love Yourself: Tear which will be released on 18th May 2018. This follows up the mini album or EP, Love Yourself: Her […]

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BTS featured in BBC K-pop documentary

by Philip Gowman 21 January 2018

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Adele Roberts, who hosts BBC Radio 1’s Early Breakfast Show, thrilled UK K-pop followers and BTS Army members on 2 October 2017 when she played BTS for the first time on the BBC as part of a Best New Pop feature. That track, DNA, along with Mic Drop, have featured several times on the BBC […]

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Think Korea 2006 – an introduction

by Philip Gowman 17 August 2017

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Think Korea 2006 was an ambitious programme of cultural and other events organised by the Korean Embassy as part of the “Korea-UK Mutual Visit Year”. There was, I believe, a reciprocal series of UK-related events organised in Korea, but I never saw any publicity about it. One event I do know of: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra […]

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London Korean Festival 2006 – an introduction

by Philip Gowman 16 August 2017

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The London Korean Festival 2006 was the last of the festivals organised by Oh Tae-min and his team, which included Stephanie Seung-min Kim who would go on to be the first curator at the Korean Cultural Centre before moving into the art curatorial world on her own. Previously working from within the Korean Anglican Community […]

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Conference news: the 4th World Congress for Hallyu

by Events Editor 29 August 2016

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The 2016 World Hallyu Congress will take place at Oriel College, Oxford, 26-28 September. You can register to attend here. Students free, others $50 (plus accommodation). Draft timetable is below. Keep an eye on the conference website for updates. Time Harris Lecture Theatre Harris Room Sanders Room Monday Sep 26 14:00-18:00 Registration 18:00-20:00 Reception Dinner […]

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Event news: Korean Culture Day in Battersea

by Events Editor 29 August 2016

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A day of Korean cultural and networking at the Royal College of Art Battersea Campus. Find out more on the event’s Facebook Page. K-Culture Day Hosted by AskCulture and Inspire Me Korea Saturday 3 September 12:30–17:00 1 Hester Road, London SW11 4AN If you’d love to know more about Korea, we invite you to our Korean […]

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“How Korea became fashion’s new fraternity”

by Philip Gowman 2 February 2016

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Tonight’s Evening Standard page 27. I know I’m going to sound my age here but anyway… Dara from 2NE1 (right) looks fine. But would any of you turn up to an event looking like G-Dragon (Big Bang) or CL (2NE1)? If anyone’s interested in reading it, it’s a brief puff piece on how Koreans are […]

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The Confused Westerner’s Response to K-Pop

by Matthew Jackson 5 September 2015

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Have you read the Wikipedia article on K-pop? It’s really, really long. Seriously, I did not know most of that stuff. When you next have a sufficiently large mug of tea, I highly recommend giving it a read. Changing tack, did you see the article on Yahoo about K-pop? It’s shorter, and chimes with a […]

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Event news: Conference on Asian Cultural Flows

by Events Editor 28 August 2015

News of an upcoming conference at Birkbeck. Those who qualify can book via Eventbrite. Conference on Asian Cultural Flows Dr Lorraine Lim Wednesday, 30 September 2015 from 10:00 to 17:00 (BST) London, United Kingdom The popularity of J-Pop and K-Pop in East and Southeast Asia (and beyond) is now well-known, but less is known about […]

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K-Culture lecture #1: Where did K-Pop come from?

by Events Editor 7 March 2015

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Professor Keith Howard has been following the Korean popular music industry for a while: he was in the SBS studio when Fin K.L. made their debut no.1 in 1999. His book Korean Pop Music – riding the wave (now sadly out of print) is highly enjoyable. So his upcoming talk should be a great way […]

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Looking back at 2014: Entertainment news

by Philip Gowman 15 February 2015

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In the second of four retrospective articles, we recall some of the entertainment stories that caught our eye in 2014. Good year for: Popular TV drama My Love from the Star had an impact beyond its 21 episode span. The lead female character, played by Jeon Ji-hyun, managed to boost sales of trenchcoats in Korea, […]

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Book review: The Birth of Korean Cool

by Philip Gowman 28 November 2014

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Euny Hong: The Birth of Korean Cool How one nation is conquering the world through pop culture Simon & Schuster UK, 2014, 267pp Euny Hong’s first non-fiction book (we loved her novel) is in turn infuriating, entertaining and informative. Let’s get the infuriating bits done with first. In her approach to Romanization she is cavalier, […]

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K-Drama week: Yang Yun-ho, IRIS, and the current state of Korean drama

by Philip Gowman 6 October 2014

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The KCCUK’s K-Drama week included the opportunity to meet the director of one of Korea’s most successful TV dramas of recent years, IRIS, which has been screened in 26 countries and brings film-like tension to the small screen. Director Yang Yun-ho gave a talk on the current state of Hallyu at SOAS, and participated in […]

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