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 … [Read More]
Category: Language & Learning (page 42)
Conference news: Writing North Korean social history, at SOAS, 11 Sept
Registration is now open for a one-day conference at SOAS on Friday 11 Sept, hosted in collaboration with the British Association for Korean Studies. I’m always amazed that these conferences are available to the public for so little outlay. Come along, and then let your hair down with punk band No Brain later that evening. … [Read More]
Book news: Han Kang at the Edinburgh Book Festival
Hang Kang will be appearing with Mary Costello at the Edinburgh Book Festival. And you can vote for Han Kang’s The Vegetarian for the First Book Award here. The Quest for Another Life Mary Costello & Han Kang Sun 16 Aug 7:00pm – 8:00pm Baillie Gifford Corner Theatre £7.00, £5.00 Book here ‘Heartbreaking’ and ‘packed … [Read More]
Event news: Talk & See with Hwang Sun-mi
A lovely book, and a charming film – though obviously the author prefers the original. Hwang Sun-mi will be on hand to discuss both this Sunday at a talk and screening. Talk & See with Hwang Sun-mi Sunday 16 August, 4pm £10 (Children free) Soho Hotel | 4 Richmond Mews | London W1D 3DH We … [Read More]
Brief book review: Mark James Russell — Young-hee and the Pullocho
So annoying. I get sent a review copy of a work of fiction. I warn them that I probably won’t have time to read it properly, but promise to do my best to have a quick flick through it and to write a polite notice for the website to note that the book has been published. … [Read More]
Kwak Kyung-taek quizzed at the first LKFF on Typhoon, filming in Russia and more
Director Kwak Kyung-taek discusses the personal and political inspiration behind Typhoon, sharing stories of filming in Thailand and Russia, near-misses with natural disasters, and the challenges of producing one of Korea’s most expensive films. He also reflects on audience reactions, international perspectives, and his plans for future projects beyond big-budget action cinema. [Read More]
KWK Talk: The Vengeful Ghost in Korean cinema, with Colette Balmain, 6 Aug
Colette Balmain has made Asian Horror cinema – with particular reference to Korea and Japan – something of her speciality, and so her talk as part of Kingston Welcomes Korea comes highly recommended. This is the second of two talks that focus on particular aspects of contemporary Korean culture, the first being Deborah Smith’s literary … [Read More]
KWK Talk: A Korean Literary Evening with Deborah Smith, 4 Aug
One of two discussions on aspects of contemporary Korean culture as part of Kingston Welcomes Korea – the other featuring Colette Balmain on the vengeful ghost in Korean movies. Deborah Smith’s translation credits include Han Kang’s The Vegetarian as well as Ahn Do-hyun’s fable mentioned below. The venue is New Malden Library – conveniently close … [Read More]
A Poetry Evening with Ko Un and Brother Anthony
Ko Un is paying one of his regular visits to the UK in July, with a reading at the KCC on 15 July which follows his appearance at the Ledbury Poetry Festival: A Poetry Evening with Ko Un Ko Un with Brother Anthony of Taizé reading in Korean and English Wednesday 15 July 2015, 7pm … [Read More]
Ko Un and Brother Anthony at the Ledbury Poetry Festival
Ko Un will be appearing at the Ledbury Poetry Festival with Brother Anthony this month, before coming to London: Ko Un and Brother Anthony 12 July 2015, 4.15pm–5.15pm Burgage Hall | Church Lane | Ledbury | Herefordshire HR8 1DW Box office 01531 636 232 | £9 Andrew Motion, in his introduction to First Person Sorrowful, … [Read More]
Shin Kyung-sook seeks to withdraw short story
Wow – this all happened very quickly. On 17 June author Lee Eung-jun wrote an article in Huffington Post Korea (in Korean) accusing Shin Kyung-sook of plagiarism: Shin is “an author whose works are often accused of plagiarism” and that he decided to risk his career by publishing the article as he wanted the allegations … [Read More]
Sheffield conference report – Comfort Women: Listening To Their Voices
Short of bringing some of the surviving halmonis to the UK in person, it is difficult to imagine how the organisers of this weekend’s gathering in Sheffield could have assembled a better line-up of people to discuss the Comfort Women issue. We had Byun Young-joo, director of the trilogy of documentaries focusing on the Korean … [Read More]
Comfort Women: Listening To Their Voices — free screenings and discussion in Sheffield
A series of documentary screenings and discussions on the subject of Comfort Women, spread over Friday evening and Saturday. Director Byun Young-joo will be present to discuss her work – the first two documentaries of her 낮은 목소리 trilogy will be screening. Director Kim Dong-won will also be present. Korean Cinema Stories: Comfort Women — … [Read More]
Kim Tae-yong is June’s featured director at the KCC
Two contrasting films from June’s featured director, Kim Tae-yong. The first screening, Family Ties, is preceded by at talk by Mark Morris. As always, registration is required via [email protected]. Family Ties (가족의 탄생, 2006) 11 June, 7pm Director: Kim Tae-yong Cast: Moon So-ri, Ko Doo-sim, Uhm Tae-woong, Kong Hyo-jin, Bong Tae-gyu 113 mins / cert … [Read More]
Hyeonseo Lee: The Girl with Seven Names and three book launches
Hyeonseo Lee’s memoir, The Girl with Seven Names, is published on 2 July. Three separate events on 1 July (Asia House), 2 July (European Association for Human Rights in North Korea) and 3 July (Guardian / Amnesty) will give you the chance to hear her story and get a signed copy. Details in date order … [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 4: the Danoje rituals on Daegwallyeong ridge
Gangneung, Monday 1 June. I turn up at the Chilsadang, Gangneung’s elegant Joseon dynasty town hall building, at 8:30, backpack stuffed with camera equipment, bottled water and snacks to see me through the day. Ten days earlier at the same spot there had been a ceremony which launches the whole Dano month: a ritual called … [Read More]