Korea is first and second in Berlinale short film section. The Park brothers’ iPhone-filmed Night Fishing wins, with Yang Hyo-joo winning the Silver Bear for The Unbroken, which is a short film about two swindlers who are involved in a real accident one evening after contriving a fake car accident to claim insurance payments. http://bit.ly/guyH9Z … [Read More]
Category: Asides (page 60)
Two new collections of literature in translation
Two welcome new publications of Korean literature in translation: Park Ji-won’s novels debut in English after 200 years: "Translation of Overlooked Worlds" http://bit.ly/ijKbQs # "Waxen Wings: The Acta Koreana Anthology of Short Fiction" Well worth a look – at http://bit.ly/g3PeGB # [Read More]
Tripitaka Koreana is a copy, but an improvement on the original
Interesting article on the Tripitaka Koreana – an early example of Korean improvement on foreign intellectual property. http://bit.ly/fjShBC # [Read More]
BoA – K-pop for lovers, says Last.fm
Via Indieful Rok: Very interesting to find BoA second on the list of last.fm’s list of Valentine’s day artists: http://is.gd/cc1ktg – after that undisputed master of romance, Barry White. [Read More]
Ahn Eun-me: dancing for grandmother
Good article on dancer / choreographer Ahn Eun-me in the Joongang Ilbo, featuring her upcoming project “Dancing for Grandmother”. http://bit.ly/hfOqgd. Hope we'll see her in London before too long, but we’ve got Princess Bari in Edinburgh to look forward to this summer. Her Chunhyang – An Impossible Love at London’s Peacock Theatre in 2006 was … [Read More]
From Bra Day to Kiss Day, Korea has it all
Valentine's Day, White Day, Black Day… My favourite is Samgyeopsal day, March 3rd. And Green Day, for soju drinking. The Joongang Ilbo has a useful list. http://bit.ly/gWEWnD #. Many of them involve the 14th of the month. [Read More]
Yoon Jeong-hee interviewed in NYT
Great interview with POETRY actress Yoon Jeong-hee in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/movies/06poetry.html. “The Quiet Life of a Star Actress” – via @koreanfilmfest. Ms Yoon is “one of Korea’s most treasured, decorated and beloved actresses,” said Ted Kim, a Los Angeles-based executive at one of Korea’s biggest entertainment companies. “Like Michael Jordan she stepped away … [Read More]
Iron Chef takes on the Playboy
Congratulations to Iron Chef Judy Joo on her new position as Executive Chef for London’s new Playboy Club when it opens this summer: looking forward to her modern Korean cuisine. http://bit.ly/enriZ2 # [Read More]
The DPRK’s first ever amateur Open golf tournament
London-based Lupine Travel organises DPRK's first amateur Open golf tournament. But there's "no 19th hole" http://bit.ly/gsKRzp #. Also in the Daily Mail. [Read More]
Soompi bought out by web company
Congratulations to the blogmeisters at soompi.com – bought out by Korean video search company Enswers. The first hallyu dot com millionaires? (At least in Won terms) http://bit.ly/ePq26I # [Read More]
Geomungo + echoplex = amazing sounds
Ever witnessed a geomungo played with an echoplex? In the hands (and feet) of Heo Yoon-jeong at the KCC tonight, it was rather good. # Photo credit [Read More]
“Looking for the new sexual identity through throwing father”
The programme for 'Asian Exposure: East Asian Cinema in a Global Context' symposium later this week at Coventry includes an interesting-looking talk by Angela Kim and Min Kyung Joo (Sungkyunkwan University): ‘Like a Virgin: Looking for the new sexual identity through throwing father.’ Apparently this is a reference to gay ssireum wrestling film Like a … [Read More]
The Arch of Enlightenment launched
Good to see that Prince Charles turned out so support the premiere of the new documentary on the Gwanghwamun: http://bit.ly/fq8fI1 #. The DVD gets a release in March. [Read More]
Furry Hat Offers Clues to DPRK Succession, says Chosun Ilbo
Sometimes there’s a downside to inheriting a country: you might have to wear your dad’s anorak and furry hat. http://bit.ly/hwJXpa # [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]
Pyongyang goes Pop
Pyongyang goes pop: @Alex Hoban starts a series of reports on North Korea’s music scene for the Grauniad: http://bit.ly/gScjB1 # The full series can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/series/pyongyang-goes-pop [Read More]