Mark Russell has spotted that Epik High’s new album Epilogue has topped the US hip-hop charts on iTunes. Amazing. http://bit.ly/Y1GzU0. “Very encouraging for a more “real” group to make some noise outside of Korea, as opposed to a more manufactured teen-pop group,” notes Mark, noting that the album, released on iTunes on March 8, is … [Read More]
Category: Asides (page 75)
Hamheung celebrates reopened Vinalon factory
That’s one big parade, celebrating the reopening of a Vinalon factory in Hamheung after a closure of 16 years. Vinalon is the DPRK’s own fabric made of limestone and anthracite. Source: JoongAng Daily # [Read More]
The Asian Palate partners Asian food with wine
A Korean living in Hong Kong is the only Asian Master of Wine. Her love of wine began in Oxford. Jeannie Cho Lee spent two years sampling dishes and figuring out which wines can stand up to the powerful flavours of oriental cuisine The result is The Asian Palate. Sources: FT | Christie’s. # Links: … [Read More]
Kyung-wha Chung’s 40 years in the record industry
It doesn’t seem possible: Kyung-wha Chung has had 40 years in the recording industry. One of her best was the Walton Violin Concerto. After jointly winning a major competition with Pinkas Zukerman, her early concert success was in London, so it’s appropriate that she’s marking the anniversary with a concert with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. Source: … [Read More]
Debbie Han interviewed in the Korea Times
Good to see a feature on Debbie Han, a regular in the London Korean Art scene, in the Korea Times: # I had a vision, a strong desire to document what was happening in Korea and Asia at this moment, through my own eyes. I grew up in the U.S., and when I came to … [Read More]
The upcoming wedding of the year
Jang Dong-gun and Ko So-young: enough already. http://bit.ly/8ZI8Kf , http://bit.ly/c6JJhH, and just about everywhere else # [Read More]
Dating a Korean American woman…
Korean-American girls are tough to date, says You Offend Me You Offend My Family in a great article entitled How To Survive A Date with A Korean American Woman, from August last year. Maybe because Koreans most materialistic people in the world, according to a survey reported in the Chosun Ilbo [Read More]
Kim Yu-na’s record-breaking gold
Congratulations to Kim Yu-na on record-breaking gold at Vancouver 2010. According to the BBC: It will go down as one of the greatest performances in figure skating history, and is South Korea’s first medal at the Winter Olympics in a sport other than speed skating. A couple of days ago the Chosun Ilbo was trying … [Read More]
The world’s first jail for foreigners
If you’re going to get locked up in a foreign country, Korea doesn’t seem such a bad place to get jailed: a new facility in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, has Korean etiquette classes, Korean language classes, and satellite TV in your own language. Source: JoongAng Ilbo # [Read More]
Korean food technologists produce Space Bibimbap
Not so long ago Korean boffins invented space kimchi. Now they’ve moved on to space bulgogi, adapted to suit the weightless environment of outer space. Next, space poktanju? Now that would be something. Source: Chosun Ilbo # [Read More]
The Korean connection in “Up”
You know that tubby kid in Pixar’s animation “Up”? He’s a Korean, modeled after Peter Sohn, a 32-year-old ethnic Korean production artist who has been working with Pixar since 2000. Source: Chosun Ilbo [Read More]
Lee Eun-ju, still remembered 5 years on
It’s five years to the day since she took her own life. To remember her, here’s a recording of her cover version of the Corrs’ song Only When I Sleep (1997). The version is from Lee Eun-ju’s final film, The Scarlet Letter. Via James Turnbull and SuzyinSeoul [Read More]
Sole Searching in Korean funeral parlours
Kick a man when he’s down: steal his shoes from the funeral parlour. Sole searching in the JoongAng Daily http://bit.ly/adnzyI # [Read More]
Lee Bul interviewed in Korea Times
Good interview with cyborg artist Lee Bul in the Korea Times. "Lee Bul Pioneers Korean Contemporary Art" http://bit.ly/cxvu6K #. “Becoming an artist is not possible from trying. If somebody tries ‘not’ to be an artist, the person will have a greater possibility of becoming an artist,” she says. [Read More]
London’s Korean eating scene in the Korea Herald
"Hansik begins to surface in central London" says Korea Herald – a mini feature on Korean eateries in London. HT: Jo http://bit.ly/bzJUCu # [Read More]
A historical mystery that’s well worth a look
Eternal Empire (1995) – a nice-looking costume drama about murder and court intrigue in the Yi dynasty soon after the death of Prince Sado – and an adaptation of Yi In-hwa’s excellent novel (reviewed here). It’s one of Darcy’s top 10 K-films of the 90s. I’m not quite as enthusiastic, but it’s well worth a … [Read More]