North Korean jeans on sale in Sweden. A snip at $215! The brand name? “NoKo”. # http://nokojeans.com/ After being turned down by North Korea’s largest textile company, the group managed to secure a manufacturing deal with its largest mining company, Trade 4, which also happens to run a small textile operations on its site. Source: … [Read More]
Category: Asides (page 79)
Girl bands through the ages
A disappointing piece from the tabloids – Five Decades of Korean Girl Bands http://bit.ly/608Pro #. Fortunately Mark Russell over at Korea Pop Wars rectifies the situation. [Read More]
KIKOs are enforceable after all
Invest Korea Journal: Knock-in, Knock-out (KIKO) contracts may be enforceable after all, but normal suitability principles apply: http://bit.ly/zLXq3p # [Read More]
Foreigners’ Favorite Korean Souvenirs
Nail clippers – the obvious souvenir of your holiday in Korea: “In China, Korean nail clippers are regarded as luxury goods. Chinese people like gold, so they buy dozens of gold-colored nail clippers when they come to Korea,” says the Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/5nMSMJ # [Read More]
Honey Lee crosses over into musicals
Honey Lee on Her Love for the Gayageum – The Chosun Ilbo has a brief feature which mentions her latest outing as the Reese Witherspoon character in Legally Blonde http://bit.ly/4uTbW3 # [Read More]
Aiding North Korean defectors
“Aiding North Korea defectors: A high-stakes spy mission” an interesting and well written case study or two in the LA Times: http://bit.ly/8alWaQ # [Read More]
Sven and the North Koreans
How weird is this? The curious case of Notts County, their former adviser, Sven-Goran Eriksson, and a North Korean bigwig | The Guardian http://bit.ly/4HeQGS # [Read More]
Looking at Korea through a glass sphere
British photographer (and English teacher in Korea) Simon Bond sees Korea through a glass sphere – a nice article in the Daily Telegraph http://bit.ly/3NW0oi # Simon Bond’s websites: on Flickr | 369photography.co.uk (where you can buy his work). [Read More]
The art of hanok living
It’s good to see westerners other other than David Kilburn pointing out that you don’t have to demolish a Hanok to make it inhabitable: http://bit.ly/4GWamM #. Peter Bartholomew and Tom Coyner in the Joongang Daily. There is a belief in Korea (and other Asian countries) that total demolition of an old traditional building and new … [Read More]
Bird flu boosts sales of lucky pants
Bird flu boosts sales of lucky pants, says the Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/2zCuwR #. “With the H1N1 flu alert raised to the highest level, more people are buying underwear for their parents to prevent them from catching a cold,” says a department store spokesperson quoted in the article. “Red underwear looks warm and is traditionally said … [Read More]
Insadong Scandal – a fun caper movie
Insadong Scandal is like Thomas Crown Affair, only slicker and with more twists. Highly recommended # and a suprise highlight of the LKFF2009, with Uhm Jung-hwa on sparkling, even sizzling, form. [Read More]
Harry Hill does Korean
I'm told Harry Hill's TV Burp on Sat 8 Nov will have a Korean sketch, with Korean actors from Holby City and Neighbours # [Read More]
Speakers by design
The Telegraph magazine likes Korean Milan-based designer Michi Jung’s speakers that look like furniture: ingenious! http://bit.ly/taa1T #. The pictured speakers are called “Music Chocolate” for obvious reasons. There’s a matching chaise longue too: [Read More]
TVXQ’s “slave contract”
“K-pop fandom going batshit crazy today,” says @suzyinseoul. “Will someone tell me what’s going on with TVXQ and SM?” Source: AllKPop and, for background, Korea Times # [Read More]
Gansong Art Museum – a must-visit if you are in Seoul May or October
Paul in Uijeongbu visits the Gansong Art Museum (간송미술관) in Seongbuk-gu, northern Seoul. Only open twice a year, and full of priceless treasures http://bit.ly/uf5jYH [Read More]
Have I got Nanta for you
Sharp-eyed fans of the BBC TV comedy news quiz Have I Got News For You will have spotted a still from Nanta just before the closing credits in the show which aired on 17 October. Just after the final “caption competition”, the presenter is allowed two final illustrated one-liners. And the show’s researchers had unearthed … [Read More]