London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

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Selected publications

  • Booklist: North Korea (161 titles)
    • Damn! I’ve run out of shelf space

      I’ve run out of shelf space, so I have no room for the recently issued Volume 17 (enlarged edition) of Kim Jong-il’s selected works. Now I’ll never get the full set, or find out how to “More Firmly Strengthen Socialist Revolutionary Position by Doing Party Work Well”. [Read More]

      Book Review: Your Republic is Calling You

      Kim Young-ha: Your Republic is Calling You Translated by Kim Chi-young Harcourt, 2010. First published in Korean: 2006 Ki-yong, a North Korean agent, has lived undercover in Seoul for half his life. Inactive for the last 10 years, he is suddenly given an order to return home. Is the order a hoax? Is he being … [Read More]

      Illusive Utopia reviewed in the Asia Times

      Looks like a fascinating book on North Korean arts. Michael Rank reviews “Illusive Utopia” by Suk-young Kim in the Asia Times: http://bit.ly/96S7hq # This impressively researched book examines performance in North Korea in great detail and in its widest sense, from theater and film to visual art and literature and even fashion [Read More]

      Demick wins Samuel Johnson prize

      Congratulations to Barbara Demick for winning the Samuel Johnson Prize for Nothing to Envy (reviewed by LKL here) Through extensive interviews with defectors, Los Angeles Times journalist Barbara Demick shows in a compelling and unforgettable way that this hermetic country is Orwell’s 1984 made reality. Sources: Samuel Johnson Prize website | Guardian # [Read More]

      Book review: Life on the Edge of the DMZ

      Lee See-woo: Life on the Edge of the DMZ Global Oriental, 2008 Translated by Kim Myung-hee I’ve been dipping in and out of this fascinating though often overly complex book by peace activist Lee Si-Woo. It’s sometimes hard to tell whether the English translation – for the most part unfussy ­– is sometimes too literal, … [Read More]

      Book review: Hwang Sun-won – The Descendants of Cain

      Hwang Sun-won: The Descendants of Cain Translated by Suh Ji-moon and Julie Pickering East Gate / UNESCO / Routledge 1997. Originally published 1954 Novels set in post-liberation Korea, or during the Korean war, often make uncomfortable reading, particularly those set in the Soviet sphere of influence, and where the story is set in the countryside. … [Read More]