Wednesday 5 May 2010. What is authenticity? Probably, over the course of Korea’s long history, most of Korea’s precious buildings have burned down and been rebuilt. It’s a natural hazard of building from sustainable materials such as wood. Marauding invaders or revolting slaves can cause great destruction with just a single spark. The reconstruction work … [Read More]
Books and literature (page 37)
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]
Seeing Beyond Seoul: Travels in South Korea
Jennifer Barclay, author of Meeting Mr Kim: Or How I Went to Korea and Learned to Love Kimchi, will be talking about some of her travels at the Korean Cultural Centre this month. Jennifer is a contributor to London Korean Links, and there should be several other LKL contributors present in the audience as well. … [Read More]
Samsung whistleblower’s new book
Former Samsung insider takes on Korean conglomerate http://bit.ly/cdV30I. Andrew Salmon reports for CNN on the new book “Think Samsung” by Kim Yong-cheol. Only available in Korean so far. via @JamesTurnbull. [Read More]
Changrae Lee at Asia House
Details of Changrae Lee’s appearance in London as part of the Asia House Festival of Asian Literature. Although the press release below mentions Lee’s Native Speaker, LKL’s preferred novel by Lee is A Gesture Life. We are looking forward to his new book, The Surrendered. Chang-Rae Lee – The Surrendered In conversation with Erica Wagner … [Read More]
Schama reviews Surrendered
"A novel of desire and displacement that is brilliantly flawed". Simon Schama reviews Changrae Lee's The Surrendered in the FT http://bit.ly/auQAMl # [Read More]
The 2010 Essay Contest – Who ate up all the Shinga?
Last year, the Korean Literature Translation Institute launched an essay competition to encourage people to read Korean Literature in translation. The title chosen was Ch’oe Yun’s There a Petal Silently Falls – a novella which I personally struggled with. In my own feeble submission, I suggested that a colonial period novel would have been a … [Read More]
Book launch event: What a Difference a Region Makes
Four years ago there was a fascinating two-day seminar at Birkbeck College examining popular culture in East Asia on a regional basis. How did one East Asian country present others in their popular culture products? Why was it that some countries’ popular culture sold well in other countries? What can be done to support cultural … [Read More]
The Seoul Book of Everything
A new guide book, featuring content from some well-known foreigners in Seoul: The Seoul Book of Everything. http://bit.ly/coILfY #. But how will it compare with Robert Koehler’s guide? [Read More]
Jennifer Barclay talks about Meeting Mr Kim at The Travel Bookshop
Remember that nice bookshop featured in the Hugh Grant rom com Notting Hill? Well it’s a real place, and it’s called The Travel Bookshop. You don’t have to guess too hard as to what sort of books it specialises in. Jennifer Barclay, LKL contributor and author of Meeting Mister Kim, will be talking about her … [Read More]
Call for papers: Directory of World Cinema: Korea (Intellect Press: 2011)
Please find below the call for papers for the forthcoming Directory of World Cinema: Korea, to be published by Intellect Press in 2011. This is an exciting project. Intellect’s Directory of World Cinema: Japan has just recently been published. Details can be found here: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/books/view-Book,id=4679/ Directory of World Cinema: Korea CALL FOR PAPERS The directory … [Read More]
Brief book review: Dictée – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Dictée University of California Press, 2001. Originally published 1982. Not all books are easy to read, and it would be a dull world in which all books were. The assessment of whether to continue struggling through a difficult book is tricky: maybe it will all come together in the end – … [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]
Nothing to Envy: it brought tears to the eyes of a jaded cynic
LKL reports from the book launch of Barbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy – Real Lives in North Korea It was a well-informed audience attending Barbara Demick’s book launch at the Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday, many of whom had been to North Korea. As the strains of a Mozart Symphony wafted upstairs from the concert … [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]
Contributions sought for adoptee anthology
A message just received from Perlita Harris for the British Association of Adoption and Fostering. We are editing an anthology of writing and poetry by adopted adults who were adopted in England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland including adoptees born in another country (e.g. Korea) and raised by their adoptive family in the UK. This collection … [Read More]