As British war veterans gather in Korea to mark the anniversary of the battle of the Imjin River, Jennifer Barclay reviews a recently republished eye-witness account of the early months of the war. Cry Korea is the most unusual book I’ve read about the Korean War. While interviewing British veterans of that war, I’m often … [Read More]
Books and literature (page 40)
Book review: Michael Pettid – Korean Cuisine – an illustrated history
Michael Pettid: Korean Cuisine – an illustrated history Reaktion Books, 2008 Michael Pettid’s fascinating study is maybe not for a general reader. But for those who take more than a passing interest in Korean food and culture, this is an informative read. Importantly, the book’s title is Korean Cuisine, not Cookery. Pettid defines Cuisine as … [Read More]
Escaping North Korea book launch
At the book launch of Escaping North Korea last week, author Mike Kim explained that he wanted the book to be “inspirational”. Having seen the huge obstacles faced by North Korean escapees, he found hope in each of their stories: “If the North Koreans can overcome their mountains, I can overcome my hill”, is the … [Read More]
Korea Yearbook 2008
Korea Yearbook 2008 Eds Rüdiger Frank, James E Hoare, Patrick Köllner, Susan Pares Brill, 2009 The 2008 Korea Yearbook – Politics, Economy and Society does many of the things that a reader might expect: it contains a collection of papers which review the key developments in its chosen subject areas for the past year. At … [Read More]
Escaping North Korea: book launches for Mike Kim’s new book
A reminder of the book launch events in Oxford and London this week. In Escaping North Korea, one of the few Americans granted entry into the secretive “Hermit Kingdom,” Mike Kim came to know the isolated country and its people intimately. His North Korean friends entrusted their secrets to him as they revealed the government’s … [Read More]
Meet Mr Kim (and LKL) on YTN
A group of LKL contributors had gathered at Myungga in Kingly Street to celebrate LKL’s third birthday (yes, LKL first appeared on the web using the londonkoreanlinks.net domain name on 2 March 2006). It was a merry crew – Blogmeister Philip was joined by author and roving reporter Jennifer Barclay; documenter of Korean national cultural … [Read More]
Sandglass the best TV drama ever?
It’s official: Sandglass (모래시계) is the best Korean Drama since 1980. And maybe that qualifies it as the best Korean TV drama ever, but I’m sure there are knowledgeable people out there who will cite a gem from the 70s. Not only was it voted best Drama by those in the know – “20 star … [Read More]
The wave that never was? Mark James Russell’s Pop Goes Korea
Eighteen months ago, Mark Russell caused a minor stir at Naver and in the local Korean press by christening the hallyu the “Zombie Wave”. At the time, industry watchers were concerned that the momentum behind the overseas success of some of Korea’s TV dramas and movie seemed to be waning. Was the Korean wave dying? … [Read More]
Donald Kirk on the late 90s financial crisis
Donald Kirk: Korean Crisis: Unraveling of the Miracle in the IMF Era Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (1999) The strength of this book is that is brings together in one place the reportage of one of the key foreign journalists based in Seoul during the 1990s. With access to politicians, press releases and Korean and foreign businessmen, … [Read More]
Yuasa Katsuei: a Japanese colonial novelist
Yuasa Katsuei: Two Japanese Colonial Novels Kannani (1934), Document of Flames (1935). Translated by Mark Driscoll, Duke University Press (2005) Yuasa Katsuei was born in Japan in 1910 and before his second birthday moved to Korea where his father worked in the colonial police force. He went to university in Tokyo from 1929, before returning … [Read More]
Books for your Christmas shopping list
For those pondering what to buy your loved ones for Christmas, here’s a few suggestions from the many books published this year: Meeting Mister Kim. If you haven’t already bought lots of copies of this entertaining book by Jennifer Barclay, shame on you. Awarded 5 stars by LKL, and, to show we’re not biased in … [Read More]
Hwang Sun-won: Trees on a Slope
Hwang Sun-won: Trees on a Slope Originally published 1960. Translation by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton, University of Hawaii Press, 2005 Hwang Sun-won’s Trees on a Slope is one of the few Korean novels directly dealing with the Korean War to be available in English. That’s not to say it’s anything like the bludgeoning experience of … [Read More]
Korea Yearbook 2009 Call for Papers
The editors of the Korea Yearbook – Politics, Economy, Society, published since 2007 by Brill (Leiden and Boston), are now calling for papers for the 2009 edition of the yearbook. The Korea Yearbook consists, on the one hand, of four concise overviews of domestic and external affairs of the two Koreas and, on the other … [Read More]
The end of the line — a review of Y Euny Hong: Kept
Y Euny Hong: Kept – a comedy of sex and manners Simon & Schuster, 2006 The author of this entertaining comedy, Y Euny Hong, claims to speak from experience as a surviving descendent of a declining Korean aristocratic family. Making a living now as a journalist, she was given the generous opportunity of 3 pages … [Read More]
Korean bookshop in New Malden
Thanks to David Gomez for writing in with an answer to a question which lots of people have asked: where to buy Korean books in London. Not books about Korea, not books about how to learn Korean, but books written in Korean. My standard answer is that I haven’t the foggiest idea, but that if … [Read More]
Jennifer Barclay: Meeting Mr Kim
Summersdale Publishers, 2008 Jennifer Barclay went to Seoul with her musician boyfriend eight years ago with no fixed agenda other than a desire to get away from her job. Fortunately, while in Korea she took advantage of her free time to explore parts of the country which are not necessarily on the tourist route. This … [Read More]