Leonard Chang: Fade to Clear Thomas Dunne Books, 2004 This is the third novel featuring the private investigator Allen Choice, a Korean American whose name indicates how far he has moved away from his Korean roots. He can’t speak the language, but he gets annoyed when people call him Chinese or Japanese. He dates a … [Read More]
Books and literature (page 41)
Meet Mister Kim. Now.
It’s the publishing event of 2008. More hotly anticipated than the latest Harry Potter, and certainly more entertaining, Jennifer Barclay’s Meeting Mr Kim, or How I went to Korea and learned to love kimchi, is in the shops now, priced at just £7.99. Jen’s trip to Korea was actually back in 2000, so this little … [Read More]
Book review: The Dawn of Modern Korea
Andrei Lankov – The Dawn of Modern Korea EunHaeng NaMu publishing, 2008 This entertaining book has, paradoxically, taken me a devil of a long time to finish. That’s not because it’s difficult. It’s because it’s the opposite. The book is co-branded with a series of articles that Andrei Lankov has been writing for the Korea … [Read More]
James Church: Hidden Moon
(Thomas Dunne Books, 2007) After A Corpse in the Koryo, the rip-roaring start to the Inspector O series, Hidden Moon comes as a bit of a disappointment. Maybe the freshness of the debut is a tough act to follow, but somehow the first time round Inspector O had more character. He’s still got his quirky … [Read More]
Jennifer Barclay featured on BBC Radio 4
LKL contributor Jennifer Barclay was on Sandi Toksvig’s Excess Baggage this morning, talking about kimchi, modern Korean history, and living and traveling in Korea. She was joined by Julian Appleby, who has recently returned from a stint of English language teaching there. As ever with these programmes, there was an ulterior motive involved: Jennifer’s book, … [Read More]
A border-crosser’s tale (a brief review of Hyejin Kim’s novel, Jia)
Hyejin Kim: Jia – a novel of North Korea Cleis Press, 2007 A novel about a talented dancer from the wrong family background who finds she needs to escape across the border to China. Those who have shown an interest in the reports from Amnesty International and Christian Solidarity Worldwide will not be surprised at … [Read More]
Bargains at SOAS publishing workshop
It’s always worth turning up to an event when you know that book publishers are present. Brill, Saffron and Global Oriental were all present at the SOAS Korean publishing workshop on Monday. With Saffron selling their catalogue at half price on the night, and Global Oriental discounting everything to £20 (including the collected BAKS papers, … [Read More]
Book review: A (minjung) History of Korea
Korea Historical Research Association (tr Joshua van Lieu) A History of Korea Saffron Books, 2005 It’s the 1980s. In Britain, leftist ideologues such as Red Robbo, Arthur Scargill and Derek Hatton had for years been railing against the government and the establishment using turgid language pilloried in satirical magazines, TV programmes and film1. Anyone who … [Read More]
Korean Studies Publishing in Europe – SOAS Workshop
Please find below the details of a Korean Studies Publishing in Europe Workshop and book launch taking place on Monday 16 June 2008. The event will take place at SOAS in the Khalili Lecture theatre at 1pm. It coincides with the publication of the “Selected Writings of Han Yong-un” by Global Oriental, stalwarts of Korean … [Read More]
Mythology in the making: Seoul Selection’s Lee Myung-bak profile
Lee Myung Bak: Korea’s CEO President Seoul Selection, 2008 When their country has pulled itself up from the devastation of war in the space of fifty years, and a man has risen from poverty to the highest office in the same period, Koreans have every right to feel proud of themselves and their country. That … [Read More]
Sex and the City, Korean-style: a review of Min-Jin Lee’s Free Food for Millionaires
Min-Jin Lee: Free Food for Millionaires (Random House, 2007) I hesitated before packing this two-inch thick paperback into my suitcase for a week’s holiday. The cover design doesn’t give much away — a black top hat and slightly messy collection of different typefaces spelling out a title which leaves a lot to the imagination — … [Read More]
DPRK propaganda at London’s most famous bookshop
To coincide with the launch of David Heather’s book on DPRK propaganda art at the end of this month, Foyles is to be decorated with some examples of DPRK posters from David’s collection. The book, entitled North Korean Posters, comes from Prestel Publishing, and will be launched at Foyles next week. The posters will be … [Read More]
Leading Korean poet comes to London
Ko Un (고은), one of Korea’s most prominent living poets, will be giving his first ever UK poetry reading at the Korean Cultural Centre, London on Tuesday, 29 April at 7.00-8.30pm. “It is very striking to see the kind of tuning fork [Ko Un] has been, re-inventing himself in every decade through the turns in … [Read More]
New books for the Spring
Three recent publications: First, a new book in the Korean Spirit and Culture series, produced by the aptly named Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project. This is their fourth, and is the first of two to explore Fifty Wonders of Korea. This volume covers Culture and Art, while the next one will cover Science and … [Read More]
Words of inspiration
NO RIVER TO CROSS: Trusting the Enlightenment that’s Always Right There Zen Master Daehaeng Wisdom Publications, Boston US$14.95 The title refers to the idea that you don’t have to make a grand pilgrimage to find your Buddha nature, as it’s already inside you, and this approachable book offers plenty of inspiring thoughts. It starts with … [Read More]
Pyongyang – the view from Europe
Glyn Ford (with Kwon Soyoung): North Korea on the Brink (Pluto Press, 2008) Books on North Korea tend to blur in to one another. There are seemingly countless volumes either describing life under the Kims or analysing the history of diplomatic and undiplomatic engagement between the DPRK and the rest of the world, particularly the … [Read More]