Hot on the heels of Arirang, the somewhat narcissistic documentary by Kim Ki-duk, comes the award-winning documentary Planet of Snail by Yi Seung-jun, which promises to be both moving and life-affirming. It was LKL’s film of the year last year, so we’re very glad to see that it’s got a UK release. Planet of Snail … [Read More]
Category: Documentaries (page 11)
Kimjongilia screens as part of North Korea Freedom Week
This week is North Korea Freedom Week in London, and it’s rather interesting to see the KCCUK getting involved. On Monday there was a screening of Crossing, and on Friday there’s one of Kimjongilia. Other events are screenings down in New Malden, a North Korea Human Rights photo exhibition, and a talk in Parliament. More … [Read More]
A look back at 2011 – part 1
LKL’s annual look back at the stories and events of the last 12 months; this year, a multi-part piece, starting with some heritage, film, and the development of Korean food among world cuisines. Heritage The Ilsungrok (diaries of the daily lives of Joseon kings) and the written and visual logs of the pro-democracy movement in … [Read More]
A very different portrait of North Korea — Film Review: A State of Mind
On the day that news reaches us of Kim Jong-il’s death, new contributor Hong Nguyen discusses the documentary A State of Mind, directed by Daniel Gordon (VeryMuchSo Productions, 2004) Relatively little is known about the daily lives of North Korean people, exempting the glimpses into a cruel reality of famine and poverty under the late … [Read More]
Documentary footage of Korea in 1925
Amazing documentary footage of Korea in 1925, made by German missionary bit.ly/oDyCkw [Read More]
Event news: The Murmuring to screen at the KCC
The second film this month to explore the sensitive topic of Korea’s relations with Japan in the twentieth century is The Murmuring (낮은 목소리 1995), a documentary by Byeon Yeong-ju. The film also dovetails with the films next month, which are by female directors. The Murmuring is the first of three documentaries by Director Byeon … [Read More]
Menari and Musan win awards
“Menari, the Sound of Korea”, a short documentary on eastern folk singer Park Soo-kwan wins Delphic Art Movie Award 2011 The Journals of Musan, a film about difficulties of Northern defectors, wins jury prize at Deauville Asian Film Fest http://bit.ly/gnzRaJ [Read More]
Film review: Sona, the other myself
The third Asia House Pan-Asian Film Festival offered the opportunity to see an unusual documentary. Yang Yonghi’s Sona, the other myself is a simple portrait of three generations of a family – an elderly ethnic Korean couple living with their daughter (Yang herself) in Osaka, and Yang’s three elder brothers and their children who live … [Read More]
The Arch of Enlightenment launched
Good to see that Prince Charles turned out so support the premiere of the new documentary on the Gwanghwamun: http://bit.ly/fq8fI1 #. The DVD gets a release in March. [Read More]
Adoptee film explores life after the reunion
Adoptee filmmaker Tammy Chu explores life after the reunion of adoptee son with his birth mother. Looks like a must-watch film. Resilience is released in Korea on 30 September. Hope it gets a DVD release. http://bit.ly/9uh3Du #. www.resiliencefilm.com [Read More]
Variations on Jang Sun-woo
Tony Rayns tells us in his KOFIC book about Jang Sung-woo that he once interviewed the famous director naked in a jjimjilbang. Rayns’s documentary film about Jang, entitled the Jang Sung-woo Variations, is bookended by extracts from the interview, with Jang being given a relaxing back massage; and in between are other extracts of the … [Read More]
Jang Sun-woo season at the KCC: full details
Here’s the press release for the Jang Sun-woo season at the KCC this month. We’ve already had A Petal last week, and Road to the Racetrack is this week. Tony Rayns introduces his documentary on Jang the following week, while the another rarity, one of koreanfilm.org’s top 10 films of the 1990s, The Lovers of … [Read More]
Korea’s Lost Children – BBC World Service documentary
Details of an upcoming BBC radio documentary. Korea’s Lost Children Friday 6 August 8.00-8.30pm BST (19:00 GMT) BBC WORLD SERVICE Every year, around 1,000 South Korean children are given up for adoption in western countries. The overseas adoption programme began in the Fifties, when masses of children found themselves orphaned after the Korean War. Approximately … [Read More]
LKL Top 10 Film of the Decade at the KCC this week
The theme of the KCC’s film screenings this month is the Family. Earlier this month we had a nice warm cuddly film bursting with family values. This coming Thursday 27 May is the innocent-sounding “A Good Lawyer’s Wife”. But the Korean title, 바람난 가족, translates literally as “Unfaithful family”. Kim Kyu-hyun, one of koreanfilm.org’s reviewers, … [Read More]
Kim Jong-il’s Comedy Club is back: bigger, better and under a new name
For those who missed this excellent documentary when it showed on the BBC recently, it’s returning to cinemas this month under its theatrical name, The Red Chapel. It’s also a slightly longer cut, 87 minutes as opposed to the hour that the BBC gave it. The screenings are part of the Human Rights Watch film … [Read More]
Kim Jong-il’s Comedy Club – the tweets
It’s not often that Twitter is alive with Tweets about a documentary on BBC4, but Kim Jong-il’s Comedy Club was special. Here are some of them. LKL: Game for a laugh? Don’t forget Kim Jong-il’s Comedy Club tonight, BBC4, 10pm http://bit.ly/bT9eZE # LKL: Wow this documentary is bizarre!! # Alex_Hoban: @lklinks you’re telling me…! Alex_Hoban: … [Read More]