London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Il Mare remake opens in London

As I flicked through the Independent on my way to work today trying vainly to find some real news (of which more tomorrow) I was vaguely aware of Keanu Reeves entering my consciousness. Not a frequent occurrence I can assure you. Maybe there was a story about him in the gossip section. I turned to … [Read More]

Bong Joon-ho’s The Host acclaimed at Cannes

Breaking news, but I hear Bong Joon-ho’s film The Host has met with great critical acclaim at Cannes, receiving a standing ovation (which doesn’t surprise me, as Bong’s previous film, Memories of Murder, is the only film I can think of where I felt like applauding at the end). Here’s a quote from the New … [Read More]

Choi Min-sik to stage screen-quota protest at Cannes

Londoners looking forward to the delights of next week’s Korean film festival can be forgiven for overlooking that other festival which starts this week… in Cannes. The Korean film industry will take advantage of the event to publicise their opposition to the reduction in the screen quota. Here’s an article from today’s Korea Times: A … [Read More]

Fill in the gaps. But first find them

I’ve just come across an interesting and well-written article on the KOFIC website which gives a very good review of the state of the Korean film industry in 2005. Here’s a link. The challenge with the article is that, at least on my browser, all the names of the films have been omitted. Sometimes, unless … [Read More]

Banning the Da Vinci Code

The Christian Council of Korean has been trying to prevent the screening of the Da Vinci Code. I suppose that films which touch on religion are always likely to spark controversy in certain circles. But does noisy protest do more harm than good? There’s a thoughtful article in the Winter 2004 edition of the Korea … [Read More]

What a difference a region makes

East Asian popular culture currents and counter-currents, Birkbeck College, 17/18 March 2006 Thanks to Chris Berry (Goldsmiths) and Nicola Liscutin (Birkbeck) for putting together a stimulating day and a half symposium discussing regional popular culture in East Asia. Presentations mainly covered the creative industries in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The focus on Taiwan was puzzling, … [Read More]

New book on Kim Ki-duk

For all you fans of this inventive director, there’s a new book out. I’ll post some comments once I’ve read it, but that won’t be for a while as I’ve got quite a backlog to get through. That plus the fact that the English version won’t be available until November 2006, according to Amazon. Update: … [Read More]

New Jeon Ji-hyun vehicle crashes

OK, so it’s not a complete box office turkey, but after one week at the top of the charts, it’s now down to number 4 and predicted to head south quickly. The vehicle, a film entitled Daisy, is a blatantly commercial effort to cash in on the marketability of the My Sassy Girl star outside … [Read More]

Kim Ki-duk mistaken for a tramp

A nice gossipy item from the Chosun Ilbo: Kim [Ki-duk] went to Jungbu Police Station in Seoul to obtain a permit to manufacture a model gun for his new film. But his seedy appearance inspired little confidence, and when he kept repeating the phrase, “The leading man’s gun, the leading man’s gun,” police decided he … [Read More]

Conference report: the Korean film industry examined

Notes from the industry conference held in the Screening Room at the Charlotte Street Hotel, 10 May 2005, 3pm – 6pm. One of the sideshows of the 2005 London Korean Film Festival was a get-together of industry representatives, academics and observers who made observations on current trends in the Korean film industry and the reception … [Read More]