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]
Category: TV shows (page 6)
Things that just make me so sad
By Saharial It is becoming increasingly obvious to me, even as a distant overseas observer of the Korean entertainment industry, that something is going seriously wrong. This morning seemed to sum up far too many of the ills for, when I woke up, the news had broken that there had been yet another suicide, making … [Read More]
The redemptive power of Lee Young-ae
As we all know, Jewel in the Palace is a hit in many countries. It’s watched all around the world. Including in Indian jails. A convict in India has sent a letter of gratitude to a top Korean network for airing the historical drama “Jewel in the Palace,” or “Daejanggeum” in Korean. Narendra Kumar Sharma, … [Read More]
The Grand Culture Project
At the SOAS / AKS conference on 26 June, the talk by Kim Hyeon, Associate Professor of Cultural Informatics at the Academy of Korean Studies, had the title “the Korean Wave, Cultural Content and Cultural Informatics”. “What on earth is Cultural Informatics?” I hear you ask. You would not be alone. But read on. The … [Read More]
A hallyu tourism research project in Leeds
A reader at ukfan’s DJG Comic Relief forum is doing a research project on Dae Jang Geum. He’s a PhD researcher at Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change at Leeds Metropolitan University. As part of this he needs your help to perfect a cultural survey. The survey can be found here. Please email it to … [Read More]
Jumong a bright spot in media industry gloom
The Chosun recently reported a gloomy picture of the earnings of the Korean film industry. As Jon Pais speculated over at Twitch in November last year, Even if production costs stabilized, as the number of films increases, decreased profitability is inevitable. But production costs are soaring and don’t show any signs of slowing down. In … [Read More]
Visit the Dae Jang Geum campaign sites
Pay a visit to ukfan’s DJG comic relief discussion board. There’s a sample of his work below. And if you haven’t done so already, sign Alice’s petition to get DJG shown on the BBC, and visit her blog. [Read More]
Graham Norton sits on the best of Korean design
Congratulations to Korean-born Jackie and Lloyd Choi of Jackie Choi London for winning one of the Mayor of Hackney’s annual Business Awards 2006. The awards are designed to “celebrate entrepreneurs with business acumen and innovative ideas that generate jobs throughout the borough”. The awards were presented on 14 November, and the Choi sisters won in … [Read More]
Beer-bottle VC honoured
The Korean War featured briefly in the first episode of a Channel 5 series, presented by Prince Charles, on Sunday. The series is about holders of the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for military bravery. The first Victoria Cross awarded by our current monarch was to Bill Speakman (left) of the Black Watch, attached to … [Read More]
K-film blockbuster season on Film 4
I happened to channel-surf over to Film 4 as I switched off the TV last night, to discover they were midway through a Lady Vengeance screening. Checking on their website, the schedule is as follows: Lady Vengeance. Last night, 22:50 Oldboy tonight 23:05 Tale of Two Sisters Saturday 7th 22:45 R-Point Sunday 8th 23:35 Taegugki … [Read More]
Dae Jang Geum campaign gathers momentum …
…but still needs your support. A couple of months ago I put up a notice on my old site encouraging you to visit Alice Bennell’s blog and join her campaign to get the BBC to buy Dae Jang Geum — Jewel in the Palace — for showing on British TV. Since then Alice has been … [Read More]
Cooking in the Danger Zone: South Korea (BBC4)
Following on the success of zany TV series like Holidays in the Axis of Evil (the DPRK show was rather good, I thought), and mindful of the sadistic pleasure we take in watching minor celebrities eating kangaroo testicles in jungle reality shows, TV execs are now going to treat us to “Cooking in the Danger … [Read More]
Interactive Korean-American TV
I got an email yesterday from Dion Park at www.iKATV.com, asking for a plug. Happy to oblige. I visited the site and found it a bit baffling at first – all I could find was some brief and blurred YouTube videos. But Dion explained later that the website is still in prototype and is still … [Read More]
Prof Kim Chang-nam: history & characteristics of modern Korean culture
(SOAS, 5 June 2006, 7pm: the concluding event of the London Korean Festival 2006) I’m more reluctant than usual to make this post. The ground covered in Professor Kim’s hugely stimulating conclusion to the London Korean Festival was more than extensive, and left the audience wanting to ask tons of questions. To condense a hundred … [Read More]
Campaign for better soaps on UK TV
In the past day or so I’ve had my first unsolicited visitors sending me email – and it’s not spam. Thanks for your kind comments, Alice and Dana. Alice is a lady on a mission. Her mission: a campaign to get the BBC to buy Jewel in the Palace and show it on British TV. … [Read More]
Improve the quality of British TV
Alice Bennell is campaigning on your behalf to get the Jewel in the Palace on British TV. Visit her campaign website and put your signature where it counts here. Photoshop trickery by djgukfan at yahoo dot co dot uk. Nice. [Read More]