Strictly Come Dancing star Alesha Dixon is to present the Mr World finals in Korea. "I think it is important that whoever wins the show can show that they are a caring person and are willing to use their success to help others less fortunate than themselves." http://bit.ly/9my5uj # [Read More]
Category: TV shows (page 6)
Saharial reviews Stranger than Paradise
Story: No Yoon Jae (Lee Sung-Jae) was adopted as a child and taken to Canada and now, at age 33 has been looking for his parents for some time. A successful lawyer with a love for coffee and his girlfriend he travels to Korea to meet once more with disappointment. Kang Son Ho (Uhm Tae … [Read More]
Kim Jong-il’s Comedy Club on BBC4
Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to figuring out what this is all about, but BBC Four has a one-hour documentary on Monday 8 February at 10pm. Time Out has selected it as Pick of the Day. Looks like it’s seriously worth a look. Here is Gabriel Tate’s commentary from Time … [Read More]
Saharial reviews Beethoven Virus
Story: Ru Mi, a violinist for 17 years has had little or no luck playing in orchestras, they all seem to disband or fall apart. Now working as a copywriter, she comes up with an idea to make Sukwon, where she lives, a capital for classical music. Her luck has not changed though and the … [Read More]
Harry Hill does Korean
I'm told Harry Hill's TV Burp on Sat 8 Nov will have a Korean sketch, with Korean actors from Holby City and Neighbours # [Read More]
Stairway to Heaven: over-rated?
Saharial‘s first Korea TV drama review – and she has her doubts about one of the most popular ones. I am a busy gal and simply do NOT have time to waste on a drama that doesn’t push all the right buttons for me. I have been lucky though, that in all this time there … [Read More]
5 tips for choosing which Korean TV Drama to watch
There are currently 20 dramas airing on Korean TV, all vying for recognition, ratings and cult status. Some are filmed in advance, some are still being filmed even as they are starting to be aired, all having press conferences, on-set interviews, and mass produced replicas of special items from the story, not to mention the … [Read More]
Fun summer language classes
Notice of some innovative language classes this summer at the Cultural Centre. Particularly fun is “Korean through TV Dramas”, which will take an episode of a Korean soap and walk you through the key colloquialisms and vocabulary. Both of the courses will be very popular, so get your application in soon. SEJONG INSTITUTE Summer Special … [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]
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]