Too good not to share. From Alexander Choi’s Facebook page, North Korean generals in full regalia. Quips left below the photo include “and you haven’t seen what’s on their backs…” “a testament to North Korean medicine that they are able to bear all that weight” There are of course questions as to whether the image … [Read More]
Category: Asides (page 33)
Promenade performances of Hansel & Gretel opera feature Korean student designer
English Pocket Opera Company is putting on ‘promenade’ performances of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. The production is a collaboration with the BA (Hons) Performance Design and Practice course of Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design (part of University of the Arts London), including Korean Artists Association member Seyoung Jeong (정세영). Full details … [Read More]
Korean navy buys British helicopters
The Korean navy is to buy KRW 589 billion worth of anti-submarine helicopters from AugustaWestland of the UK in preference to a US machine. The contract size is about the same as the Royal Navy’s order of Korean fuel tankers from Daewoo, announced last year. Links: Press release from AugustaWestland [Read More]
Ramyun and the Dons: AFC Wimbledon announces Nongshim Noodle deal
Noodle soup while watching the footie? Sounds great: AFC Wimbledon are pleased to announce the launch of a new commercial partnership with Nongshim, South Korea’s number one noodle manufacturer. The deal, which will run until the end of the season, will see the chance for Nongshim products to be sampled at the Cherry Red Records … [Read More]
You followed the blog, now buy the book
You’ll probably have visited Kim Jong Il Looking at Things once in a while for some gentle entertainment at the expense of the late Dear Leader and his propaganda unit. The blog closed in December 2012, a year after his death, but now you can buy the book, from Jean Boîte Éditions, price EUR24 plus … [Read More]
Yonhap feature on living in New Malden
Very interesting feature on the Koreans of New Malden, by Niels Footman of Yonhap. Two contrasting quotes set the scene: Two years ago, at a meeting of the Kingston Racial Equality Council … the incumbent member of parliament Ed Davey said that because much of the Korean population is transitory, “they feel less of a … [Read More]
Some fun with the Time Person of the Year 2012
Some meaningless statistics for you. According to Time Magazine’s readers, Kim Jong Un is 55 times more popular than the Mars Rover, 56 times more popular than Psy, and 77 times more popular than the Higgs Boson. [Read More]
Teen Top in London gig
I suppose I have to mention that boy band Teen Top are coming to London on 8 February to do a gig at The Forum in Kentish Town. More information at UnitedKpop. Tickets on sale on Ticketmaster from 5 January. [Read More]
Alexander Liebreich’s musical diplomacy in Pyongyang
Great BBC feature on Alexander Liebreich and his musical diplomacy with the Munich Chamber Orchestra in Pyongyang. http://bbc.in/100eliE. A briefer feature can be found on iPlayer here. LKL interviewed him in Tongyeong in 2012 when we visited the Tongyeong International Music Festival, of which he is artistic director. And a one-hour long documentary about his … [Read More]
Kim Jr completes power station that was the death of his father
It’s interesting that Kim Jong Un’s New Year Speech contains reference to the completion of the Huichon Power Station – the very project that is said to have caused the death of Kim Jong Il when it was discovered to have been botched. [Read More]
Jiseul – a film to watch out for in 2013
It won awards at Busan where it premiered in the 2012 festival, and it will be showing at Sundance and Rotterdam: Jiseul (지슬) – a sombre film about the 1948 Jeju Uprising, written and directed by Jeju resident O Muel (오멸). It might not be an easy film to watch, but it’s an important part … [Read More]
Event news: Sunwook Kim at the Frant Festival of Music 2013
Leeds Piano Competition Winner Sunwook Kim will be playing at the Frant Festival of Music 2013. Date: Fri 25th January 2013, 7.30 pm Venue: Frant Church: High Street Frant, Nr. Tunbridge Wells, TN3 9DX Music by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Tickets £12 from Frant Stores or tel. 01892 750665/750845 In aid of the conservation of … [Read More]
Song Hae-sung: A Better Tomorrow – not worth the time
I have a huge admiration for Alua at Otherwhere and Colette at Oriental Nightmares for dedicating the time and energy to writing reviews of Song Hae-seong’s remake of the classic A Better Tomorrow. I only had the enthusiasm to stay for the first half hour (which I found confusing and uninteresting) before deciding my time … [Read More]
The Guardian goes to Gangnam
The Guardian gets rewarded for its K-pop coverage with a free trip to Seoul – though they feel obliged to spend most of their time in Gangnam covering the K-pop businsess in the resulting travel article. But there are a couple of interesting quotes which sum up the way many people get into Korean culture: … [Read More]
A Christmas message to the nation from Park Jae-sang
From the BBC website, a seasonal greeting from Psy, in which he promises to give us a full-length concert next year. “Crazy crazy crazy. Sweat, sweat, sweat.” [Read More]
A thesis on DPRK Environmental Management – in six tweets
Tomorrow (11 December) between 9am and 5pm (GMT), Robert Winstanley-Chesters will be participating in the Leeds University “Tweet your Thesis” Competition. During these hours he will be attempting to present his pending PhD dissertation entitled “Landscape as Political Project?” Environmental Management in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as six tweets. He says he’s never … [Read More]