“Big, dumb, loud and utterly relentless. Everything you could want from a summer blockbuster,” says Time Out on GI Joe (Lee Byung Hun) out now #. Actually, it’s rather good. [Read More]
Category: Asides (page 83)
The Crossfields fashion designs
Glad that they’ve got some of the fashion on display at the KCC Crossfields show. It was too crowded to appreciate them at the opening. # [Read More]
LKL v5 launched
Really pleased with the look of the new LKL front page. Now, if only I could figure out custom templates to get blogwatch working again… # [Read More]
Gwanghwamun unveiled
I’m amazed that the Gwanghwamun plaza was ready on time. It was a building site when I passed by only two weeks ago. http://bit.ly/RPuac # Read an in-depth article over on Popular Gusts. [Read More]
Konglish in K-pop
Does Epik High have the same language coach as the Wonder Girls? “-t you” ≠ “choo” #(Epik High: No reason to live withow choo / Wonder Girls: I want nobody nobody bah choo) [Read More]
A strange place for a taegugki…
Just encountered a taegugki among the hazardous plants at RHS Wisley: #. Strange place to find one. [Read More]
Choi Jin-shil “failed to maintain dignity”
The late Choi Jin-shil, domestic violence and her advertising contract: The top court ruled that she caused damage to the [construction] company by “failing to keep her social and moral honor” and thus depreciating the brand image. Following Choi’s suicide last October, her two children ― one preschooler and the other primary schooler ― are … [Read More]
Henry’s War – an illustrated talk on early 20th Century Korea
A talk on Korean History in the early 20th century by Mr Patrick Cockburn of the Independent Newspaper Tuesday 10 March 2009 18:00-19:00 at the KCCUK Links: Henry’s war: One man’s fight against rendition, Patrick Cockburn, Independent, Thursday 6 December 2007 [Read More]
The King Baeksu counterblast to Amnesty International
J Scott Burgeson, aka Scott Bug, aka King Baeksu, has been monitoring the anti-FTA mad cow protests in Seoul pretty much nightly since they started. He’s been filing some detailed and extended eyewitness accounts over on his bulletin board. A week or so ago Amnesty International called for the “excessive force” used by South Korean … [Read More]
Mock funerals make Koreans focus on how to live
Hyung-Jin Kim of Associated Press has done a nice piece on a new idea from Korea Life Consulting Co: fake funerals. It has been run in the Taipei Times (South Koreans give their deaths a trial run: ‘Well-dying’ – having a mock funeral after a set of seminars – is touted as a tool to … [Read More]
Dano Festival – Trafalgar Square
The scheduled Dano Festival 2008 in Trafalgar Square is one month away: Sunday 8 June. To whet the appetite, here’s the official video (10 minutes) from last year’s event: [Read More]
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon
A fun video recently posted to YouTube. As Michael Aronson says in the comment section, “Great lyrics that approach it from a foreigner’s POV without being ignorant.” Available from Amazon and iTunes. [Read More]
YouTube Korea – Fighting
Congrats to the Metropolitician and Bum Lee on their YouTube Korea welcome video: [Read More]
Suicide Notes – a brief review of Kim Young-ha’s I Have the Right to Destroy Myself
Kim Young-ha: I have the right to destroy myself Originally published 1996 Translation by Kim Chi-young, Harcourt, 2007 An entertaining book to read, but somehow difficult to distill and digest. The narrator, who makes a macabre living as a self-employed suicide counselor, bizarrely seeks out clients whose exits he facilitates. A small and eccentric cast … [Read More]
Britain, Korea linked in airline “price fixing”
Both BA and KAL get multi-million fines, while equally guilty sneaks Virgin and Lufthansa escape punishment. Whatever, I’ll still fly Virgin in preference to BA whenever I can. Links: British Airways and Korean Air Lines fined by regulators for price-fixing, International Herald Tribune, 1 August 2007. Also covered by Reuters. [Read More]
Unfortunate headline of the week…
…goes to the Chosun Ilbo for Korean Hurt in Virginia College Massacre (timed at 8:39 KST, 17 April) I guess it’s the pitfalls of reporting news as it happens. The next Chosun Ilbo article on the topic reads: Virginia Tech Shooter Was Korean (timed at 7:48 KST, 18 April). In due course I’ll update this … [Read More]