London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Celtic v Arsenal: interview with Ki Sung-yueng

Aashish Gadhvi is amassing an impressive collection of exclusive interviews with South Korea’s best footballers. He caught up with Ki Sung-yueng after scoring for Celtic against Arsenal in the Emirates Cup on 1 August 2010. Ki is on fine form: excellent English, and relaxed and informative. In fact he interviews much better than many English … [Read More]

Chichester’s finest Korean chef

Inkun Kim, 26, from Seoul, Korea, is the newest chef to have joined the Dining Room (or as many locals still know it, Arthur Purchase’s) in a beautiful Georgian building on Chichester, West Sussex. And he’s already put kimbap on the menu. I’m impressed. He graduated at Korea Culinary Arts Science High School, the best … [Read More]

2010 Travel Diary #16: A meeting with Hwang Byungki

Tuesday 4 May 2010. Hwang Byungki is probably Korea’s best known performer and composer for the kayageum. When I submitted my proposal to the Korean Culture and Information Service for the stories I wanted to investigate during my visit – of which the main one was the preservation and reinvention of Korean traditional culture – … [Read More]

2010 Travel Diary #12: A Meeting with Sorea

Monday 3 May 2010. In an unprepossessing building in a small backstreet in trendy Gangnam is a compact office which manages a gugak fusion band which briefly caught the spirit of a nation. At the height of the Korea, Sparkling promotional campaign, when the Korean Tourism Organisation was promoting Korea as a place with ancient … [Read More]

Presenting intangible cultural heritage in Bucheon

Monday 3 May 2010. Bucheon, a city of around 850,000 people in Gyeonggi-do just 40 minutes’ drive West from Seoul, is home of the Bucheon World Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo (BICHE), an annual event which showcases some of Korea’s finest performance arts and crafts alongside those of a dozen or so invited countries. The first … [Read More]

LKL meets Iron Chef, Judy Joo

As you might expect from an Iron Chef, Judy Joo’s handshake is firm. Not bone-crushing; just confident and strong. We are meeting in one of my favourite pubs, in Marylebone Lane, just around the corner from Joo’s London home. I’m always impressed when someone who isn’t an Englishman goes for traditional bitter, and Joo duly … [Read More]

A meeting with Noeazy

Anna Lindgren of Indieful ROK meets with the up and coming Korean metalcore band Noeazy One of my very first evenings in Seoul, I found myself at Club FF checking out a bunch of hardcore bands. Although I had a pretty good idea of what the roster would treat me to, one band in particular … [Read More]

The many sides of Younee

Younee is back in the UK for a punishing schedule of live gigs, radio interviews and broadcasts. LKL is her first interview, two days after landing at Heathrow. We meet, together with her manager, Anthony Steinberg, at the now familiar rooftop bar at the St George’s Hotel, next to All Soul’s Langham Place. Last time … [Read More]

A meeting with Nah Youn Sun

It’s always nice when a singer you’ve been following for ages gets some well-deserved recognition. It’s even better, if you get the chance to interview her, when you find out that as well has having oodles of talent she’s a really nice person as well. Nah Youn Sun comes across as self-effacing on stage – … [Read More]

A meeting with Biuret

LKL meets the energetic Korean rock band Biuret, the overall winners of Sutasi 2009, during their brief visit to London. I’ve come to the Royal Garden Hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens to meet Biuret, one of the latest Korean bands to win international recognition. The foyer is packed with music industry types, because this is the … [Read More]