As we approach Remembrance Sunday, the walkways and open spaces of Canary Wharf have been adorned with works by artist Mark Humphrey in what is described as the UK’s first Remembrance Art Trail, in association with the Royal British Legion and constructed with the help of the Corps of Royal Engineers, consists of seven art … [Read More]
Category: 1945-1960 (page 3)
New Paju footbridge honours Glorious Glosters
I am grateful to the Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK for alerting me to the recent opening of a new bridge – the “Gloucester Heroes Bridge” – commemorating the role of British forces (and it was not just the Glosters, though they are the regiment who feature most prominently in the accounts) … [Read More]
Book review: Hwang Sun-won — Lost Souls
Hwang Sun-won: Lost Souls Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Columbia University Press 2010, 354pp Having quite enjoyed two of Hwang Sun-won’s fuller-length stories – Trees on a Slope and Descendants of Cain – though without necessarily being enamoured of the characters of the stories they inhabited, I was looking forward to tackling Lost Souls, … [Read More]
Film Review: Korean Undertaker and Not One of the Forgotten
For about four years Bona Shin of Theatre for All has been getting to know some of the British veterans from Korean War, particularly those based in the Virginia Water area; and as she got to know them she decided to collect some of their memories and preserve them in documentary form. The resulting two … [Read More]
Korea Post honours the Glosters
Lt Col James Power Carne of the Gloucestershire Regiment appears on a new Korean postage stamp, part of a set of ten issued to mark the 65th anniversary of the start of the war. The BBC regional website for Gloucestershire has the full story. [Read More]
Press preview: Two Korean War documentaries
For a while now Theatre for All have been working with British Korean War veterans, gathering their memories. Some of the fruits of their labours will be revealed this Thursday, the 65th anniversary of the start of the war, in a press preview in Kingston. You can register for the screenings at Eventbrite. Premiere screenings: … [Read More]
Beer-bottle VC donates medal to Korea
Two articles this week report how Bill Speakman VC, who was on a veterans’ trip to Korea, has decided to donate his Victoria Cross to South Korea. He also wants his ashes to be scattered in the DMZ when he dies. Sadly, the medal being donated is a replica: “he sold the original to a … [Read More]
Ghosts of Jeju to get another London screening
Eighteen months ago there was a screening of this documentary about the 4:3 incident also known as the Jeju Massacre. There’s now an opportunity to see it again at a deli in Deptford on 27 April as part of the Free Film Festival. Free event. No ticket required, but capacity is only 40 so get … [Read More]
Edinburgh Fringe visit: two Korean monodramas and one Korean American
Korean acts coming to the Fringe have often majored on the non-verbal: percussion, taekwondo, comedy, physical theatre, music and dance. Last year, with Othello – Two Men, we discovered that more traditional theatre, heavy on text, can work well despite the language barrier – provided surtitles are visible. This year the Korean contingent was bolder … [Read More]
UK-Korea Relations – A Talk by Thomas Harris KBE
The talk on UK-Korea relations by Sir Thomas Harris KBE CMG, held at Gresham College on Friday 27th of June, was both a stimulating and ultimately uplifting account of the diplomatic and economic interactions between the two countries before and after the Korean War. Amongst his various international posts as a businessman and diplomat, Sir … [Read More]
The Ghosts of Jeju to screen at SOAS
Those who are eager to watch Jiseul (and here’s hoping it will be getting a London screening soon) will want to watch this documentary to fill in some of the background. It also provides context to the protests about the Gangjeong naval base. The Ghosts of Jeju Dir: Regis Tremblay, 2013, 80 mins Brunei Gallery, … [Read More]
1956 – The birth of the hallyu?
Not really. But there’s a nice story in the Korea Herald about what is believed to be the first ever single released by a Korean artist in the U S of A: Ok Doo-ok’s East of Make Believe – a 1956 English-language remake of Korean singer Hyeon In’s Gohyangmanri, which roughly translates as “Miles Away … [Read More]
SOAS Seminar: The Korean Police Prepare for War, 1946-1950
The second SOAS seminar of the spring term: Martyrs and Murderers: The Korean Police Prepare for War, 1946-1950 Konrad Lawson (Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow, European University Institute) Date: 25 January 2013 Time: 5:15 – 7:00 PM Venue: Russell Square, College Buildings, Room G50 Speaker Biography Konrad Lawson is a Max Weber postdoctoral fellow at the … [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]
Jerome De Wit at SOAS: Motivations for Writing during the Korean War
The final free seminar before the Christmas break is as follows: The War Within: Motivations for Writing during the Korean War Jerome De Wit (Leiden University) Date: 7 December 2012 Time: 5:15 PM Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings Room: G50 Abstract The first few months of the Korean War (1950-1953) saw dramatic shifts in the … [Read More]
Moral didactic literature and diversity in 1950s North Korea
(A sketchy write-up of the talk How does the rise of moral didactic literature fit into narratives of North Korean history? given by Andre Schmid (University of Toronto) at SOAS on 16 November 2012) When we think of North Korea, we mostly look at it through a 21st Century lens, and are tempted to think … [Read More]