Nail clippers – the obvious souvenir of your holiday in Korea: “In China, Korean nail clippers are regarded as luxury goods. Chinese people like gold, so they buy dozens of gold-colored nail clippers when they come to Korea,” says the Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/5nMSMJ # [Read More]
Category: Light reading (page 11)
Honey Lee crosses over into musicals
Honey Lee on Her Love for the Gayageum – The Chosun Ilbo has a brief feature which mentions her latest outing as the Reese Witherspoon character in Legally Blonde http://bit.ly/4uTbW3 # [Read More]
Bird flu boosts sales of lucky pants
Bird flu boosts sales of lucky pants, says the Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/2zCuwR #. “With the H1N1 flu alert raised to the highest level, more people are buying underwear for their parents to prevent them from catching a cold,” says a department store spokesperson quoted in the article. “Red underwear looks warm and is traditionally said … [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]
Have I got Nanta for you
Sharp-eyed fans of the BBC TV comedy news quiz Have I Got News For You will have spotted a still from Nanta just before the closing credits in the show which aired on 17 October. Just after the final “caption competition”, the presenter is allowed two final illustrated one-liners. And the show’s researchers had unearthed … [Read More]
Many hearts broken: Lee Young-ae married
Lee Young-ae secretly tied the knot with a Korean-American businessman in the U.S. on 24 August. The wedding was attended only by family and close friends, and was held in the U.S. because the bridegroom’s family lives there. Source: Chosun Ilbo # [Read More]
Storm Shadow v Saya: Who wins?
Just seen GI Joe; and saw Last Vampire last month. Who wins in the battle of Storm Shadow v Saya? I think Lee Byung-hun wins hands down over Jeon Ji-hyun, despite having less to do. # [Read More]
In Peril in Pyongyang?
Great Daily Mail piece on the two Korean American journalists recently released by North Korea: http://bit.ly/13N7xN # Indeed, from the whole tawdry affair only one clear winner has emerged – an exuberant Bill Clinton – even if, according to an insider, ‘the joke in the White House was that the girls were safer in North … [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]
LKL Celeb of the month #5: Kim Ah Joong
Over the past couple of weeks the internet has been buzzing with searches for Kim Ah-Joong. Which makes her LKL’s fifth Celeb of the Month. Kim Ah-joong (김아중) was born in 1982 in Seoul. She shot to fame with the film 200 Pound Beauty, where she stars as a talented but tubby singer who undergoes … [Read More]
LKL 2008 Quiz of the year – the answers
The answers to the teasers posed just before the New Year. 1 Stressful times What does the current credit crunch and the most recent DPRK nuclear test have in common? a) the media blame them on an incompetent government who should have seen it coming and somehow prevented it b) they would both cause a … [Read More]
Happy holidays
LKL will be taking a break for a couple of days. In the meantime, here are some seasonal pics. First, from last weekend’s FT front page: postmen in Seoul on a charity mission: Next, K-pop band Jewelry: And because I haven’t posted many pictures of Lee Hyori this year, here she is in a festive … [Read More]
LKL Celeb of the month #4: Won Bin
Won Bin (원빈) was born Kim Do Jin (김도진) on 10 November 1977 in Gangwon province. His 1996 TV debut was little noticed, but then he hit the big time in the hit drama Autumn Fairy Tale (2000), the first part of the Endless Love seasonal series which includes Winter Sonata. Alongside Won Bin appeared … [Read More]
Lee Byung-hun on being the bad guy
Lee Byung-hun, in town for the launch of the London Korean Film Festival, took advantage of his trip to have some interviews and engage in other promotional activities. He impressed the crowds at the opening screening of The Good the Bad and the Weird, and again the next day at the post film discussion, with … [Read More]
Stars launch Korean Film Festival
In what must be the biggest-budget launch of the KCC’s third London Korean Film Festival, director Kim Ji-woon and actor Lee Byung-hun were brought to London to introduce the flagship film of the festival, The Good the Bad and the Weird. Tony Rayns, the UK’s most established Korean film expert, was also there to celebrate. … [Read More]
Kim Jong Il in Photoshop Friday
Well, it was the KCNA which started it all, for publishing that photoshopped image of Kim Jong Il on parade with his soldiers, which appeared in the Times earlier this week. Here’s the bit which gives it away: The Chosun Ilbo published an almost identical photo on the same day, but their particular military inspection … [Read More]