London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

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Selected publications

  • Booklist: K-pop (24 titles)
    • LKL Critics’ Choice 2009: Philip

      The editor provides an eclectic choice of albums from this year. 2009 has been a bumper year for new, innovative music and some welcome re-releases of the back catalogue. And anyone interested in the Korean contemporary music scene needs to be very grateful to Anna over at Indieful ROK for the work she does in … [Read More]

      LKL Critics’ Choice 2009: Saharial

      This year can definitely be marked down as one for the less inspiring years for discovering new musical talent. Korea is packed full of vocally gifted teens all eager to make the break into stardom and this year saw various girl and boy bands pop up from nowhere as companies vied for more of the … [Read More]

      The Indieful ROK MySpace Directory

      Anna over at Indieful ROK has done us all a great service. Ever wanted to explore new Korean indie music? Never figured out how lastFM works? MySpace is a good place to sample new music for free. The problem is, where are all the cool Korean musicians? In the course of her blogging on Korean … [Read More]

      Younee on Radio 3 Jazz Line-up

      Great pre-gig publicity for Younee, courtesy of the BBC: an interview with the amazing singer Claire Martin on Radio 3 Jazz Line-up, and the chance to perform a couple of numbers live. http://bit.ly/yi96h # From the BBC website: Claire Martin presents as South Korean piano virtuoso Yoonee talks about her current career in jazz and … [Read More]

      Younee’s autumn UK tour and CD release

      News of a UK tour by Korean singer-wongwriter and pianist, Younee, in collaboration with British-based musicians: Younee, from Seoul, Korea is ‘beyond category’ as a singer, songwriter and pianist and known as “Key’s Piano” in her native Korea and has 2 albums to her name. Her exquisitely vulnerable voice can also express raw power. An … [Read More]

      Yoon Bok-hee comes to Kingston

      Koreans seem to keep some of their favourite stars well hidden from the West. Google singer Yoon Bok-hee in English, and you don’t find much. The Kpopwiki is able to provide a discography but no biography, while the occasional article in the Korea Times mention her only in passing: recently for performing the role of … [Read More]

      Tomi Kita – In Dreamz

      Review by Saharial Tomi Kita: In Dreamz Pony Canyon Records, 2008 Having seen them perform at ‘The Peel’ and the Dano festival last year I succumbed to the temptation of buying the one album available at Yesasia.com. ‘In Dreamz’, released in February 2008, is Tomi Kita’s third album and consists of 14 tracks all composed … [Read More]

      Map the Soul – a revolution for the music industry

      Saharial shows her appreciation for the way in which hip-hop group Epik High’s new album is marketed: international fans are included, and even welcomed. On 21 March 2009, a website went live and promptly crashed under the weight of 300,000 hits. It was unexpected, but the kind of unexpected that you almost hope for in … [Read More]

      Happy music, Happy people

      We want to make people in this world listen our music and feel happy 😉 Nina Lee from Happy Robot Records talks to Anna Lindgren. Over the past few years, Happy Robot has become one of the finest indie labels in Korea. Several of their artists made it to the finals of AVIMA 2009 – … [Read More]