London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Andong remembers the Queen

The Korea Times has a nice article reminiscing about the Queen’s visit to Andong’s Hahoe Folk Village in 1999, where she celebrated her 73rd birthday. The village has set up a temporary memorial for the Queen for visitors to pay their respects in the period leading up to the state funeral on 19 September. The … [Read More]

Bora Kwon interviewed in the Guardian

Bora Kwon, Labour councillor for Hammersmith and Fulham, and one of only two councillors of Korean background in the UK, gets a nice interview in the Guardian this week. She talks about her life in the UK, politics and of course health. Read the interview in full here. You can follow Councillor Kwon on Twitter … [Read More]

RIP David Kilburn

Many LKL readers will have been friends with, or had the great pleasure of meeting David Kilburn, who sadly passed away in Seoul on Monday, 7 October. David was a steadfast supporter of justice campaigns such as the Sewol ferry disaster and the ‘comfort women’ issue. He had his own personal experience of injustice in … [Read More]

Francis Daehoon Lee meets Jeremy Corbyn

On Monday, before his London talk on Denuclearising The Korean Peninsula, Prof Francis Daehoon Lee of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy was invited to lunch with Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, in a restaurant in his Islington constituency. He said he was impressed by Corbyn’s understanding of the situation in the Korean peninsular. Prof. Lee is … [Read More]

Seungri’s shame makes it into the FT

It’s not often that you find a K-pop story in the pink pages of the Financial Times. In fact, if you search their site for “BTS” you will simply get a list of articles about the company formerly known as British Telecom. So what brings them to report the ins and outs of Lee Seung-hyun’s, … [Read More]

RIP Kim Bok-dong

Next Tuesday, 5 February, a vigil will be held in remembrance of Kim Bok-dong who passed away on Monday 28 January, aged 93. She was a victim of Japanese military sexual slavery and a tireless campaigner against violence to women and girls in conflict. Her visit to London in 2015 touched many hearts. The vigil … [Read More]

Korean Englishman team wins cultural ambassador award

Congratulations to the Korean Englishman team Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal for their “Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award” from the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI). The award ceremony was held two days ago. Josh and Ollie run the 영국남자 Korean Englishman and JOLLY YouTube channels, which between them have over 4 million subscribers. Links: Corea Image … [Read More]

Sokeel Park awarded MBE

Congratulations to Sokeel Park for being awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year’s Honours list, published on 28 December. The official citation in the Foreign Secretary’s Diplomatic Service and Overseas List reads: Sokeel John PARK, Country Director, Liberty in North Korea. For services to UK/Korea relations … though you suspect that Mr Park is … [Read More]

RIP Bill Speakman VC

The funeral was held this week for Bill Speakman, the so-called Beer Bottle VC. The ceremony was held on 19 July in the Wren Chapel at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where Speakman was a pensioner. He died peacefully at the Hospital on 20 June 2018, aged 90, surrounded by members of his family. Obituaries can be … [Read More]

OB seem to be getting their money’s worth

Who knows how much Gordon Ramsay is getting paid to be brand ambassador for Oriental Brewery’s Cass lager. But he’s certainly getting their brand into the news, at least in the English language press, both in the UK and Korea. His current promotional tour to Korea, coinciding with his filming of an episode of Please Take … [Read More]

Sad news from the South coast

Kim Hyewon, a 22 year-old student who was studying English here fell to her death after jumping in the air to pose for a photo at the edge of the Seven Sisters. According to the Telegraph: A statement by witness Young Choi, 24, said: “I went to the Seven Sisters for tourism. Another Korean girl, … [Read More]

Ambassador Cho posted to Washington

Cho Yoon-je, who was Seoul’s ambassador to London when LKL came online in 2006, has been posted to Washington. After leaving London, Ambassador Cho took up an academic post at Sogang University. Meanwhile, Victor Cha, author of among other things The Impossible State fills the post of US ambassador to Seoul. Source: Korea JoongAng Daily [Read More]

Hurricane Kimchi appears on BBC World News

Heezy Yang, the South Korean artist, performer and activist, is also known for his fabulous alter-ego, the drag queen Hurricane Kimchi. Currently in London for the Queer Asia conference at SOAS where he is performing alongside Chinese feminist and LGBTQ activist Whiskey Chow, he appeared on BBC World News yesterday: Yang has illustrated several LGBT … [Read More]

British artist at sea with Hanjin Shipping

Winning a residency programme is often a milestone in a young artist’s career. When Royal College of Art MA sculpture student Rebecca Moss won a residency programme from Vancouver’s Access Gallery, that sounded like a huge opportunity. The residency, entitled 23 Days at Sea, involves sailing in a container ship from Vancouver to Shanghai – … [Read More]

Andrew Salmon awarded MBE

Congratulations to Andy Salmon for being awarded an MBE in the Queens 90th birthday honours list. His citation, in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List reads as follows: Andrew Charles SALMON Journalist and writer, Seoul, Republic of Korea. For services to British Veterans of the Korean War. If you haven’t already, check out his two … [Read More]