Politics

Film review double bill: Bamseom Pirates and Criminal Conspiracy

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by Philip Gowman on 8 October, 2017

in BFI London Film Festival, Choi Seung-ho, Documentaries, Film reviews and comment, Jung Yoon-suk, London Korean Film Festival, Politics, Society

This weekend gave us the opportunity to watch two very different documentaries which cast their critical eye over contemporary Korean society and recent political history. Part of the fascination of both of them for UK-based Korea-watchers is the way they resonate: they provide, in the one case, a laser-like dissection of an issue of which […]

Screening: Criminal Conspiracy

by Events Editor 1 October 2017

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News of a free documentary screenings courtesy of the Birkbeck International Documentary Society: Criminal Conspiracy 공범자들 Dir: Choi Seung-ho (2017, 105 mins) Birkbeck Cinema | 43 Gordon Square | London WC1H 0PD 7 October 2pm | Event’s Facebook page During the Lee Myung-Bak presidency Public Broadcasting in South Korea came under heavy government control and […]

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Update: upcoming Frontline Club discussion no longer about PGH’s impeachment

by Events Editor 4 April 2017

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Update: this event has now been changed to be a documentary screening and discussion about the South Korean TV show Now on my way to meet you. The below text is retained for archival purposes but is no longer relevant. Asia in Realignment: The Impeachment of Park Geun-hye Frontline Club | 13 Norfolk Place | […]

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Choigate and Park Geun-hye’s censorship of the arts – contd

by Philip Gowman 11 January 2017

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A couple more links relating to censorship under Park Geun-hye, which will be updated as news breaks. First, a re-post of the pdf purporting to be the blacklist of 9,473 names, first posted here. 10 Jan 2017: Via Br Anthony comes the “appalling news … that [Park] personally gave orders that the two most important […]

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Choigate, censorship and the arts

by Philip Gowman 5 November 2016

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At any other time the presence of a demonstrator outside the KCC – and outside the opening screening of the London Korean Film Festival – protesting about artistic censorship that is said to have taken place during the current KCC director’s stint at the National Gugak Centre would have been prominent news. But choreographer Jung […]

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Event news: King’s College London Contemporary Korea Speaker Series

by Events Editor 10 October 2016

The London Asia Pacific Centre will be hosting the Contemporary Korea Speaker Series in October-November 2016. Thanks to funding provided by The Academy of Korean Studies, the series will bring to London four top Korean professors to discuss contemporary Korean economics, politics and society. The talks are as follows: 13 October 2016 – Prof Kim […]

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Event news: Remembering Dictators – The Politics of Bronze Statues in South Korea and Taiwan

by Events Editor 22 June 2016

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Thanks to Colin Bartlett for forwarding me details of a seminar at SOAS’s main building this evening, hosted by their Centre of Taiwan Studies: Remembering Dictators: The Politics of Bronze Statues in South Korea and Taiwan Speaker: Prof Huang Chang-Ling Date: 22 June 2016, 5:00 – 7:00 pm Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings Room: KLT […]

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Looking back at 2014: Domestic news

by Philip Gowman 15 February 2015

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Our final look back at 2014: mainly domestic news stories from South Korea: The Sewol and safety culture The MV Sewol capsized on 16 April, causing the death of 304 passengers. A number of factors contributed to the disaster, including lax safety inspections, unsafe modifications, unsecured cargo, overloading, and an inexperienced crew hired on temporary […]

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Korea’s Economy in Transition – a report from the recent evening at Asia House

by Philip Gowman 24 October 2014

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Sometimes, when you go along to an evening talk, you are looking forward to the networking rather than the substance of what the speakers will be saying. Perhaps you think you won’t learn much, and you’re going along out of a vague sense of duty, because other people will expect you to be there. Well, […]

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Hong Seong-dam’s art in the news again

by Philip Gowman 31 August 2014

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In 2012 his unflattering painting of President-elect Park got the ruling party annoyed; now Hong Seong-nam is in the news again for lampooning Park’s response to the Sewol disaster in an exhibition linked to the Gwangju Biennale. It’s difficult to know precisely what has been going on in Gwangju from the snippets that make it […]

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Looking back at 2013: Domestic news

by Philip Gowman 5 February 2014

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Our final look back at 2013, including a random collection of news stories, mainly domestic, that caught our attention. In the news Asiana Airlines flight 214 from Incheon crashed on landing at San Francisco airport on 6 July. The Boeing 777 had approached the runway too low and too slow. An American local TV station […]

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Looking back at 2012: Domestic news

by Philip Gowman 26 January 2013

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In our final round-up of Korea-related stories which caught our eye in 2012, we look at domestic and business news. Modern Life and how to escape it. Korea came 24th out of 34 leading countries in an OECD quality of life index, coming bottom of the class in job security and gender income inequality and […]

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The presidential election: a fascinating race (part 3)

by SK Adams 15 December 2012

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We’ve rounded the last bend and are into the final stretch of this ‘Fascinating Race’. On 19th December, South Korean voters will elect a new president to the Blue House. Here is what has been happening since part 2. Independent no more First came the stepping down of Ahn Cheol-soo. On November 23rd, in an […]

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The presidential election: a fascinating race (part 2)

by SK Adams 13 November 2012

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The fascinating race continues! The latest news from the South Korean presidential election campaign is the potential alliance between the liberal Democratic United Party candidate, Moon Jae-in, and independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo. This joining of forces would pose a serious threat to conservative candidate Park Geun-hye, who has led in the polls for some time. […]

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The presidential election: a fascinating race (part 1)

by SK Adams 1 November 2012

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It’s not just the US which is going through a presidential election campaign right now. New guest contributor SK Adams gives his take on the South Korean campaign. If tasked to dream up a thrilling presidential race, one couldn’t do much better than the current race for the Blue House in South Korea. Voters will […]

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LSE Korea Economic and Political Forum 2012

by Events Editor 27 October 2012

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An all-day event coming up on 24 November at LSE. Registration is required via the LSE Students Union Korean Society website. Korea Economic and Political Forum 2012 Continuing from the last year’s success, on 24th November 2012, LSESU Korean Society is proud to present LSESU Korean Society Korean Economic and Political Forum : “Korea in […]

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SOAS public workshop: State Capitalism and Development in East Asia

by Events Editor 11 October 2012

A free all-day seminar sponsored by the Centre of Korean Studies at SOAS: State Capitalism and Development in East Asia Speakers Jeong Seongjin (Gyeongsang National University) Lee Jeong-koo (GNU) Gareth Dale (Brunel University) Jamie Allinson (University of Westminster) Owen Miller (SOAS, University of London) Tuesday, 6 November 2012, 10am-5pm Room B111, First Floor, Brunei Gallery, […]

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