London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

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Selected publications

  • Booklist: Buddhism (59 titles)
    • 2012 Travel Diary #19: Beopgyesa Temple and those Japanese feng-shui stakes

      Beopgyesa Temple (법게사) is the highest in Sancheong County and at least the third-highest in Korea. The good people of Sancheong believe that Beopgyesa is the highest temple in South Korea, a claim which is supported by Beopgyesa’s entry on the Cultural Heritage Administration website, where the following text is to be found: “It is … [Read More]

      Cute photos of a Buddha’s Birthday ceremony in Seoul

      Some great pics of some young monks getting their head shaved for the first time this Buddha’s birthday at Jogye Temple, Seoul, in today’s Metro. Some of them don’t like it! Links: Children become Buddhist monks as tears flow during ceremony, Metro, 13 May 2012 Buddhist monks caught gambling, smoking and drinking at party, Telegraph, … [Read More]

      Hi Dharma! at the International Buddhist Film Festival

      Head-to-head with the excitement of the Terracotta Far East Film Festival comes the equally compelling International Buddhist Film Festival, showing at the Apollo Piccadilly April 11–15, 2012 (the same place the KCC is holding its big monthly screenings this year). There’s plenty of interesting Asian films showing (the full programme can be found here), and … [Read More]

      Exhibition Visit: An Eternal Cycle at Mokspace

      In a hectic London Korean exhibition calendar which often seems biased towards installations and video art, we should welcome an exhibition which features well executed paintings which you would happily hang on your wall. Mokspace’s current exhibition, An Eternal Cycle – Paradise and Purgatory, is doubly unusual in featuring Buddhist-inspired paintings. Such work is rarely … [Read More]

      Buddha’s Voice – The Bell of King Seongdeok

      People sometimes take a jaundiced view of Korea’s estimation of the importance of its cultural heritage. In the case of the Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok, however, it was foreigner, Dr. Otto Kummel, a director at the National Museum of Germany, who suggested that the museum’s description of the bell as ‘the best in Korea’, … [Read More]

      Haeinsa celebrates 1,000 years of the Tripitaka Koreana

      Haeinsa Temple is hosting its first contemporary art exhibition, involving 34 artists from 10 countries, to commemorate the millennial anniversary of the Tripitaka Koreana, which UNESCO has designated one of the “most important and most complete corpus of Buddhist doctrinal texts in the world.” The exhibition’s title — 通 | 통 | Tong — uses … [Read More]

      The Life and Teachings of Master Wonhyo

      The life of Master Wonhyo (617-686 A.D.) is a typical Korean paradox. He was a scholar who composed over 100 works on Buddhist philosophy, whose influence in scholarship and teaching was felt in China and other surrounding countries. He is acknowledged today as the foremost figure in the history of Korean Buddhism. And yet, many … [Read More]

      Abstracts: Korean Buddhists Arts of the Koryŏ and Chosŏn Kingdoms

      Here are the abstracts for the series of talks on Korean Buddhist arts at SOAS on 19 May 2011: Gyeongwon Choe (Kansas University) Marginalised yet Devoted: Buddhist Paintings Commissioned by Nuns of the Early Joseon Palace Cloisters This lecture examines the three extant Buddhist paintings commissioned by Buddhist nuns in the palace cloisters of the … [Read More]

      The LKL Korea Trip 2011 – first thoughts

      I’ve just returned from a few days in Korea – the usual programme of meeting new people, renewing old friendships, covering old and new ground and enjoying lots of good food. It was a less intensive week than last year’s because I was under my own steam rather than being hosted by the Ministry of … [Read More]

      2010 Travel Diary #33: Remembering Seong Cheol Sunim

      What is Buddhism all about? I confess to knowing very little. One night of temple stay, and browsing round a few exhibitions of Buddhist art, does not qualify as a proper introduction. In Daewonsa, Neunghae Sunim took a pleasingly laid back approach to the Buddhist life. “Don’t rush things” and “Enjoy yourself” seemed to be … [Read More]