London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Korean film – a review of 2007

Jason Bechervaise, founder of koreanfilm.org.uk, gives his perspective on the ups and downs of the Korean film industry in 2007 By all accounts 2007 was a year that has been difficult one for the Korean film industry where it seems that the golden years of the Korean film industry has passed. Rising costs have meant … [Read More]

The top 30 LKL pictures of 2007: the top 10

Here’s the top ten. And probably not all that work-safe. #10: The second appearance of LKL’s favourite ex-playboy model, Lee Sabi (806 views): #9: The Chejudo Love Land theme park (884): #8: Sassy girl and last vampire Jeon Ji-hyun displaying her smooth thighs as a rock chick (969): #7: Pop diva, CF queen and all-round … [Read More]

The LKL P&L

As one or two readers will know, in my work like I started, like Daeguowl and Jenny, as an accountant. So here is an entirely non-IFRS-compliant statement of LKL’s activities for 2007. 1 Revenues As many readers may appreciate, the object of this website is not to make money. And because I prefer to have … [Read More]

Suju confirmed as LKL’s top drawer

I’ve been trawling the 2007 website statistics for interesting trends. Search terms, popular pages and the like. I wish I had something earth-shattering to report, but the trends in terms of readers’ interests stay pretty consistent. The thing I notice on a daily basis is that the same old (and I mean old) posts keep … [Read More]

The top 30 LKL pictures of 2007 – part 2

Here’s #11-20, in reverse order: #20: Tottenham Hotspur’s Lee Young-pyo: #19: 1970s Seoul: #18: The first appearance of top K-pop star BoA, in her campaign for Olympus: #17: Shinhan Bank’s Manchester United Credit Card: #16: The cover image from Kyung-Hyun Kim’s heavyweight book on Korean Cinema — a still from Peppermint Candy: #15: Robot Taekwon … [Read More]

The top 30 LKL pictures of 2007

Part 1: #21-30 Inspired by the cheap TV programmes which seem to have taken over the evening schedules in the UK, simply recycling clips from other TV programmes (The 100 most embarrassing celebrity moments, and the like), here’s a chance to sample again the pictures most viewed on this site during 2007, according to AWstats. … [Read More]

Books to look forward to in 2008

Here’s some of the books I’ll be looking out for in 2008. First, Mark James Russell’s Pop Goes Korea From kim chee to kim chic! South Korea came from nowhere in the 1990s to become one of the biggest producers of pop content (movies, music, comic books, TV dramas, online gaming) in Asia-and the West. … [Read More]

New Year’s resolutions

1 I will free myself from the daily post Having managed to maintain one post per day for the past 15 months or so, even when on holiday, I’ve now proved to myself I can do it. To be honest, it’s never been much of a struggle to find something to write about, and it’s … [Read More]

LKL 2007 Quiz of the Year – the answers

Question 1: Corporate crooks and corruption Match the alleged quote with the appropriate chaebol The conglomorate had run a vast network that bribed government officials, prosecutors, tax collectors, journalists and scholars I don’t want to take a gamble on causing a crisis in the country’s economy The sentence of one year and six months is … [Read More]

The London Korean Links Awards 2007

Following the success of last year’s equivalent post here are the winners and losers of the second annual LKL Awards. Again, a personal and unscientific selection. Man of the Year Last year there was a clear winner: a man who had been in the press all year with little but positive coverage. This year started … [Read More]

Review of the London Korean year 2007

Having had the big programme of events of Think Korea 2006, I had thought that 2007 was going to be disappointing. But as it turned out the range of events in 2007 was if anything greater. Performing arts On the stage we have had a re-run of the martial arts comedy Jump and the same … [Read More]

Thank You!

Thanks to all those who have in different ways contributed to LKL this year. In no particular order: The guest contributors, who provide coverage that I am unqualified to provide, thus adding so much value. Jennifer for her lively accounts of some of the special London events. We look forward to your book next year, … [Read More]

Another year of underperformance

Our abies koreana has probably grown about half an inch this year. It has thus failed to meet its very reasonable targets which we set a year ago. Yet this is the season of goodwill, and the kind-hearted Louise has granted a reprieve. For some reason, she has a soft spot for this straggly piece … [Read More]

LKL Quiz of the Year 2007

As a bit of seasonal fun, here’s a little quiz to test your knowledge of the events of the past year. Question 1: Corporate crooks and corruption An easy one to warm up with. Match the alleged quote with the appropriate chaebol The conglomorate had run a vast network that bribed government officials, prosecutors, tax … [Read More]

Two more 2007 album choices

As an appendix to the recommendations by the three critics who know Korean pop, rock and indie music much better than me, here are two further choices. I can’t help but sympathise with Jenny when she comments that 2007 was not an outstanding year. My own purchases of Korean music are somewhat random. When I’m … [Read More]