London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

A look forward to the events of 2012

We had a pretty good year for Korea-related cultural events in 2011. So what can we expect in 2012? Here’s a taster of things that are in planning. And here’s hoping the plans come to fruition. Film We missed out on a planned Im Kwon-taek retrospective in 2011 owing to a clash of dates with … [Read More]

The London Korean Links Awards 2011

The sixth of LKL’s annual unscientific and very personal recognition of the best things of last year. And in the field of film, books and CDs what is encouraging is that there is so much to choose from. There were also plenty of good Korean cultural events in London, Edinburgh and elsewhere, but there was … [Read More]

President Lee’s New Year Message: Beyond Crisis Toward Hope

After the wordy joint new year editorial of the North Korean newspapers, President Lee’s New Year Message is more concise and to the point. It addresses the North Korean issue, insisting that dialogue is possible: “Peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and reunification are the tasks that should be addressed jointly by both the … [Read More]

2012 Joint New Year Editorial: “The entire army should place absolute trust in Kim Jong Un and defend him unto death”

The customary New Year joint editorial published by the major North Korean newspapers serves to reinforce the position of Kim Jong Un, who is mentioned 15 times in this 5,700-word exhortatory message. “The whole Party, the entire army and all the people” is encouraged to “become human bulwarks and human shields in defending Kim Jong … [Read More]

LKL Critics’ Choice 2011: Philip

2011 all told was not a bad year for K-pop, and K-indie too is reaching listeners through more outlets. My own record-buying was somewhat slower than in previous years, but nevertheless I picked up enough to have a lot of rejects in my pile. And here are five of the disks that will stay with … [Read More]

LKL Critics’ Choice 2011: Saharial

Looking back over my orders, its been more of a Japanese movie year for me this year, but despite that and the usual excessive Shinhwa related purchases there are some honorable mentions, one disappointment, and a winner by someone you might not have heard of… 4Men – Vol. 4 – The Artist 14 June 2011 … [Read More]

A look back at 2011 – part 3

In the final part of our look back at 2011, we summarise some of the news stories which caught our eye. China This year the region’s biggest economy continued flexing its muscles: it conducted the first test flight of its new stealth fighter, announced that it had deployed stealth missile speedboats in the East China … [Read More]

A look back at 2011 – part 2

In the second of our articles we look at stories relating to Sports, Tourism, and national branding and marketing. And K-pop and celebrities are never far away when talking of Brand Korea. Sports and Tourism Jeju was provisionally listed as one of the worlds New 7 Wonders, after a multi-month international marketing campaign. Celebrities ranging … [Read More]

A look back at 2011 – part 1

LKL’s annual look back at the stories and events of the last 12 months; this year, a multi-part piece, starting with some heritage, film, and the development of Korean food among world cuisines. Heritage The Ilsungrok (diaries of the daily lives of Joseon kings) and the written and visual logs of the pro-democracy movement in … [Read More]