London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

UK Premiere screening: 1987: When the Day Comes

After Save the Green Planet (2003), one of my own favourites from that decade, director Jang Joon-hwan took a long break. I’m afraid I missed his second feature, Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013), something that I’m going to have to rectify, because his third film, coming to the Picturehouse Central this month, has been getting … [Read More]

LKFF 2018 Teaser Screening #2: Memoir of a Murderer

The second LKFF2018 Teaser screening is Won Shin-yeon’s adaptation of Kim Young-ha’s Memoir of a Murderer: Memoir of a Murderer (살인자의 기억법) Dir Won Shin-yeon (2017, 118min) With Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Nam-gil, Kim Seol-hyun Monday 21 May 2018, 7pm | Regent Street Cinema | Book tickets Serial killers are popular figures in South Korean cinema, … [Read More]

LKFF 2018 Teaser Screening: Be With You

The plot of this movie, the first teaser screening for the 2018 film festival, makes me think of those yearning, understated love stories of the early 2000s such as The Classic. It’ll be interesting to see the genre re-booted. Be With You (지금 만나러 갑니다) Director: Lee Chang-hoon (2018, 132 ins) Cast: So Ji-sub | … [Read More]

Film review: Memoir of a Murderer

Memoir of a Murderer asks us to step inside the mind of someone who is losing his memory, a sufferer of Alzheimer’s disease. The movie opens with a scene focusing on the face of a gaunt and aged-looking Sol Kyung-gu as single dad Kim Byung-soo. As we watch, his face begins to twitch. At first … [Read More]

Film review: A Taxi Driver

I went along to watch A Taxi Driver out of a sense of duty. What can be said about Gwangju, I thought, that hasn’t been said already? I’d rather see a documentary. Plus, Korean movies with foreign actors always raise slight alarm bells with me (Isabelle Huppert in Hong Sang-soo’s In Another Country left me … [Read More]

Final LKFF 2017 Teaser: The Villainess

This final teaser screening for the 2017 London Korean Film Festival looks rather fun. And to add to the tease, on the same evening the programme for the main festival will be unveiled. See you there. The Villainess (악녀) London Korean Film Festival Teaser Screening + LKFF 2017 Programme Launch Director: Jung Byung-gil (정병길), 2017, … [Read More]

6th LKFF 2017 Teaser: Jang Hoon’s Taxi Driver

How did we manage to squeeze in six teasers this year? Anyway, the latest is possibly one of the most anticipated Korean movies of the year so far. Here’s hoping it lives up to expectation. Taxi Driver (택시 운전사) Director: Jang Hoon, 2017, 137mins Cast: Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hai-jin, Ryu Jun-yeol UK Premiere … [Read More]

5th LKFF 2017 Teaser: Lee Soo-yeon’s Bluebeard

The next teaser for the London Korean Film Festival is a psychological thriller set in Hwaseong, site of a real-life string of serial killings from 1986 to 1991: Bluebeard (해빙) Director: Lee Soo-yeon, 2017, 117 mins Regent Street Cinema, 10 July 2017, 7:30pm Book tickets: www.regentstreetcinema.com/programme/bluebeard/ South Korea has become known for its gripping thrillers featuring … [Read More]

Event news: Lee Eon-hee’s Missing is the 2nd LKFF Teaser

Lee Eon-hee’s Missing is the second LKFF Teaser screening this year. Paul Quinn is enthusastic. Missing (미씽: 사라진 여자) 10 April 2017, 6:30pm Picturehouse Central Book tickets UK Premiere Director E Oni’s stylish thriller utilises powerful performances from her lead actresses to address a variety of topical issues affecting two women at very different ends … [Read More]

Brief review: Train to Busan

What can you say about Train to Busan that hasn’t already been said? When everyone tells you it’s a fantastic thrill-ride you try to go into the screening with lowered expectations just in case everyone is delusional and you come away disappointed. No need to fear. It’s pretty much non-stop entertainment from start to finish, … [Read More]

Brief review: Lee Seok-hoon’s Himalaya

What do Himalaya (Lee Seok-hoon, 2015), Possessed (Lee Yong-ju, 2009) and A Better Tomorrow (Song Hae-seong, 2012) have in common? They are all Korean films which I have gone to a screening room or theatre to watch but couldn’t be bothered to stay to the end. When you pop a DVD into the machine at … [Read More]