London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Kimsooja’s London Olympics project lives on

Surfing the web recently, following a link related to UK based Korean artist / photographer Bae Chan-hyo, I came across this article in the New York Times on the subject of thirteen artists dealing with the subject of migration. Apart from the piece on Bae, which highlighted some new work of his from 2018 (which … [Read More]

A London 2012 Korean Olympic round-up

Here are some of the highlights and headlines from the past two weeks or so of Korean athletes at the London 2012 Olympics: 25 July North Korea’s Olympic women’s football team walked off the pitch for an hour at their opening London 2012 match tonight after organisers mistakenly introduced the players using South Korea’s flag. … [Read More]

Im Kwon-taek visits London for the Olympics

As part of the VIP delegation visiting from Seoul to launch Korea’s bid for Olympic glory in London 2012, a surprise dignitary was legendary film director Im Kwon-taek. I first caught sight of him at the Korea Shining Bright event at the Victoria and Albert Museum on Monday night, 30 July. I wondered if I … [Read More]

Needles and a mouth organ at Team Korea House

Yes, there have been K-pop flashmobs, dancing robots, traditional music performances and comedy magic shows at Team Korea House. There has even been a live radio show broadcast from there, with presenters dressed in royal hanbok. Last Saturday (4 August) was the final performance by Dulsori before they head off to Germany. They opened with … [Read More]

Monocle 24 broadcasts from Team Korea House

Live from Team Korea House, London, Monocle 24 hears from the CEO of the Korea Tourism Association, enjoys K-pop, and is joined by acupuncture expert Sena Lee. All to celebrate the Olympics. http://londonkoreanlinks.net/wp-content/uploads/audio/11000199.mp3 The K-pop interview is at 18’00” Sena is at 23’35” Philip is at 52’00” [Read More]

Witty Specsavers ad irritates academics

The quick-thinking Specsavers ad capitalising on the Olympic flag gaffe seems to have ruffled a feather in academic circles for being written in bad Korean. So what if “Specsavers” should be at the beginning of the sentence? Putting it there would have completely baffled the non-Korean speaking audience it’s aimed at. [Read More]

Oh dear

The first mess-up of the games: I really don’t blame the North Korean team for walking off. (Image source) Links: North Korea Threatens to Destroy Glasgow in a ‘Sea of Fire’, Dokdo Times, 26 July 2012 [Read More]

Join the Cheer for Korea Olympic Flashmob

For those who want to join in cheering for the Korean athletes, there’s a rehearsal down in Raynes Park this Saturday. You’ll be learning how to sing and dance to Psy’s official cheering song, imaginatively called “Korea”. It goes something like this: More details on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/MylsZn [Read More]