London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Looking back at 2013: Entertainment news

In the third of five retrospective articles, we recall some of the entertainment stories that caught our eye in 2013. Korean box office records were broken in 2013. Korean films accounted for 59.5 percent of box office takings, with the feel-good drama Miracle in Cell 7 gaining 12.8 million admissions. The big new band to … [Read More]

Trot music as propaganda against the North

Six months ago it was girl bands. Now Trot music is supposed to be S.Korea’s best propaganda weapon against the North http://bit.ly/gsmfZf # “Pop music can be a powerful psychological weapon targeting the oppressed in the North. We should immediately resume tannoy broadcasts in response to the North’s recent provocations,” declared a South Korean lawmaker. … [Read More]

Jang Yoon Jung – first album

(Sony Music, October 2004) Jang Yoon Jung was the first of the younger generation stars to experiment with Trot. Brought out in late 2004, her first album was a hit with older and younger buyers alike, and encouraged other Trot revivalists to have a go. Those who came after were somehow less successful, let down … [Read More]

Trot makes a comeback

To be perfectly accurate, I don’t think Trot ever really went away. Rather, like many trends in popular culture, its fanbase was getting older and there would come a point when no-one was listening to it any more. But when Trot compilations are selling millions through street vendors (see chapter 7 of Keith Howard’s book), … [Read More]