RIP Bill Speakman VC

by Philip Gowman 21 July 2018
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The funeral was held this week for Bill Speakman, the so-called Beer Bottle VC. The ceremony was held on 19 July in the Wren Chapel at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where Speakman was a pensioner. He died peacefully at the Hospital on 20 June 2018, aged 90, surrounded by members of his family. Obituaries can be […]

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An introduction to the LKFF summer documentary fortnight

by Philip Gowman 20 July 2018
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I’m glad the KCC is spreading out the goodness of the London Korean Film Festival throughout the year. That first week or so in November gets far too congested with all the competing strands of the festival (with additional competition from LEAFF and the K-music festival). So to have the high-quality teasers earlier in the […]

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New books for the summer

by Philip Gowman 16 July 2018
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A couple of new books to take with you on your summer break – or, more likely in respect of the first on the list, to adorn your coffee table when you return. First, fulsomely reviewed by Andrew Salmon in Asia Times, comes Inside North Korea by The Guardian‘s architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright […]

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The 2018 K-Music festival: full programme announced

by Philip Gowman 15 July 2018
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The schedule for the 2018 K-Music festival has been released in plenty of time, giving everyone the time to plan their diaries. Here is the official press release. Tickets are already on sale. K-Music 2018 2 October – 20 November 2018 Tickets on sale from Friday 6 July – www.serious.org.uk/k-music Find out more at www.k-music.co.uk […]

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Book review: Pyun Hye-young – Evening Proposal

by Philip Gowman 9 July 2018
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Pyun Hye-young: Evening Proposal Translated by Youngsuk Park and Gloria Cosgrove Smith Originally published as 저녁의 구애, Moonji Publishing, 2011 After the somewhat gory content of Pyun’s story Corpses – published in the Waxen Wings anthology – in which a woman’s body parts keep appearing, it was with some nervousness that I started reading Pyun’s An […]

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Film review: The Unfair / Minority Opinion

by Philip Gowman 3 July 2018
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The Unfair (also known as Minority Opinion) screened as the penultimate movie in the Korean Novels on Screen season at the KCC. Based on a novel by Son Aram, it is the only film in the season where the underlying book has not (yet) been translated into English. Although the scenario is based loosely on the […]

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July events 2018

by Philip Gowman 1 July 2018
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Well, I was right about June. The changgeuk Trojan Women was superb. Here’s what’s happening in July, with events in Edinburgh, Croydon, Eastbourne, Oxford, Cambridge, Christchurch, Liverpool, York, Durham, Lichfield and Birmingham as well as London. Exhibitions The Liverpool Biennial opens on 14 July. Haegue Yang is showing at the Tate (and gives an artist talk […]

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Review: 1987 – When the Day Comes

by Philip Gowman 18 June 2018
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1987: When the Day Comes is one of those movies which could not have been made a couple of years ago. It would have got the director and its all-star cast included on the infamous blacklist of suspected lefties who would not get government support in future. And to have the director of this film […]

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Brief review: Jeong You-jeong – The Good Son

by Philip Gowman 14 June 2018
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Jeong You-jeong: The Good Son Translated by Kim Chi-young Little, Brown Book Group, 2018, 322pp Originally published as 종의 기원, Eunhaengnamu, 2016 A Good Son is one of the books being hailed as the new Scandi Noir, while Amazon is billing it as “The bestselling Korean thriller of the year” – though in a Korean genre that […]

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The Singapore Summit: the Joint Statement

by Philip Gowman 12 June 2018
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Here is the official text from the Summit: Joint Statement of President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at the Singapore Summit. President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim […]

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Film review: Be With You

by Philip Gowman 11 June 2018
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Ten years ago or so I was watching a rather good relationship drama on DVD when my wife came into the room and asked: “so which of the two has the mysterious incurable disease?” “It’s not one of those films,” I replied, somewhat tetchily. Ten minutes later, a car crash killed off one half of […]

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A look at Hay Joung Hwang’s silver gilt winning LG Eco-City Garden

by Philip Gowman 5 June 2018
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Two years ago at the Chelsea Flower Show Hay Joung Hwang teamed up with LG to showcase how technology can be used to maximise the benefits from an urban garden – from lighting to smart sensors to monitor the moisture and nutrients in the soil. Encouraged by the silver gilt awarded to the garden, the […]

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June events 2018

by Philip Gowman 1 June 2018
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A busy month this month, of which I suspect the highlight will be a changgeuk version of Trojan Women. Exhibitions Lee Bul’s big show at the Hayward Gallery opened this week, and will continue until the end of July. Her opening talk and related performance on 1 June is now fully booked, but look out […]

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Artistry, Creativity & Emotionality: Choreographies of the self in “Fake Love”

by Colette Balmain 31 May 2018
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Dr Colette Balmain examines the lead single from BTS’s Love Yourself 轉 Tear: “Fake Love” is the lead single from BTS’ third studio album Love Yourself 轉 Tear (they have also released three Japanese studio albums, two repackages, five EPs and two single albums to date) and follows, both temporally and thematically, the comeback trailer “Singularity” […]

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Yu Jinyoung: the LIFE, at Choi and Lager, Cologne

by Events Editor 20 May 2018
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This post is marginally outside the normal scope of LKL’s exhibition notices. But I’m posting it in the hope that I can persuade Jari to bring Jinyoung’s work to Union Gallery’s London space in Teesdale Street, E2. It’s a while since he did so and I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms. Yu Jinyoung: the LIFE 18 May […]

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Some GDPR admin

by Philip Gowman 20 May 2018
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Sorry to add to all the noise relating to the implementation of the new data privacy rules which come into force on 25 May. Like countless other organisations we’ve waded through the 88 closely-packed pages of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of […]

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Min Kym’s stolen Strad – the Classic FM podcast

by Philip Gowman 20 May 2018
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“This is the story of violinist Min Kym and what happened when her instrument was taken from her. It’s a tale of giddy love, devastating loss and the healing power of music.” Listen to the podcast here, with a summary on the Classic FM website here. Keywords: Musicians: Kym Min-jin

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