Bella Frey, who recently reviewed The Return – the closing film of LKFF 2018 – tells us about her own personal return earlier this year. A tale of the unexpected… My head is still swimming from my recent trip to Korea. It was in part planned to be a personal pilgrimage to re-visit places from … [Read More]
Place: Busan
2017 travel diary 1: Min Young-ki’s solo exhibition in Busan
Seoul Station, Saturday 29 April 2017, 12:30pm. It is the first full day of my Korea trip. I had arrived in Seoul the previous evening, catching the bus to my mid-range hotel near Jogyesa. I had found my favourite coffee shop, had dinner with good friends in Hoban, a traditional, earthy eating house in Nakwondong, … [Read More]
Korea Joa Project – Haedong Yonggungsa and Gwangalli Beach
This entry recounts a Korea Joa Project day in Busan, moving from post-BIFF reflections to a visit to the seaside Haedong Yonggung Buddhist temple and its unexpected sense of serenity, before concluding with a night ferry around Gwangalli Beach, taking in Busan’s illuminated skyline and coastal beauty. [Read More]
Korea Joa Project – ‘The Silenced’ BIFF 2015 screening and Q&A
This diary entry covers a Korea Joa Project day in Busan, from a milmyeon lunch to Megabox Haeundae screenings of The Silenced and Ode to My Father. It focuses on a rewatch of The Silenced and a post-screening Q&A discussing its genre shift, character relationships and directorial intent. [Read More]
Korea Joa Project – Busan International Film Festival opening ceremony
This travelogue recounts the hectic arrival at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival Opening Ceremony, navigating crowded entrances and last-minute confusion before finally reaching seats on the red carpet. Exhaustion gives way to excitement as film stars appear, captured in an on-the-ground red carpet video that conveys the atmosphere better than words. [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 5: The UN Memorial Cemetery and the start of the MERS scare
Gangneung, Tuesday 2 June. Today promises to be a relatively low-key affair. As promised, Eun-jin arrives at the hotel at 8:50 to take me to the bus station, and I buy my ticket for the 9:30 to Busan, boarding a coach with maybe a dozen people on it, including a sailor in a smart white … [Read More]
2014 Travel Diary day 2: Orchids for the altar
In which we make our way to Sancheong County via a literary lunch. Haeundae Beach, Busan, Saturday 7 June, 8am. The buskers must have been singing until later than 3am. Even though my room was somewhere higher than the 10th floor, the sound insulation was so poor that they might just as well have been … [Read More]
2014 Travel Diary day 1: Harassed in Haeundae
In which I arrive, somewhat frazzled, at Busan’s crowded beach area. Canary Wharf, London, Thursday 5 June, 3:30pm. Every time I leave the office for a trip, no matter how much I’ve tried to tidy up all my loose ends in advance, the departure from work is stressful. I had left a good hour to finish … [Read More]
Gangnam is worth more than the whole of Busan
3 districts in southern Seoul account for just 0.1% of the total land area of Korea, but 10% of the total real estate value. Gangnam alone is worth more than the whole of Busan. I know which I prefer… http://t.co/X37tBkB2 [Read More]
2011 Travel Diary day 3: the hangover in Busan
Myeongdong, Monday 2 May 2011. I wake up, fully clothed, sprawled on my hotel bed at 6am, not knowing how I got there. The previous evening had ended in a bit of a blur, as my evenings with Yi Chul-jin tend to. It had all started off in a civilised enough manner over dinner, but … [Read More]
A sunny day in Busan
Haeundae Beach, Busan, 1 August 2010. Now that's what I call crowded, and supports the contention that Koreans like to go on holiday in crowds. But why are all the rubber rings yellow? http://bit.ly/c701UB # [Read More]
Ha Ji-won speaks Busan dialect like a native
Ha Ji-won’s Busan accent takes Haeundae over the 10 million mark. # So convincing is Ha’s Busan accent that even locals believe she is one of their own, but in fact she mastered the accent with the help of a dialect coach. Nice that she’s drinking the local soju brand, too. Source: Chosun Ilbo [Read More]
The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 5: Bulguksa and Seokkuram
Sunday 19 July 2009 More World Heritage points today. The Samgyeopsal from last night is still sitting heavily on my stomach and I don’t feel like breakfast. The 9 am KTX from Seoul Station, and the connecting train from East Daegu, went without a hitch, and bang on time. Just before I arrive in Gyeongju … [Read More]
2008 Travel diary day 4: meetups in Seoul
Nampodong, Busan, Monday morning 18 February: a quick stroll around the Jagalchi fish market before I catch the subway to Busan Station and buy a ticket for the KTX back to Seoul. As we pass through Milyang, setting for Secret Sunshine, I feel compelled to take a photo. On arriving in Seoul, a quick bag … [Read More]
2008 Travel diary day 3: Busan
Insadong, Seoul, Sunday morning 17 February: an early start for the 9:05 KTX to Busan. I am met at the other end by Nam-hee and Min, who have taken it upon themselves to show me round. First, a foaming Samgyetang in Seoul Samgyetang in the Nampodong area. I reckognise the environs from a previous stay … [Read More]
Busan, hub city?
OK, so I didn’t make it to PIFF this year. I don’t think I’m ever likely to: time away from work is precious, and to be spent with one’s beloved. If one’s beloved isn’t in to sitting in a darkened movie theatre straining to read the subtitles for days on end (and I’m not sure … [Read More]