A retrospective of designer Paul Smith’s work opened at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza yesterday. A good friend of LKL went along to the opening and took a few pictures. The exhibition is hosted by the Seoul Design Foundation and the Design Museum in London. The Korea Times describes it as “like walking into the renowned […]
Places: Seoul
2019 Travel Diary #1: Seoul
This year I decided to ease myself into the Korea trip gently: an evening plus a half-day in Seoul before heading off to visit friends elsewhere on the peninsula. I didn’t know how much energy I’d have when I landed, but had made tentative arrangements to meet up with London-based artist Bongsu Park, possibly with […]
Screening: Under the Sky of Seoul
The fourth screening in LEAFF’s K-Cinema 100 series: Under the Sky of Seoul (서울의 지붕밑) Dir. Lee Hyeong-pyo (1961, 115 mins) Tuesday 7 May 2019 The Cinema Museum | The Master’s House | 2 Dugard Way (off Renfrew Road) | London SE11 4TH | www.cinemamuseum.org.uk Doors from 6pm, screening at 7pm | Book tickets SYNOPSIS : This […]
Screening: Holiday in Seoul
LEAFF’s third screening in the K-Cinema 100 series: Holiday in Seoul (서울의 휴일) Dir. Lee Yong-min (1956, 90min) Wednesday 1st May 2019 The Cinema Museum | The Master’s House | 2 Dugard Way (off Renfrew Road) | London SE11 4TH | www.cinemamuseum.org.uk Doors from 6pm, screening at 7pm | Book tickets SYNOPSIS: A couple decide to spend […]
South Korea: Earth’s Hidden Wilderness – BBC2 documentary
To complement their coverage of the winter Olympics, the BBC is screening what looks like an interesting documentary covering things you might not often see in coverage of the peninsula. With plenty of Korean experts advising and behind the camera, this should be well worth a watch. South Korea – Earth’s Hidden Wilderness BBC2, 8:00pm […]
London band Ooberfuse join Yoon Band in Seoul Amnesty gig
Woolwich-based electropop duo Ooberfuse will be playing on Seoul with YB (Yoon Do-hyun’s band) as part of an Amnesty International project in support of refugees everywhere. The music video for the band’s upcoming single features the well-known North Korean exile and campaigner Jihyun Park, along with her daughter. This is an interesting project and I […]
A good list of restaurants in Seoul
It’s so rare to find a list of recommended restaurants in Seoul that focuses on Korean food as opposed to French and other cuisine, and which includes honest, salt-of-the-earth type places as well as the fancy ones with Michelin stars. So I don’t want to lose this particular link, which includes two very humble places […]
Hwang Jihae’s Shoes Tree project at Seoul Station
This year’s Chelsea Flower Show has just come to an end. No Korean participation this year, as far as I am aware. Last year Hwang Hay-joung won silver gilt for her Smart Garden sponsored by LG. But loyal readers will remember back to 2011 and 2012, when Hwang Jihae, without a big name corporate sponsor, […]
2017 travel diary 10: A lazy weekend in Seoul
Insadong, Seoul, 6 May 2018. There is never a shortage of things to do in Seoul. For the final weekend of my 2017 Korea trip I had not scheduled anything other than a couple of dinner engagements. I could easily have done nothing apart from hanging out in my new favourite coffee shop. Their fresh salads […]
2017 travel diary 6: a little night music at the Gyeongbokgung
Seoul, Wednesday 3 May 2017, 7pm. The beginning of May is a busy time in Seoul’s royal palaces. The UNESCO listed ceremony, the Jongmyo rituals in honour of the Royal Ancestors, always takes place the first Sunday in May. Children’s Day also falls around that time, and this year, Buddha’s Birthday and in the days […]
London and Seoul sign Friendship City agreement
When Seoul Mayor Park Wonsoon was in town yesterday he signed a “friendship city” agreement with London Mayor Sadiq Khan at City Hall. According to Yonhap, the agreement is “aimed at strengthening cooperation in nine sectors including economic democratization, improved response to climate change and digital renovation.” Earlier in the day Mayor Park was at […]
2016 travel diary 4: National Folk Museum, Kim Soonam’s shaman portraits and the journey to Chungnam
Jongno, Seoul, Monday 16 May 2016, 9am A visit to the National Folk Museum The good thing about having a local companion sense-check your travel plans is that they can point out weaknesses that only a local is likely to know about. So when Chris saw that I was planning a day trip from Seoul […]
2016 travel diary 3: Seoul’s Fortress Walls, and genre painting at the DDP
Jongno, Seoul, Sunday 15 May 2016. The time lag has caught up with me. My intention this morning had been to go along to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza to visit the exhibition of Joseon dynasty genre paintings from the Kansong museum before joining the RASKB for a walk along the eastern sections of Seoul’s fortress […]
2016 travel diary 2: Buddha’s Birthday
Jongno, Seoul, 14 May 2016, 9am. Coffee with the Drawing Hand My first appointment of the day is at 9:30am with Kim Jieun, aka The Drawing Hand: I am due to pick up the original of her 2015 Christmas Card design for LKL – and also I am due to pay her the balance of […]
2016 travel diary 1: Arrival
Canary Wharf, London, 12 May 2016. In previous years I had always felt stressed in the run up to my departure for my annual Korea trip. Had I packed everything? Would I get everything done before I left? This time I was straining at the leash. I couldn’t wait. I had planned most of my trip […]
Seoul and London forge friendly-city ties
A press release just published by the Seoul Metropolitan Government: Seoul and London forge friendly-city ties SEOUL, 18 December 2015: Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has recently forged closer inter-city ties with London, the city known as a global center of diverse sectors, including art, economy, finance, fashion, medical services, tourism, and transportation. Seoul Mayor Park […]
2015 Travel Diary day 11: a visit to Studio MWP
Daehakro, Seoul, Monday 8 June. This year’s trip to Korea had been full of pleasant surprises: people I had not expected to meet, things I had not been expecting to see. But the most pleasant surprise of all had been an invitation to visit Studio Meditation with a Pencil, creators of my favourite Korean animated […]