In an article on Politics Home, former UK Home Secretary Jack Straw writes about South Korea’s need to investigate rape and other atrocities inflicted by South Korean soldiers upon women during the Vietnam War. Despite Korea’s history of Japanese military sexual slavery, successive South Korean governments have refused to investigate their own military’s crimes against … [Read More]
Place: Vietnam
Selected publications
- Bang Hyeon-seok: Time to Eat Lobster: Contemporary Korean Stories on Memories of the Vietnam War tr Jeon Seung-hee, Merwin Asia 2015
- Hwang Sok-yong: The Shadow of Arms tr Chun Kyung-ja, Seven Stories Press 2014
- Lee Dae-hwan: Slow Bullet (Bi-lingual, Vol 17 – Liberty) tr Jeon Seung-hee, Asia Publishers 2013
- Ahn Jung-hyo: White Badge: A Novel of Korea tr Ahn Jung-hyo, Soho Press 1989
Book Review: Ahn Jung-hyo – White Badge
Ahn Jung-hyo: White Badge Soho Press, NY, 1989, 337pp Originally published as 하얀전쟁, 1983 Translated by the author If I saw Jeong Ji-young’s White Badge (1992) when it screened in London eight years ago, I do not remember it. I cannot imagine having a similar lapse of memory concerning Ahn Jung-hyo’s Vietnam war novel on … [Read More]
Screening: White Badge + Ahn Jung-hyo Q+A
Jeong Ji-yeong’s adaptation of Ahn Jung-hyo’s Vietnam War novel is the third in the KCCUK’s Korean Novels on Screen season of screenings. Director Jeong came to London back in 2010 to talk about this movie. LKL’s write-up can be found here. White Badge (하얀전쟁) Director: Chung Ji-young (1992, 124 mins) Cast: Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Gyoung-young, … [Read More]
North Korea’s silkworm technology
Bored with shelling South Korean islands, North Korea looks to invest in Vietnamese silk. FT blogs: http://bit.ly/dQwPzB # North Korea’s contribution to any silk venture will be its “silkworm expertise and technology”, Vietnam would, in exchange, provide labour and investment in production facilities. [Read More]
Strains in a mixed marriage
Did you know resting your chin in your hands is considered rude in Korea? But not quite grounds for divorce. http://bit.ly/d6qHuY. Korean man tries to divorce his Vietnamese wife who stared at him while he ate. # [Read More]
White Badge: Korea and the Vietnamese War
In a year that we remember the 60th anniversary of the first post-WW2 US military involvement in Asia, it was a great idea to invite Director Jeong Ji-yeong (정지영) to the UK. Jeong is known for a number of well-received films, including Nambugun, a film which gives a nuanced view of the Korean War from … [Read More]
A surprise screening of ‘White Badge’ with Director Chung Ji-young
As previously announced, Chung Ji-young had a retrospective last weekend at Cambridge. Director Chung has been persuaded to stay in the UK a bit longer. Accordingly, a surprise screening of ‘White Badge’ is taking place in the multi-purpose hall of the Korean Cultural Centre UK. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with … [Read More]
Koreans are not the only nationality to have been adopted en masse
A touching profile of a Vietnamese UK adoptee (adopted during the Vietnam War) returning to her native country: BBC. http://bit.ly/bZrFzl #. 99 Vietnamese babies were brought to the UK in 1975 in a plane chartered by the Daily Mail. [Read More]
A meeting with Biuret
LKL meets the energetic Korean rock band Biuret, the overall winners of Sutasi 2009, during their brief visit to London. I’ve come to the Royal Garden Hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens to meet Biuret, one of the latest Korean bands to win international recognition. The foyer is packed with music industry types, because this is the … [Read More]
The Chaebolization of the Korean music industry
The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Mark Russell on how Vietnam is following Korea's example in how to produce pop stars http://bit.ly/68KLpD #, while in a related series of articles Richard Stansfield talks about The Chaebolization of the Korean Music Industry http://bit.ly/8W37mD #. [Read More]
“Asia! Asia!” – Stephen Epstein at SOAS
Stephen Epstein had a busy week last week giving lectures in Cambridge, Oxford and London. He is on a lecture tour of Europe, using the trip as an opportunity to test various chapters from his forthcoming book with a critical audience. Friday’s lecture at SOAS focused on the portrayal of some of Korea’s Asian neighbours … [Read More]
Susie Younger: Never ending flower
Susie Younger: Never ending flower Collins Harvill, 1967 To describe this book as a memoir of a Catholic missionary in South Korea in the early 1960s, while factually correct, undersells it. Yes, the author is a person of deep Christian faith, but her work in Korea is more that of a social worker than evangelist. … [Read More]
Buying Vietnamese brides
The Chosun Ilbo article I spotted a week ago in this blog entry has created waves in diplomatic circles. As ever, the Marmot has his finger on the pulse. He has some great posts here and here. Follow his links at your leisure. [Read More]