I watched Cho Jungrae’s 2020 movie The Singer earlier this year online, after being told by a friend of the director that it was available on Amazon Prime. It struck me as a fresh take on the pansori movie genre: instead of telling a pansori tale more or less straight like Im Kwon-taek’s Chunhyang, it … [Read More]
Tag: Best of LKL
Ki Sung-yueng and Racism in the British Game
A few weeks ago I was interviewed by a young talented Korea photographer – Daewoong Kim, studying here in London. Daewoong, being interested in photography and football wanted to discuss my experiences interviewing Korean footballers and working within BBC Sport. Needless to say this is the first (and probably last!) time I have been interviewed, … [Read More]
LKL meets Iron Chef, Judy Joo
As you might expect from an Iron Chef, Judy Joo’s handshake is firm. Not bone-crushing; just confident and strong. We are meeting in one of my favourite pubs, in Marylebone Lane, just around the corner from Joo’s London home. I’m always impressed when someone who isn’t an Englishman goes for traditional bitter, and Joo duly … [Read More]
Concert Review: Unsuk Chin at the BBC Proms — A new work enters the Cello repertoire
Last Thursday (13 August) saw the world premiere of the cello concerto by Unsuk Chin, a BBC commission. Chin, who was born in Korea in 1961, has been composer-in-residence for both the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. She is a careful worker: the new work was originally scheduled for the 2007 Prom … [Read More]
Blue Blood v Red Blood: the K-League 2008 Finals
Aashish Gadhvi dishes up a sporting treat for your Bank Holiday Monday. Something is a-brewing in the world of K-League football. Think of the great club football rivalries, Man United v Liverpool, Real Madrid v Barcelona, Celtic v Rangers, AC Milan v Inter Milan, Roma v Lazio, Boca Juniors v River Plate, the list goes … [Read More]
Happy music, Happy people
We want to make people in this world listen our music and feel happy 😉 Nina Lee from Happy Robot Records talks to Anna Lindgren. Over the past few years, Happy Robot has become one of the finest indie labels in Korea. Several of their artists made it to the finals of AVIMA 2009 – … [Read More]
Warrior at the Imjin
‘We lived on what you feed pigs, sorghum, and it was full of weevils. You had to cook it first and then take the weevils out, ’cause you couldn’t catch them when they were alive.’ On 25 April 1951 after the desperate three-day battle of the Imjin River, Hampshire man Bob Warrior was captured and … [Read More]
Surprise and a sense of fun: the UK’s gateway to Korean culture
Jennifer Barclay visits the Korean Cultural Centre on its first birthday, experiences Choi Jeong-hwa’s exhibition, and meets the KCC’s director, Kyuhak Choi. It’s been a few months since I visited the Korean Cultural Centre, so I’m pleasantly surprised to be surprised by it again. I arrive to find stern armed guards in helmets staring at … [Read More]
LKL 2008 Quiz of the year – the answers
The answers to the teasers posed just before the New Year. 1 Stressful times What does the current credit crunch and the most recent DPRK nuclear test have in common? a) the media blame them on an incompetent government who should have seen it coming and somehow prevented it b) they would both cause a … [Read More]
KFA 75th Birthday – Top 5 Moments in Korean Football History
By Aashish Gadhvi Perry Como’s iconic 60’s tune ‘Magic Moments’ features the line – “The way that we cheered, whenever our team was scoring a touchdown”. Sports is part of our culture, our history and our memories. Personally speaking, I have absolutely no recollection of the time and date prior to this very moment. My … [Read More]
A meeting with Yeongene
By Anna Lindgren If you’re into Korean music and have a thing for cute pop you are probably already familiar with Linus’ Blanket (left). And if you are, you are probably well aware that the name of the band’s adorable vocalist is Yeongene (연진) (right). It has been a few years since Linus’ Blanket last … [Read More]
100 years of the Salvation Army in Korea
By Michael Rank London isn’t exactly full of reminders of Korea, so I was surprised to discover in Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington, a newly placed plaque in memory of the man who brought the Salvation Army to Korea. The black marble plaque describes in English and Korean how “With Marching Orders from [Salvation Army … [Read More]
KFA 75th Birthday – Top 5 People in Korean Football History
By Aashish Gadhvi All together now… Happy Birthday to you! The Korea Football Association is officially 75 years old, and unlike many 75 year olds, they are just getting going in making Korean football a worldwide force to be recognised as one of the premiere football forces in Asia. It’s been a long time coming … [Read More]
Korea at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
by Aashish Gadhvi The Beijing Olympics was a fortnight of sporting gold, a plethora of the world’s top athletes going head to head in the greatest show on Earth. This year’s Olympics was always going to be major headlines, not just for the sports but also for the tirade of anti-Chinese media which preceded it … [Read More]
The Euro Journal LKL interview
Jeon Sung-min recently interviewed LKL’s blogger-in-chief for an article in the Euro Journal. The interview was conducted in English, and he translated it into Korean for publication in the newspaper. Here’s a slightly polished-up transcript of the interview, published with Jeon Sung-min’s kind permission. Euro Journal: How and when did you get interested in Korea … [Read More]
A veteran remembers
Today, 27 July, is the anniversary of the end of the Korean War in 1953 – a war in which millions died, and which only ended with a ceasefire, Korea remaining divided by a heavily guarded border for fifty-five years now. Jennifer Barclay marks the occasion. Peter Poole served in the Korean War as a … [Read More]