It would be an understatement to say that the cultural year 2020 has been markedly different from previous years. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the cultural scene, with most live events cancelled and event promoters falling back on the internet to provide us with our cultural fixes. Some of these attempts have … [Read More]
Tag: Entertainment industry
Selected publications
- Yoon Hyunsun: Branded Entertainment in Korea, Routledge 2020
- Youjeong Oh: Pop City: Korean Popular Culture and the Selling of Place, Cornell East Asia Series 2018
- Suk-young Kim: K-Pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance, Stanford University Press 2018
- Mark James Russell: K-POP Now! The Korean Music Revolution, Tuttle 2014
- Kim Chang-nam: KPOP: Roots and Blossoming of Korean Popular Music, Hollym 2012
- Mark James Russell: Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music, and Internet Culture, Stonebridge 2008
- Anthology: Korean Pop Music – Riding the Wave ed Keith Howard, Global Oriental 2006
Seungri’s shame makes it into the FT
It’s not often that you find a K-pop story in the pink pages of the Financial Times. In fact, if you search their site for “BTS” you will simply get a list of articles about the company formerly known as British Telecom. So what brings them to report the ins and outs of Lee Seung-hyun’s, … [Read More]
BTS featured in BBC K-pop documentary
Adele Roberts, who hosts BBC Radio 1’s Early Breakfast Show, thrilled UK K-pop followers and BTS Army members on 2 October 2017 when she played BTS for the first time on the BBC as part of a Best New Pop feature. That track, DNA, along with Mic Drop, have featured several times on the BBC … [Read More]
Conference report: UK-Korea Creative Industries Forum
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has recently posted a brief round-up of the Creative Industries Forum held at the BFI earlier this month. The conference provided the opportunity for Korean Minister of Culture Kim Jongdeok and Culture Secretary John Whittingdale to sign a joint statement in which “Both sides agreed to continue to … [Read More]
Event news: UK-Korea Creative Industries Forum
Following on from the memorandum of understanding signed during President Park’s visit, this is the second UK-Korea Creative Industries Forum. UK-Korea Creative Industries Forum Hosted by Department for Culture Media and Sport Venue: BFI Southbank Centre (NFT1) Date: Monday 7 March 2016 Timings: 09.30-17.30 On behalf of the UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media … [Read More]
Looking back at 2015: Entertainment news
In the second of four retrospective articles, we recall some of the entertainment stories that caught our eye in 2015. We’ve left out a few of the more scurrilous stories. Also, a few sad deaths of people outside the entertainment industry. Entertainment Ode to My Father became the second-biggest box-office hit of all time, boosting … [Read More]
Book review: Giacomo Lee — Funereal
Giacomo Lee: Funereal Signal 8 Press, 2015, 230pp Giacomo Lee’s debut Funereal is fast-moving novel set very much in contemporary Seoul, and referencing so many contemporary issues in South Korea’s high-pressure society. Soobin, a marketing graduate whose genuine smile endears her to her customers in the doughnut takeaway store which is the only place she … [Read More]
The Confused Westerner’s Response to K-Pop
Have you read the Wikipedia article on K-pop? It’s really, really long. Seriously, I did not know most of that stuff. When you next have a sufficiently large mug of tea, I highly recommend giving it a read. Changing tack, did you see the article on Yahoo about K-pop? It’s shorter, and chimes with a … [Read More]
Looking back at 2014: Entertainment news
In the second of four retrospective articles, we recall some of the entertainment stories that caught our eye in 2014. Good year for: Popular TV drama My Love from the Star had an impact beyond its 21 episode span. The lead female character, played by Jeon Ji-hyun, managed to boost sales of trenchcoats in Korea, … [Read More]
K-Drama week: Yang Yun-ho, IRIS, and the current state of Korean drama
The KCCUK’s K-Drama week included the opportunity to meet the director of one of Korea’s most successful TV dramas of recent years, IRIS, which has been screened in 26 countries and brings film-like tension to the small screen. Director Yang Yun-ho gave a talk on the current state of Hallyu at SOAS, and participated in … [Read More]
K-Pop Now! by Mark James Russell – coming soon from Tuttle Publishing
At LKL, we loved Mark James Russell’s first book on the Korean entertainment industry, Pop Goes Korea. So we’re looking forward to his follow-up, focusing more narrowly on K-pop, which is due to be launched in April from Tuttle Publishing. It’s already available for preorder on Amazon.co.uk. Below is the official press release, or you … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: another car crash of a week in the world of Korean celebrity
Rain is still on a no-show as a witness in the lawsuit against him by a fashion company investor citing that he is a soldier. But as he has had time to meet his girlfriend Kim Tae-hee, this excuse is not going down too well. This case is related to the debacle back in 2010 … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: it’s going to be one of those years…
It’s going to be one of those years. If you hadn’t already guessed from the propofol and Park Shi Hoo case, the rather dirty side of K-pop and celebrity has started to show itself. The propofol investigation has almost reached its conclusion. Still limited to four celebrities, Hyun Young, who had it administered 42 times, … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: the week of the younger siblings
The Park Shi-hoo scandal, as predicted, still has a lot of mileage. The full Kakao talk conversations between the trainee and her actor friend have been released by his law firm. They indicate the trainee and her friend were in communication after she had filed charges – contrary to her claims they were not. The … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: a packed calendar for new releases, and a focus on sexual harassment in the industry
The main dominating news this week has been the Park Shi-hoo alleged sexual assault case. Netizens and media alike have pounced on the story like a starving dog and there have been a number of stories, gossips and accusations relating to the case (and not to the case). Various text messages have apparently been obtained … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: SHINee and B.A.P battle it out
Welcome to anther week in K-pop – a little delayed thanks to a full working weekend (doncha just love them??). So without further ado… SHINee: Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You has been released and is being promoted on the usual music shows: http://youtu.be/vhxjEXDAy6s dance version: http://youtu.be/EzNaAY2yn6g. Their album rose to the top of … [Read More]