The British Korean Society, in collaboration with the National Army Museum, will hold an event on Thursday 5 May to show our appreciation of and to honour British veterans of the Korean War – and to hear something of their experiences. The doors will open at 18.00 for a 18.30 start at the National Army … [Read More]
Tag: Korean War
The Korean War Talks: from Pusan to the Imjin via Pyongyang with The Glosters
To mark the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Imjin River, Lt Col Rob Dixon OBE will be giving two talks about the Gloucestershire Regiment’s involvement. A restricted number of seats will be available in the Long Room of the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, and the event will be live streamed via Zoom. Saturday 3 … [Read More]
June literature night: DMZ Colony by Don Mee Choi
The KCC’s literature nights resume in virtual form after a lockdown break. June’s book is selected for its relevance to the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. DMZ Colony by Don Mee Choi Thursday 25 June 2020, 7pm on Zoom Participation Free – Booking Essential Apply to [email protected] or call 020 7004 … [Read More]
Screening: Shin Sang-ok’s To The Last Day CANCELLED
This screening is now cancelled as the KCC has closed, in common with many cultural venues, as a result of the health situation. The second screening in the KCC’s On the Front Line season: To The Last Day (이 생명 다하도록) Dir Shing Sang-ok (1960, 109 mins) Cast: Choi Eun-hee, Kim Jin-kyu, Nam Koong Won, … [Read More]
Screening: The Marines Who Never Returned CANCELLED
This screening is now cancelled as the KCC has closed, in common with many cultural venues, as a result of the health situation. The KCC’s first season of in-house screenings this year commemorates the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. The Marines Who Never Returned Director: Lee Man-hee (1963, 110 mins) Cast: … [Read More]
Abandoned Heroes No 43 screens in Wimbledon CANCELLED
Another cancellation I’m afraid… A rare documentary – a UK premiere – on the fate of South Korean prisoners of war in North Korea. The documentary has English subtitles. Advance registration is required. Abandoned Heroes No 43 Wednesday 25 March 2020, 7pm Odeon Cinema | 39 The Broadway | The Crescent | Wimbledon | London … [Read More]
Book review: Blaine Harden – King of Spies
Blaine Harden: King of Spies – The dark reign of America’s spymaster in Korea Mantle, 2018, 272 pp The character of the maverick cop, or even maverick spy, delivering outstanding results through unorthodox means and despite a disregard for hierarchy, is a familiar one in crime and spy fiction. Blaine Harden, who worked with Shin … [Read More]
RIP Bill Speakman VC
The funeral was held this week for Bill Speakman, the so-called Beer Bottle VC. The ceremony was held on 19 July in the Wren Chapel at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where Speakman was a pensioner. He died peacefully at the Hospital on 20 June 2018, aged 90, surrounded by members of his family. Obituaries can be … [Read More]
War Veterans honoured in Kingston’s Guildhall
Yesterday a group of Korean musicians and performers entertained a group of British veterans from the Korean War in Kingston’s Guildhall. The event was organised by the Korean Veterans Association UK, a group of volunteers committed to the continuing remembrance of the sacrifice made by soldiers who came to the aid of the Republic of … [Read More]
The Longest Tomb: Documentary on the Daejeon Massacre (1950)
At SOAS next week: Film Screening and Q&A: The Longest Tomb 29 May 2018, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Paul Webley Wing (Senate House) Room: Alumni Lecture Theatre Facebook event page Knowledge is Power and The Education Centre for Peace and Reunification present The Longest Tomb, the first ever documentary on the controversial subject of … [Read More]
April Literature Night: Silver Stallion with Ahn Jung-hyo
Ahn Jung-hyo is in town not just to talk about his novel Silver Stallion but also his Vietnam War novel White Badge, which will be screened at the KCC later in the week. We reviewed Silver Stallion ten years ago but that won’t stop us reading it again. Literature Night: Ahn Jung-hyo’s Silver Stallion 25 … [Read More]
Korean War not quite forgotten in Canary Wharf art trail
As we approach Remembrance Sunday, the walkways and open spaces of Canary Wharf have been adorned with works by artist Mark Humphrey in what is described as the UK’s first Remembrance Art Trail, in association with the Royal British Legion and constructed with the help of the Corps of Royal Engineers, consists of seven art … [Read More]
New Paju footbridge honours Glorious Glosters
I am grateful to the Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK for alerting me to the recent opening of a new bridge – the “Gloucester Heroes Bridge” – commemorating the role of British forces (and it was not just the Glosters, though they are the regiment who feature most prominently in the accounts) … [Read More]
Andrew Salmon awarded MBE
Congratulations to Andy Salmon for being awarded an MBE in the Queens 90th birthday honours list. His citation, in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List reads as follows: Andrew Charles SALMON Journalist and writer, Seoul, Republic of Korea. For services to British Veterans of the Korean War. If you haven’t already, check out his two … [Read More]
Looking back at 2015: Domestic news
Our final look back at 2015: mainly domestic news stories from South Korea. In the news After 62 years of adultery being a criminal offence in the ROK, the constitutional court decided to decriminalise it by a vote of 7 to 2. Four out of ten married Korean males heaved a sigh of relief and shares … [Read More]
Film Review: Korean Undertaker and Not One of the Forgotten
For about four years Bona Shin of Theatre for All has been getting to know some of the British veterans from Korean War, particularly those based in the Virginia Water area; and as she got to know them she decided to collect some of their memories and preserve them in documentary form. The resulting two … [Read More]