London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

The London Korean Links Awards 2011

The sixth of LKL’s annual unscientific and very personal recognition of the best things of last year. And in the field of film, books and CDs what is encouraging is that there is so much to choose from. There were also plenty of good Korean cultural events in London, Edinburgh and elsewhere, but there was … [Read More]

The London Korean Links Awards 2010

LKL’s fifth unscientific selection of people and events who have made 2010. Personality of the Year No question about this: Kim Yu-na. Olympic champion, 5th-highest earning female sportsperson globally, ambassador for everything from the G20 to the Catholic Church. I’m sure if she ran for president she’d get elected. Albums of the Year Four LKL … [Read More]

Bedevilled tops Tom G’s top 10 K-films of 2010

Tom Giammarco’s picks for the Best Korean Films of 2010: http://ow.ly/3uAiC (including one at #4.5 and five sharing 10th place: 1. Bedevilled 2. Poetry 3. I saw the Devil 4. Moss 4.5. Harmony 5. 71 into the fire 6. Cyrano Agency 7. Metamorphasis 8. Secret Reunion 9. Housemaid 10. Unjust, Midnight FM, Man From Nowhere, … [Read More]

A review of the London Korean Year 2010

LKL tries to sum up the London Korean cultural year. Live music Possibly the most disappointing thing about 2010 has been the number of top-flight Korean musicians who have been passing through London but not stopping to do a sensible gig there. Biuret played at a private industry showcase before heading off to Southampton – … [Read More]

The London Korean Links Awards 2009

LKL’s fourth annual, unscientific and personal list of highlights from the London Korean Year, 2009. Film of the Year There were two hotly anticipated high-profile films this year: Bong Joon-ho’s Mother and Park Chan-wook’s Thirst. Both are obvious candidates for film of the year and delivered everything that one has come to expect from these … [Read More]

The London Korean Links Awards 2008

Here are the winners and losers of the third annual LKL Awards. Again, a personal and unscientific selection. Cultural event of the year (UK) There was a lot of competition for this particular award this year, but the winner is the Dano Festival in Trafalgar Square. The performance of Noridan was almost enough on its … [Read More]

The London Korean year 2008 – events of the year

It’s been a busy year, a year of change. A new cultural centre, a re-launched Artists’ Association, new ambassadors in both London and Seoul. Jane Portal left the British Museum for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, while Michael Shin became the first full-time Korean Studies lecturer at Cambridge. Down in New Malden, things … [Read More]

Korean film – a review of 2007

Jason Bechervaise, founder of koreanfilm.org.uk, gives his perspective on the ups and downs of the Korean film industry in 2007 By all accounts 2007 was a year that has been difficult one for the Korean film industry where it seems that the golden years of the Korean film industry has passed. Rising costs have meant … [Read More]

The London Korean Links Awards 2007

Following the success of last year’s equivalent post here are the winners and losers of the second annual LKL Awards. Again, a personal and unscientific selection. Man of the Year Last year there was a clear winner: a man who had been in the press all year with little but positive coverage. This year started … [Read More]

Review of the London Korean year 2007

Having had the big programme of events of Think Korea 2006, I had thought that 2007 was going to be disappointing. But as it turned out the range of events in 2007 was if anything greater. Performing arts On the stage we have had a re-run of the martial arts comedy Jump and the same … [Read More]

The London Korean Links Awards 2006

In the year-end spirit of reviewing the highlights and lowlights of 2006, here are the winners of the first LKL Awards – a personal and unscientific selection. The awards are in the following categories: Man of the Year Woman of the Year Best cultural promotion: Briton in Korea Best cultural promotion: Korean in Britain Best … [Read More]