Many LKL readers will have been friends with, or had the great pleasure of meeting David Kilburn, who sadly passed away in Seoul on Monday, 7 October. David was a steadfast supporter of justice campaigns such as the Sewol ferry disaster and the ‘comfort women’ issue. He had his own personal experience of injustice in … [Read More]
Tag: Valete
RIP Kim Bok-dong
Next Tuesday, 5 February, a vigil will be held in remembrance of Kim Bok-dong who passed away on Monday 28 January, aged 93. She was a victim of Japanese military sexual slavery and a tireless campaigner against violence to women and girls in conflict. Her visit to London in 2015 touched many hearts. The vigil … [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]
In memory of Hwang Byung-ki
In memory of the great man, here’s a video interview on Arirang TV uploaded in January 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlfzKsuhZCk And here he is playing one of his best-known compositions, Chimhyangmoo (침향무 | 沈香舞), performed on the KBS show Gugak Hanmadang. The definitive obituary in English has been written by Jocelyn Clark in the Asia Times. I … [Read More]
Sad news from the South coast
Kim Hyewon, a 22 year-old student who was studying English here fell to her death after jumping in the air to pose for a photo at the edge of the Seven Sisters. According to the Telegraph: A statement by witness Young Choi, 24, said: “I went to the Seven Sisters for tourism. Another Korean girl, … [Read More]
RIP Chun Kyung-ja
Korea’s best-known older generation female artist, Chun Kyung-ja, died in New York two months ago aged 91, but news of her death has only just been made public. According to the Korea JoongAng Daily: Chun is best known for her exotic and strong-colored paintings of women and flowers that express sorrow, loneliness and longing. You … [Read More]
RIP Sena Lee
Many LKL readers will remember Dr Sena Lee, the Traditional Korean Medicine doctor, and LKL’s medical correspondent. She was in London for three years taking a PhD in western medicine to add to her Korean qualifications. Her articles for LKL can be found here. During her time in London she was a great ambassador for … [Read More]
RIP Peter Corbishley
Today was the Requiem Mass for Peter Corbishley, who died peacefully on 12 October, aged 67, after a recurrence of throat cancer. Peter was a great friend of Korea – a contributor to LKL, guest member and helper of the Korean Artists Association, and Committee member of the Anglo-Korean Society among other things. He also … [Read More]
RIP Park Chul-soo
So sad that Park Chul-soo, director of 301, 302 and Green Chair, has died aged 64. His most recent film, B.E.D, premiered at the Busan festival last year. Park, born 20 November 1948, was run over by a drunk driver in the early hours of 19 February as he was walking home from the set … [Read More]
Looking back at 2012: Domestic news
In our final round-up of Korea-related stories which caught our eye in 2012, we look at domestic and business news. Modern Life and how to escape it. Korea came 24th out of 34 leading countries in an OECD quality of life index, coming bottom of the class in job security and gender income inequality and … [Read More]
A look back at 2011 – part 3
In the final part of our look back at 2011, we summarise some of the news stories which caught our eye. China This year the region’s biggest economy continued flexing its muscles: it conducted the first test flight of its new stealth fighter, announced that it had deployed stealth missile speedboats in the East China … [Read More]
RIP Richard Rutt
RIP Richard Rutt (27 August 1925 – 27 July 2011), Roman Catholic priest, former Anglican bishop, sometime RASKB president, and pioneer in Korean studies. Tributes by Brother Anthony in the Korea Times and William Pore at H-net, with partial bibliography. [Read More]
A last look back at 2010
We’ve digested the albums, films, sporting events and books of the year, and reviewed some of the memorable stories of 2010 in our Quiz of the Year. Here are some of the other things we noted in 2010 which didn’t quite make it into any of those articles. 2010: a year of anniversaries It was … [Read More]
RIP Andre Kim
RIP Fashion designer Andre Kim. Died on 12 August 2010, aged 75. Kim became the first Korean to show a collection in Paris, and later years saw him present his spectaculars at the pyramids in Egypt and at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. In 1992, the International Olympic Committee invited him to hold a fashion show … [Read More]
DPRK Finance chief executed
Who’d want to be a top official in the DPRK? Finance chief gets executed following the botched currency reforms. Sources: New York Times | JoongAng Daily #. Pak Nam-gi “was executed at a firing range in Pyongyang on the trumped-up charges of being an antirevolutionary element as public sentiments worsened over the failure of the … [Read More]
A belated look back at 2009
For the past 3 years LKL has concocted a quiz of the year as a way of gathering together some of the news stories which have most caught our eye. This year, as I came to draw up the list in mid December I found it hard to think of anything amusing or diverting: most … [Read More]