Books on 20th century Korea: The Calligrapher’s Daughter
The novel The Calligrapher’s Daughter (2009) by Korean American writer Eugenia Kim gives a captivating look into life in the early 20th century.
Read More
Search Results for: book review
What is a famous book on Korean Buddhism?
The Compass of Zen by Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn (1927-2004) is one of the most famous books on Korean Buddhism.
Read More
Winner of the Man Booker International prize: The Vegetarian
Poetically dark, surreal, with startling imagery that lingers on well after the last page is turned. The Vegetarian written by
Read More
My Love from the Star (SBS 2014) Review
This is a love story between a top actress Cheon Song-yi (Jun Ji Hyeon) and an alien Do Min-jun (Kim Soon Hyun) who is working as a university professor. What’s weird about that?
Read More
Yi San Korean Historical Drama Review (MBC 2007)
So I’ve just finished watching the marathon of 77 episodes of the drama Yi San (MBC 2007). In this post I’ll
Read More
Jang Ok-jung: Living by Love SBS 2013 drama review
This is the love story of a cold young king who falls in love with a beautiful commoner (Jang Ok-jung). This causes all sorts of problems at the palace when she rises up the concubine ranks.
Read More
sageuk drama Dong Yi (MBC 2010) review
The Hwangsa yellow dust season is here. So even though the temperature has been pretty warm and pleasant (16 degrees),
Read More
tvN 2014 office drama ‘Misaeng’ An Incomplete Life Review
My male students don’t usually talk about TV dramas but at the end of last year some of them started
Read More
Review of life in Korea 2014
2014 has been a tough year in Korea for news. There’s been ID theft, a string of accidents and
Read More
Congdu Korean Restaurant Review
Having seen some rave reviews about the restaurant Congdu, specialising in Korean dishes with a modern twist, I booked a
Read More
My Name is Kim Sam-soon (MBC 2005) review
With great onscreen chemistry between the two leads, this romantic comedy had me hooked and I binge-watched all 16 episodes!
Read MoreHi. I’m a British woman living in Seoul. I started this blog as a way to answer my own questions
Read More
An engaging Korean comedy drama set in Andong
Two very different brothers have to return to their conservative hometown of Andong for their father’s funeral.
Read More
Pansori in a modern style
Here’s an unusual and fabulous song for anyone looking to broaden their musical horizons! The band Lee-nal-chi (이날치) take a modern approach to perform traditional Korean Pansori.
Read More
The Sudden Death of the Mayor of Seoul
Mayor Park Won Soon had a stellar CV. He had been Mayor of Seoul since 2011 getting reelected twice. But his public funeral was controversial.
Read More
The First Generation of Modern Korean Calligraphers
There’s a great exhibition on at the MMCA in Seoul highlighting noteworthy Korean calligraphers and artists. But if you can’t make it to Seoul that’s not a problem, because you can see it all on youtube!
Read More
Gye ttong (dog turd) and other humble names in Korean dramas
It’s sometimes possible to tell the class of a character in a Korean historical drama just by looking at their name.
Read More
Haemin Sunim, Popular Korean Monks
Haemin Sunim is probably the most internationally famous Korean monk at the moment. (He’s got over a million followers on Twitter!) But there are several other monks who are popular in Korea and internationally.
Read More
A Kim Jong il Production: An Amazing but true story
Director Bong Joon Ho might be the most famous South Korean director in the world right now, but back in the 60s it was Director Shin Sang ok who was known as the ‘Prince of South Korean Cinema’. He won the first international film prize for the country and his success did not go unnoticed in North Korea by film buff and North Korean leader-to-be Kim Jong Il.
Read More
Pachinko: A peek into life in a marginalised community
a fascinating book because of the unusual subject matter. The story offers insight into how the Japanese Occupation (and defeat in WW2) affected ordinary Korean families.
Read More