What a preposterous scenario for a drama. A chaebol heiress goes paragliding, gets swept away by a freak tornado and lands north of the DMZ, where she is discovered by a North Korean soldier and ends up getting emotionally entangled. I loved it. Of course, the scenario is a lot more complicated than that. How […]
Category: TV shows
Sky Castle: would you believe, the first K-drama I’ve ever watched. And what fun it is!
People might find it strange that, despite the fact that I’ve been following Korean culture for 20 years now, I’ve never watched a complete TV Drama series. There have been several reasons for this, but basically it boils down to lack of time, and the prohibitive cost of the DVD boxed sets. I made the […]
8 Netflix K-Dramas for people who don’t like zombies
With the extra time spent at home, the lockdown is the perfect time for many of us to catch up on television dramas. Besides being a great way to pass the time without leaving the home, dramas can provide us all with a little escapism, giving a much-needed break from the often overwhelming news cycle. […]
BTS perform on Britain’s Got Talent
Last time they were in town for a gig it their chosen UK TV appearance was the BBC’s Graham Norton Show. A small TV studio was not the best place to showcase their talents, but they made the best of circumstances and turned in a good performance despite injuries. This time round the stage was […]
K-Drama + Korean television symposium @UCLAN
Hosted by the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK Wednesday 5th June 2019 (check-in and drama-screening Tuesday 4th June from 5 pm) Registration required on Eventbrite More details on UCLAN website. The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), Preston, UK, is delighted to host a the K-Drama and Korean TV Symposium, which is devoted to scholarship on […]
Why I’m beginning to warm to Netflix
After a rocky start with Netflix, I’m now coming round to it. I started subscribing to the online service in order to watch Okja, the Netflix-only feature film by director Bong Joon-ho. Although that particular experience was a big disappointment, I continued the subscription in case I was tempted by any of the other movies […]
Kim Chi spices up BBC make-up reality TV show
One of the more fun programmes on UK terrestrial TV right now is the reality show Glow Up, in which would-be professional make-up artists compete against each other. Every week a different guest celebrity make-up artist joins the show to critique the work of the contestants. This week, Episode 5, the show was graced by […]
BTS’s busy couple of weeks
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Korea’s biggest band: A speech for UNICEF at the United Nations on 24 September. The speech, by the band’s leader Kim Namjun (aka RM), ended as follows: Like most people, I’ve made many and plenty mistakes in my life. I have many faults and I have many […]
Michael Palin in North Korea on Channel 5
Actor, TV personality and travel writer Michael Palin will be presenting a two-part documentary from the week or so he spent in North Korea earlier this year. He happened to be in the country during the meeting between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un. The first episode screens on Thursday 20 September at 9pm on […]
Luther, Mistresses, Life on Mars get Korean remakes
A small number of BBC TV shows have a keen following in Korea, as can be seen from a Sherlock-themed cafe in Gangnam to the popularity of the Doctor Who world tour in 2014. And it may also be remembered that Luther won Best Mini-Series at Seoul International Drama Awards in 2011. Now Luther is to […]
South Korea: Earth’s Hidden Wilderness – BBC2 documentary
To complement their coverage of the winter Olympics, the BBC is screening what looks like an interesting documentary covering things you might not often see in coverage of the peninsula. With plenty of Korean experts advising and behind the camera, this should be well worth a watch. South Korea – Earth’s Hidden Wilderness BBC2, 8:00pm […]
Kim Jong-nam assassination examined in BBC documentary
Tonight’s documentary on the assassination of Kim Jong-nam is well worth a watch. In its 59 minutes there was hardly any padding and I didn’t notice any of the usual platitudes. It was full of content, and while I would have liked a bit more time on the China angle, that would have pushed it […]
Event news: Channel 4 documentary + discussion — North Korea’s Reality TV Stars
This Wednesday’s talk at the Frontline Club, originally billed as focusing on the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, will now be an opportunity to preview and discuss the Channel 4 Unreported World documentary on the subject of the South Korean TV panel show starring North Korean migrants – “Now on My Way to Meet You” (이제 […]
Gangnam Style remembered on Strictly
Thanks to would-be Labour finance minister Ed Balls for brightening up our dull Autumn on the BBC’s celebrity talent show Strictly Come Dancing. Consistently at the bottom of the scoreboard, he is saved by the popular vote. In the most recent episode he had the guts to do a Gangnam Style inspired Salsa, choreographed (with […]
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 […]
Event news: TV Drama screening and Panel discussion
The last of this year’s TV drama pilot episode screenings also includes a panel discussion: TV Drama screening and Panel After months of preparation, we will finally have our panel talk, at our 10th London Korean Drama Screening. PANEL TALK 18:30-19:30 Moderator: Georgia Brown: SVP Scripted at FremantleMedia. Panelists: Marc Lorber, Intl CoProduction & Formats […]
Sherlock to play in Korean movie theatres?
Found on Facebook: according to Mr Timothy Holm, who will be known to many LKL followers, the Sherlock Christmas Special will be screened in some Korean cinemas.