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Adultery law – why was it ever a criminal offence in the first place?
The Constitutional Court, which voted to decriminalise adultery (Photo: Kim Sang-seon / Joongang Daily) The recent news item that the adultery was to be decriminalised in South Korea, 62 years after it...
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Bedrooms of the Remembered
Photographer Kim Hong-Ji has put together a moving portfolio of pictures in memory of the Sewol victims. He has been in touch with relatives of some of the students, visiting their homes and taking...
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Alcohol advert ban for young celebrities?
The BBC picked up on a story in the Chosun Ilbo that celebs under 25 could be banned from leading teenagers astray by advertising booze. A bill proposing the clamp-down was passed by the National...
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Beer-bottle VC donates medal to Korea
Bill Speakman VC (Photo via BBC) Two articles this week report how Bill Speakman VC, who was on a veterans’ trip to Korea, has decided to donate his Victoria Cross to South Korea. He also wants his...
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So long, Ms Jeon, and thanks for everything
Ms Jeon Hye-jung at the LKFF 2014 (image courtesy KCCUK) Those of you who have read your May / June KCC newsletter diligently will already know this (and those of you that haven’t can download it...
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V&A invites applicants for digital residency
An exciting time for the V&A as they prepare to host their first Korean artist in residence this October for a period of 6 months: V&A Samsung Korean Digital Art Residency 1 October 2015 – 31...
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Kim Sungjoo awarded honorary OBE
Ambassador Charles Hay with Kim Sungjoo (image via British Embassy) The British Embassy in Seoul announced yesterday that Kim Sungjoo, best known in the UK for her MCM fashion brand, has been awarded...
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Shin Kyung-sook seeks to withdraw short story
Shin Kyung-sook (photo credit: Lee Byungryul) Wow – this all happened very quickly. On 17 June author Lee Eung-jun wrote an article in Huffington Post Korea (in Korean) accusing Shin Kyung-sook of...
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Korea Post honours the Glosters
Lt Col James Power Carne of the Gloucestershire Regiment appears on a new Korean postage stamp, part of a set of ten issued to mark the 65th anniversary of the start of the war. The BBC regional...
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A weekend of women’s sport dominated by Koreans
Park In-bee, winner of the British Open (Source: Ricoh Women’s British Open website) Koreans seem to have been dominating the world of women’s golf for quite a while (just take a look at the LPGA page...
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Understatement of the year: Joint concert “not quite a success”
A cut-down performance of Arirang near the DMZ on Independence Day. Photo Park Sang-moon / Korean Joongang Daily There’s a delightful and very detailed account of the grand Independence Day North-South...
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Street food and cooking sauce start-up gets Dragon funding
Ben Ansah and Sue Youn on Dragons Den Congratulations to Ben Ansah and Sue Youn, the couple behind street food and Korean sauce company Yogiyo! who secured £50,000 of funding from one of the investors...
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BBC to start broadcasts to DPRK?
Fiona Bruce MP, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea, today welcomed the announcement by the BBC to set up a daily broadcasting programme into North Korea: This is a hugely...
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In Korea, historical grievances last down the generations
Photo: Korea Times Today’s Korea Times article, Man fined for obstructing ancestral rite, is nicely timed to ensure good behaviour over the Chuseok period. But the ancestral rite Mr Kim disrupted was...
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RIP Chun Kyung-ja
Chun Kyung-ja: Solitude – on show at Seoul Museum (credit: Seoul Museum)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...
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BBC North Korea service takes a step closer
A couple of years ago a campaign started for a BBC Korea service. At the time my attitude was one of polite and disengaged interest, taking the view that South Koreans probably wouldn’t be...
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Koreans help create a garden for London’s Royal Free Hospital
“What a strange thing,” you may think, “to do a spot of volountary service when you are on holiday.” But that’s exactly what four Korean travellers did this weekend in response to Kim Minho’s Korean...
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Brother Anthony awarded honorary MBE
Image courtesy RASKB Congratulations to Brother Anthony of Taizé for his honorary MBE, awarded by ambassador Charles Hay on 2 December at the ambassador’s residence in Seoul. The official citation...
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Seoul and London forge friendly-city ties
A press release just published by the Seoul Metropolitan Government: Seoul and London forge friendly-city ties SEOUL, 18 December 2015: Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has recently forged closer...
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Statements on the Comfort Women issue
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (r) with his Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se Statements published jointly today by the Japanese and South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs aim to bring closure...
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