My piece on Seoul’s new massive USD 84 million waterfront development project is up. “Viva”, the second largest of the three islands – weighing in at 2,000 tons – was the first to be rolled into the Han River over the weekend.
Got an email this morning from my friend Tracey. She’s put together a slideshow of shots she took in New York City. I was so damn impressed I wanted to share.
I was out exploring a few jazz bars other night with some friends. Our first stop was JZ, a tiny little venue in Apgujeong. It’s where guitarist Jean Oh sits in with the house band from time to time when he isn’t playing his regular gigs at All That Jazz in Itaewon. A truly talented musician, he was kind enough to give my friend and I his latest CD. Jean lived and studied in New York before coming back to his native Korea. Go visit his website if you get a moment to get a better idea of just how good he is.
I’ve featured Derek’s work on here before. A regular contributor for SEOUL magazine, he’s also very active in the shutterbug community. This interview is the first in a series I’m getting off the ground. You can view the full interview and grab links to Derek’s work here.
Some awesome shots on Magnum Korea’s site. Especially the works of Alex Majoli and Gueorgui Pinkhassor. Then again, I’ve always been a sucker for moody lighting. On a related note, I’ll be starting a new series next week called “Behind the Lens” that will feature a collection of interviews from some of my favourite photographers based here in Korea. Really looking forward to getting some fresh insight and I hope you (my loyal visitors!) will feel the same.
Checked out this nice little makgeolli bar in Hongdae to pen this month’s nightlife piece for SEOUL magazine (Page 77~78).
I was asked the other day by a friend of mine over at The Korea Tourism Organization what I thought about their newly revised tourism slogan: Korea Be Inspired. It hasn’t been made public yet, but it is up on the official website. True, it is light years better than the dreadful ‘Korea, Sparkling’, but I honestly have to say that it’s still missing the mark a little. Not too sure if that’s entirely due to the confusing lack of punctuation, but having it read “Korea. Be Inspired.” would make it less of a command and more as an option for any travellers wishing to visit. Brian in Jeollanam-do pointed this out as well. Also, the inverted ‘i’ seems a little redundant and more of a distraction than anything else. Any thoughts?
Some cool acts coming to Seoul over the next little while – Jeff Beck, Kings of Convenience and The Swell Season to name but a few. Full concert listing. Jot me a quick email if you need any further details, or simply get in touch directly with Jane Bak over at Private Curve: (02) 563-0595 or info@privatecurve.com. English service is available so no need to worry there. On Facebook? Why not join their network for all the latest news and upcoming events. And it looks like The Killers won’t be performing in early February as planned.
Just got word that my profile is up on CNNGo. Pretty darn happy about that.
One of my favourite Korean movies to date is “A Bittersweet Life” featuring the incredible Lee Byung-hun. CNN’s Talk Asia sat down with the man himself recently for a very candid interview detailing his work to date. Watch it if you get the chance. He’s fine actor.
