Coldrain Live in London – Concert Review

To call Coldrain “cold” is a delicious cosmic joke. There is nothing glacial or distant about this band live. If anything, attending a Coldrain show is like stepping directly into a combustion chamber. The name may be tinted blue – and if you know the band, you’ll understand why they chose the name Coldrain –…

20th London Korean Film Festival: “Frosted Window” Review

Kim Jong-kwan is surely one of a kind as a filmmaker. His work reveals a keen sensitivity to the human condition. His cinema has always been a dialogue between isolation and empathy, often exploring how people drift in and out of each other’s lives, guided by memory and the delicate tremour of feeling. From Worst…

20th London Korean Film Festival: “The Land of Morning Calm” Review

Set against the subdued beauty of a Korean fishing village, The Land of Morning Calm, written and directed by Park Ri-woong, is a restrained and moving exploration of displacement and the tensions beneath everyday life. This is not a story about national identity or grand political themes; it is about people: ordinary and flawed. The Land…

20th London Korean Film Festival: In Conversation with Park Ri-woong, Director of “The Land of Morning Calm”

The Land of Morning Calm, directed by Park Ri-woong, is a powerful portrait of a fading Korean fishing village and the emotional dislocation of its residents. Supported by moving performances from Yoon Joo-sang, Yang Hee-kyung, and Khazsak Kramer, the film explores generational divides, economic decline, and the complex, often unspoken tensions surrounding immigration and arranged…