#kccuk

Back in the balmy summer of 2018, by some miraculous stroke of luck, I was accepted into the notoriously oversubscribed ‘K-pop Academy’ organised by the KCCUK. Hardly believing my luck, the weeks floated by in a whirlwind of traditional Korean music, taekwondo, a heated cooking competition, and of course, K-pop.  

Nearly 2.5 years later, with odds that are surely slimmer than securing tickets for a BTS concert, I’ve been selected again to go on another 3-month journey through Korean culture, only this time with classmates from all around the world.

Week 9 - Korean History 

November 18th 2017

I kind of afraid that I might not enjoy this session at the beginning but it turns out to be one of my favourite week! Brigadier Brian Parritt was the guest lecture and he was a part of British army who fight alongside South Korea for the war in 1953! I don’t actually realise that until he shown us the slides of his picture that he took during the war. And from a photographer myself (amateur one lol) it’s a really good picture! Every picture that he took has meaning and it just struck me, like literally. Plus he was so kind and nice, not just being a really good story teller, but also he wrote a book and signed it for all of us <3

The activity we did was watching a Korean War film. I watched the first hour and continue the rest at home. It’s called ‘The Front Line’. I personally love it as it’s a really funny film yet meaningful. Try to watch it when you have time!

Last week will be our last week and I prepare something for our graduation. If you by any chance follow this post of mine then you’re lucky to see this before anybody else (LOL!) I’ll post it on my next post so please look forward to it!

So yeah, that’s all for this week’s diary entry! Please look forward to my next week diary!

Week 9 - A special talk by Korean War veteran Brigadier Brian Parritt

This week’s lecture was beyond incredible! We had the unique opportunity to hear the personal experiences of Brigadier Brian Parritt, who fought in the Korean War. We learnt so much about the historical and strategical underpinnings of the Korean War, which is a topic I have been interested in for a long time. The greatest part of the lecture for me was that the Brigadier shared his personal experiences and the amazing photos he took during the Korean War. I felt that even though we could never imagine what it is like to fight in a war, he provided a lens through which we could see and better understand what the Korean War looked like. 

Brigadier Brian Parritt also wrote a book about his experiences, which he gifted and signed for each of us! I am really looking forward to reading his book and feel very lucky that I got the chance to hear his captivating speech. Thank you very much Brigadier Brian Parritt and of course, KCC UK, for providing us with this unique opportunity!

Week 8 - Korean Art & Culture

Memories from Week 4~

AUX Concert in Rich Mix

I had the opportunity to attend the AUX concert in Shoredich! I got to the venue just on time to get my drink and get seated. All the seats were filled and everybody glued their eyes to the stage the moment the performance started. We got to experience AUX’s unique fusion of Korean traditional music, rock and a dash of electro – styles which I originally thought formed a strange combination – came together perfectly through AUX’s music. Beginning with some traditional songs, they soon started weaving their own style into the songs and every song was different from the previous one! I especially liked the singer, she had an amazing vocal range and a strong, beautiful voice. It was great to discover something new and a bit different from what I usually listen to – there is more to Korean music than k-pop and there are so many great musicians to discover! I would like to thank KCCUK for the opportunity to attend this concert and I would definitely recommend listening to AUX’s songs!

See you soon,