Last week, to my delight and amazement, I saw I had nearly seventy hits on one day, most of which came from South Korea.
To say thank you, here are some of my memories of your breathe-taking country, it’s films and literature.
Hope to come back again one day.
The Flying Bird Tea Room in Insadong, SeoulGyeongbokgung Palace, SeoulThe Gate of Deoksu Palace – The Palace of Virtuous Longevity, SeoulNamsan Tower through the National Museum, Seoul.Buddhist shrine, Jeonju
Some of my favourite Korean films:
Lovers ‘ Concerto 2002
… ing 2003
My Sassy Girl 2001
Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors 2000
Some of my favourite Korean books:
This one’s cheating – my favourite Korean restaurant in London, near the British Museum.
Goodbye my Korean friends
All street scene photos by Thay Paul. Book and film images from Google
I was over the moon that Youn Yuh-jung won the Oscar for her role in ‘Minari’ (Dir. Lee Isaac Chang).
I fell in love with Korean cinema about ten years ago and I shall post a blog listing some of my favourite films, in the near future.
In the meanwhile, we can celebrate last year’s Best Film winner ‘Parasite’ (Dir. Boon Joon-ha) as well as raising a glass to Youn Yuh-jung’. This blog is dedicated to Sassy Girls wherever you are.
A compilation of exercises to practise using the present perfect form
Present perfect
Subject + have/ has + past participle [verb 3]
She has been to New York / They have visited London
NEGATIVE:
I haven’t read The Great Gatsby
I have not seen My Sassy Girl
QUESTION:
Have you read Romeo and Juliet?
[Have / has + subject + verb 3 … ?]
Change the verb into the correct form:
I (read) your book several times. I have read your book several times 2. She has (wear) that skirt many times. [worn /wear / wore] 3. My family (visit) Brazil a few times. 4. I (eat) already. 5. Marta (finish) her homework. 6. You (break) the glass again. 7. They (pay) for everything. 8. It (never snow) like that. 9. I (meet) Anna once. 10. We (see) him before.
Change simple past into present perfect
Example – I started a band = I’ve started a band / I have started a band
1 I went to Ha Noi // 2 We explored a cave // 3 I ate cake // 4 We saw a famous building // 5 She buys many dresses and visited many friends
‘Shadow Sonata’ was my first film shot in London since the early 1990s, and how things have changed. I started with a Bell & Howell 8mm cine camera, splicing film by hand and playing back on a projector; now I was working on a pocket digital camera and cutting on computer.
The title is a reference to the short story collection ‘Shadows of a Sound’ by the Korean writer Hwang Sun-woo, an author mentioned in the Korean film ‘My Sassy Girl,’ and the book plays a key part in the film. The influence of Asia and Asian culture should be discernible throughout.
Hwang Sun-woo
The short story collection
‘Shadow Sonata’ is a non-linear story of a man living in London, obsessed by an old love affair, while dreaming his way out of his depression. The topography of London helps the viewer place the action in the past, the present, and what could be the future, or pure imagination.
The Man starts by meeting his blonde girlfriend by an old museum in Walthamstow, north-east London. From the sunny exterior we move to the inside of his small London bedsit, decorated with Asian posters, and full of books by Asian writers.
Old Walthamstow
He walks around London, alone, the city appearing grey, cold, emotionless. He keeps seeing a beautiful Asian lady and feels very attracted to her … if only he could meet her.
I shot this film over two days on my Samsung W200, a camera that cost me around 80 UKP. It lasted until 2017 when it just died on me but anyway, mobile phones now have better cameras (I currently use an iPhone 6s).
Furthermore, I was very lucky with the weather; I had bright sun for the flashback sequence and dull wet grey rain for the present.
The was for the old love affair was played on an instrument I encountered in Sweden, a nyckleharpa:
The dream or future sequence uses ‘Oriental’ from Granados’ ‘Spanish Dances’, while the melancholic ending is a late String Quartet by Beethoven. These small scale pieces fascinate me, especially considering they followed the epic 9th Symphony … but that is possibly a theme for another blog or film.
As always, thanks so much to the actors who gave their time for free:
Mr Martin O’Shea, Ms Michelene P. Heine, Mr Stephen Grey, Mr Alex Loveridge, Ms Angie and introducing Ms Emily Yue.
Thay Paul's Notes 