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Beyond K-pop: the culture of South Korea
The recent surge in the global popularity of South Korean culture is often referred to as the K-wave, Korean Wave, or Hallyu. It has been almost three years since Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay—a historic moment that marked the first time a South Korean film had been nominated in these categories, as well as the first non-English-language film ever to win Best Picture. Since then, I have watched many more films from South Korea—a country I have yet to visit—and have found myself gradually swept up in the Korean Wave. Today, I’d like to reflect on some…
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Where to eat in Dubai (light meal or a feast)
A couple of months ago, I travelled to Dubai together with my friend Jini. We visited our friends Jigna and Ed, who moved to the UAE a couple of years ago. Although my recently published post ‘top 7 tips for a trip to Dubai’ included recommendations on where to eat in Dubai, I think that a separate post is warranted. Where to eat in Dubai (light meal) Cafe Bateel Our friends live at the Dubai Marina, a very pleasant place to walk around, full of cafes and restaurants. I was a regular at Cafe Bateel, which happened to be right next to their apartment. I would usually have a coffee and…
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Top 7 tips for a trip to Dubai
I recently travelled to Dubai together with my friend Jini. We visited our friends Jigna and Ed, who moved there a couple of years ago. This was not only my first ever trip to the UAE (a layover in Abu Dhabi airport excluded), but also my first trip abroad in nearly two years (my trips in England and Greece excluded). Since I can now work from anywhere in the world, I stayed in Dubai for a total of 3 weeks, combing 2 weeks of holidays with 1 week of work. It’s now been 3 weeks since I returned to London, and it’s about time to share my top 7 tips.…
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A cinematic journey to South Korea
A few days ago, the South Korean film Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, not only won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film but also took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. This was a historic moment: Parasite is the first South Korean film to be nominated in these categories and the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It had also previously won the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. These remarkable achievements have unsurprisingly reignited my interest in South Korean cinema. For this reason, today I am embarking on a cinematic journey to South Korea. Here…
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5 (+1) Japanese novels to read in 2020
Happy New Year! 2020 is the year that the Olympic Games are heading to Japan. Even though I have never been to the land of the rising sun, I’ve always been fascinated by the Japanese culture and pretty much anything else Japanese (including literature). In fact, in the last couple of years, I have read quite a few Japanese novels, and in 2020 I plan to read even more, as well as other books from Japan, or about Japan. A few days ago, Barack Obama shared his annual list of favorites — books, films, and music. The former US President reflected that ‘outlets like literature and art can enhance our…