Colin Marshall

Colin Marshall is a Seoul-based essayist on cities, language, and culture. His latest book, published in Korean, is 한국 요약 금지 (No Summarizing Korea, 2024).

Articles

On Not Being Interested in North Korea
Colin Marshall the cultural obsession (or lack thereof) with North Korea.
Colin MarshallMay 13, 2018
How the Seoul Government Turned a Bestselling Feminist Novel Into a Controversial PR Campaign
Colin Marshall on last year's best-selling novel "Kim Ji-young Born 1982."
Colin MarshallApr 29, 2018
Dropping an America Bomb on Hyundai: Frank Ahrens's Life-in-Korea Memoir Seoul Man
Colin Marshall discusses Frank Ahrens's memoir "Seoul Man," about his stint as a public relations director at Hyundai Motors between 2010 and 2013.
Colin MarshallApr 15, 2018
Bad Air Days in Seoul
Colin Marshall discusses the air quality in Seoul.
Colin MarshallApr 1, 2018
Travelogue Korea and the Dream of Isolation
Colin Marshall on the television show "Travelogue Korea" and the obsession with "simple" rural life.
Colin MarshallMar 18, 2018
The #MeToo-ing of Ko Un, Korea's Best Hope for a Nobel Prize
Colin Marshall on Korea's #MeToo movement and renowned poet Ko Un.
Colin MarshallMar 4, 2018
Simon Winchester's Korea, 30 Years On: Classic Travelogue or Cultural Offense?
Colin Marshall considers Simon Winchester's" Korea: a Walk Through the Land of Miracles," 30 years after its publication.
Colin MarshallFeb 18, 2018
Letter from Gangneung, the Real Capital of the 2018 Winter Olympics
Colin Marshall reports from Gangneung, the biggest city in Pyeongchang County, where much of the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held.
Colin MarshallFeb 4, 2018
French Nobel Laureate J.M.G. Le Clézio's New Novel of Korea, and the Love of Korea That Inspired It
Colin Marshall considers a new novel by J.M.G. Le Clézio, "Bitna: Under the Sky of Seoul."
Colin MarshallJan 21, 2018
How Korea's Version of TED Talks Aims to Heal Korean Society
Korea's version of Ted Talks is called "Sebashi," and its most popular talks are all about helping Koreans find a better way to live.
Colin MarshallJan 14, 2018
Korean Cinema Looks Back at 1987, When Students Died and Democracy Was Born
Colin Marshall reflects on how Korea's "June Struggle" is depicted in Korean Cinema.
Colin MarshallDec 31, 2017
Why Has Korea Hired Gordon Ramsay to Be Its Big Brother?
Colin Marshall wonders why Gordon Ramsay has become the spokesperson for Korea's most boring beer.
Colin MarshallDec 24, 2017
Korea Has Started Using English Names — But When Will It Stop?
Colin Marshall considers why Starbucks employees in Korea — and many other people — adopt "English names" in place of their given ones.
Colin MarshallDec 10, 2017
Will We Ever Talk Pretty?: David Sedaris and the American Struggle with Foreign Languages
Colin Marshall contemplates David Sedaris’s experiences with language-learning.
Colin MarshallDec 5, 2017
- Around the World
- Memoir & Essay
Korea in the World and the World in Korea: Selections from the LARB Korea Blog's Second Year
The LARB Korea Blog's second year has proven eventful not just within Korea but in the relationship between Korea and the rest of the world.
Colin MarshallDec 3, 2017
Yoo Jae-ha's K-Pop Masterpiece Because I Love You, 30 Years After His Untimely Death
Colin Marshall reflects on the K-Pop song "Because I Love You" by Yoo Jae-ha, who died 30 years ago at the age of 25.
Colin MarshallNov 19, 2017