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Category Archives: Art & Style in November

Korean antique ceramics, fabrics and hanbok at the 10th anniversary Asian Art in London week, plus hanbok old and new at the Han Style events at the Royal College of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, all happening in the first week or so of November 2007

Hanbok by Lee Rhee-Za

20-Nov-07
Hanbok by Lee Rhee-Za: an exhibition in the seminar rooms of the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore SW7 2EU. Review by Peter Corbishley In fact this is 3, or perhaps, at least at the opening event, 3 and a half, exhibitions rolled into one. The first was a display of copies of garments typically worn in the Joseon Court. These garments were made to look rather odd by being displayed on models with European looks and of European sizes (right). At the opening they also rather concealed what thereby became 'half' of an exhibition running around the edge of the room, namely hanboks for children, and for the 5 periods of life from cradle to grave. The incongruity of the ...

Hanbok day at the V&A - reader reviews and photos

05-Nov-07
Because of vacation and some railway engineering work LKL's usual correspondents were unable to cover yesterday's V&A Korean culture day. This post is therefore an open invitation to anyone who did manage to go along to please leave your comments or observations below. The Korean Cultural Centre UK, who supported the event, took some photos, as did Jeon Sung-min. Here's a sample: Musicians playing excerpts from the Sopyonje soundtrack at the V&A (photo by Lee Boo-gyoung courtesy of the Korean Cultural Centre UK) Trying on a hanbok from Dae Jang Geum and Hwang Ji Ni. (photo by Jeon Sung-min) More photos can be seen on my flickr page here.

Royal College of Art hanbok show

27-Oct-07
Further details of the event at the Royal College of Art. Fashion from the Far East: Hanbok by Lee Rhee-Za 3-8 November 2007 Seminar Rooms 1 & 2 Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU 10am-6pm 'Hanbok': Hanbok (South Korea) or Chosŏn-ot (North Korea) is the traditional Korean dress. It is characterized by vibrant colours and simple lines without pockets. Although the term literally means 'Korean clothing', Hanbok today often refers specifically to Joseon Dynasty-style semi-formal or formal wear that is worn during traditional festivals or celebrations. This Hanbok exhibition triumphantly showcases the beauty and sophistication of traditional Korean dress. The exhibition will reveal an unfamiliar facet of north-east Asian fashion (different from the Japanese Kimono and traditional Chinese dress) to audiences, with the ideas ...

Han style comes to London

24-Oct-07
It seems that Hanbok events are like buses. You wait for ages, and then three come along at once. The first week in November brings the opportunity to (1) admire, (2) try on and (3) buy your own (genuine antique) hanbok, at (1) the Royal College of Art, (2) the V&A and (3) Linda Wrigglesworth. The first two opportunities are linked, while the simultaneous occurrence of the third is pure chance. Early 20th century chigori at Linda Wrigglesworth First, the Royal College of Art Fashion from the Far East: Hanbok by Lee Rhee-Za 3-8 November 2007 Seminar Rooms 1 & 2 Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU 10am-6pm A four-part exhibition which shows how hanbok was used to mark significant moments in Koreans' lives in ...

The Han Style campaign

23-Oct-07
Realising that the Hallyu may not last for ever, and recognising that the best marketers do not stake the financial health of the company on just one product, the Culture and Tourism ministry earlier this year decided to diversify their product portfolio. Recognising that some of the key differentiating features of Korean culture are designated by words which start with "Han", they started the "Han Style" campaign. One minor problem with this initiative is that "Han" has Chinese as well as Korean connotations. To a typical educated westerner, "Han" is a Chinese dynasty or the name of the dominant ethnicity in China, and not the river running through Seoul or anything to do with things Korean. And if you search "Han ...

Asia Contemporary

22-Oct-07
Designed to coincide with Asian Art in London, there's an intensive five-day course at SOAS, University of London, focusing on Asian Contemporary Art. Well worth exploring if you have the opportunity: ASIA CONTEMPORARY 5th -- 9th November 2007 Course includes: Lectures and seminars by leading experts and working artists Visits to galleries and auction houses Course Objectives: To give an in-depth knowledge of contemporary Asian art, focusing on Indian, Pakistan, the Middle East, China, Japan and Korea. To encourage students to relate to contemporary Asian art from both an academic and business viewpoint. To allow students a unique opportunity to examine works of art from the British museums collections, currently not on show. To offer students lectures by world renowned academics on their specialist subjects. Provisional running order is as follows: MONDAY ...

Asian Art in London - 10th year

21-Oct-07
Asian Art in London is an annual event which unites London's leading Asian art dealers, major auction houses and societies in a series of gallery selling exhibitions, auctions, receptions, lectures and seminars. These are complemented by exhibitions at the leading museums. This is its tenth year and it runs from 1 - 10 November 2007. There's a wide variety of galleries and dealers participating, and many of them claim to be showing some Korean work. Similarly, if you visit the Asian Art in London site and search for "Korea", there's quite a long list potential buying opportunities. I emailed the dealers who came up on the list, and whittled the list down to the following who really do have Korean work ...