London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

A round-up of three early January exhibitions

LKL visits three solo shows in the first two weeks of 2020: Suh Shinuk, Song Gin-young and Kang Jungsuck. Hopefully we’ll get to Tate Modern to see the big Nam June Paik exhibition before it closes. Suh Shinuk: Man(u)fractured Suh Shinuk’s Man(u)fractured has been extended for a week, to 18 January. It’s well worth a … [Read More]

Photos from Birdsong and Borders concert at St Luke’s

While it’s a huge treat that there’s so much in the way of interesting performances involving UK-based Koreans nowadays, it’s a shame that sometimes they clash with each other. Hyelim Kim’s recent collaboration with Merit Ariane at LSO St Luke’s was something I’d definitely have gone to… if it hadn’t been for Jinyeob Cha’s performance … [Read More]

Kingston School of Art and Royal School of Needlework collaborate with Hanbok Advancement Centre

The first stage of an innovative collaboration between the Hanbok Advancement Centre, Kingston School of Art and the Royal School of Needlework had its first public exhibition last week at Kingston University’s Stanley Picker Gallery. The collaboration was the brainchild of Justina Jang, who through Korean British Cultural Exchange shares Korean culture with London and … [Read More]

Gallery: Shinuk Suh in Invisible Balance

Shinuk Suh’s first solo show at Daniel Benjamin Gallery is a product of social media: the gallery told me that they discovered Shinuk’s work on Instagram, were captivated by it, and decided to offer him a solo show. It’s amazing that such lucky breaks can happen, but based on the work on show the artist … [Read More]

John Lee and the Kingdom of Pines

Not a write-up of John Lee’s fascinating recent talk at SOAS – more a place to store a couple of images of the translations of relevant sources that he talked about so that I don’t lose them. I for one am looking forward immensely to seeing this material fully discussed in his upcoming monograph, Kingdom … [Read More]

Photo gallery: Kingston Korean Harvest Fest 2018

The weather wasn’t very kind to the organisers and visitors for the 2018 Chuseok celebrations in Kingston’s market square. But still there was an enthusiastic turnout, especially for the Kpop performances. LKL managed to make it towards the end of the afternoon, which means we missed the opening ceremony with the Korean ambassador and Ed … [Read More]

Brief exhibition visit: Fragmentality

Fragmentality, at Arthill Gallery in North End Road, is a show featuring two RCA students. Minhee Kim’s works are delicate constructions made from layered paper or hair, using the ‘comfort women’ issue as her theme: Taeho Kim’s works include light and sound installations, as well as works on paper, employing intricate geometric patterns. [Read More]

A visit to the British Ceramics Biennial

The first work to greet you as you entered the Spode China Works – the primary venue of the British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent – is the monumental work created in situ by Lee Kang-hyo. At the opening of the exhibition Lee did one of the performances for which he has become known: the decoration … [Read More]