Bong Joon-ho is on the cover of this month’s Sight and Sound, marking the special season of his films at BFI and the theatrical release of his Mickey 17, and Park Jiha has a three concert tour to celebrate her new album. You probably didn’t manage to get tickets to Yunchan Lim’s Wigmore Hall recital, … [Read More]
Front Page
Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet – the perfect opening to BFI Flare 2025
BFI Flare launched yesterday with a humdinger of an opening movie: Andrew Ahn’s reimagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 The Wedding Banquet. Ahn’s partner in creating this update, James Schamus, also co-wrote Ang Lee’s version. While the original film features a single gay couple and a marriage of convenience, the reboot has two gay couples, which … [Read More]
Festival of Korean Dance 2025 – programme details announced
Here’s the official press release for the 2025 Festival of Korean dance. This year, in addition to performances at The Place in London, the festival tours to Bournemouth, Salford and Newcastle. A Festival of Korean Dance returns for its eighth year with 17-strong ensemble headliner and a live rock band Presented by the Korean Cultural … [Read More]
Snowy Day – a new collection of Lee Chang-dong short stories
I’ve been following Korean literature in translation now for around 25 years. Back in the day, I’d buy everything I could lay my hands on – after all, there wasn’t much of it around, so there wasn’t much financial commitment involved. At the time, most of the literature available was originally written more than thirty … [Read More]
Season’s Greetings to all our readers
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all of LKL’s readers, friends and contributors. At a time when nowhere in the world seems immune from division, disruption or worse, we remember that it is our personal connections and friendships that bring healing and sustenance. Have a restful holiday season with your loved ones, … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival Announces 2024 Programme
Here’s the official press release for this year’s London Korean Film Festival, released today. Some good things here! Korean Cultural Centre UK announces London Korean Film Festival 2024 Programme Opening Gala Film: Park Beom-su’s VICTORY Closing Gala Film: E.oni’s LOVE IN THE BIG CITY Special Screening: Choi Dong-hoon’s ALIENOID: RETURN TO THE FUTURE London, 1 … [Read More]
Theatre round-up: four recent Korean stage productions
This year in London we have been fortunate so far to have enjoyed four Korean stage productions: two imports with a run of several weeks each, and two shoestring-budget local productions with a handful of performances. Which would we go to see again? Do the plucky locals win out over the imports? [Read More]
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Recent Event updates
The ROK-UK Strategic Partnership for the Future
At a time of acute global and regional uncertainty, former Foreign Minister, Park Jin will reflect on the urgent need and the key opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Dr Park has a long history of engagement with the United Kingdom, having taken a degree in … [Read More]
KangDaniel plays the Shepherds Bush Empire
KANGDANIEL, formerly of Wanna One, is bringing his 2025 CONCERT “ACT” IN LONDON for a special one-night-only show, featuring songs from his fifth mini album ACT, along with a setlist packed with fan-favorite hits from his career. With stunning stage production and KANGDANIEL’s unmatched stage presence, this show promises an unforgettable night. [Read More]
New Diorama Theatre presents Container
New Diorama Theatre presents the world premiere of Container, a multi-vocal performance by British-Korean poet / theatre maker / artist Alan Fielden, exploring the violence and tenderness of living through catastrophe. Drawing influence from Laurie Anderson’s music and Robert Ashley’s television operas, Container makes use of overlapping choral narratives, live music and polyphonic sound to … [Read More]
Preston workshop: North Korea, A Country Left Behind with the Cloaked Society
A workshop to accompany the UCLan special exhibition on North Korea entitled The echo never stops Speaker 1: Dr Sojin Lim, Director of International Institute of Korean Studies at University of Central Lancashire (IKSU) Addressing Sociocultural Aspects of Period Poverty in North Korea Speaker 2: Hanna Song, Executive Director of the Database Center for North … [Read More]
[Preston] DPRK exhibition: The echo never stops
![Thumbnail for post: [Preston] DPRK exhibition: The echo never stops](https://londonkoreanlinks.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/uclan-dprk-exhibition-120x120.jpg)
While the world enjoys the cultural explosion of K-pop, K-dramas, and the vibrant expression of Korean creativity, North Korea remains a stark contrast—a country left behind with the cloaked society. In North Korea, words can lead to imprisonment, and access to information is a dangerous privilege. Given this, the International Institute of Korean Studies at … [Read More]
Sheffield Conference: Reflections on the North — The Spaces and Subjects of the DPRK
This conference explores the theme of reflection as it relates to North Korea. We approach the term in two ways. In the nominal sense, reflections are congregations of work. Whether literary, academic, or artistic, this sort of reflection attends to the state of the archive on North Korea. As a verb, reflection is an act … [Read More]
The above events list includes recent updates to events which might have been uploaded some time ago (eg an update confirming venue or ticket link). A chronological listing of all event notices published, most recent first, can be found here. A list of all upcoming events can be found here.
Recent Book updates
Luminous
In a recently reunified Korea, robots have integrated seamlessly into society. They are our teachers, our bus drivers and policemen. They are our lovers. They are even our children. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through scrap metal in a Seoul junkyard, searching for anything that might repair her failing body. There amongst the piles of junk she … [Read More]
Against Abandonment: Repertoires of Solidarity in South Korean Protest [forthcoming]
Across the world, protest has become a much-debated tactic in struggles against inequality, political corruption, and ecological disaster. In South Korea, protest is a ubiquitous and essential form of political expression. In 1987, mass protests forced reforms that led to democratizing government. In 2017, the Candlelight movement removed the sitting president. Beyond these spectacular national … [Read More]
Invisible Land of Love: Poems of Chonggi Mah
The collection consists of the author’s monologues and narrative poems, and a single dialogue between him and his young son. Contemporary America, Korea of old and new, and parts of world are the setting. His poems are a mixture of components that shows sweetness, beauty, sadness, easiness and honesty that no one can reject. Experiences … [Read More]
Bukchon: Poems of Shin Dal-Ja
A master of one liner, Shin Dal-Ja begins another remarkable volume of verse, Bukchon, with two one-liners, and no stanza break. Adopting this simple yet hard-to-master technique, she achieves uncommon concentration and musicality. The village called Bukchon is depicted as a regional utopia. Therein are multitudes of beautiful things: age-old trees, artwork traditional and modern, totally … [Read More]
Sukhyang’s Tale & Sugyŏng’s Tale: Two Romantic Novels from Old Korea
Sukhyang’s Tale, known as one of the masterpiece women’s narratives in the 17th century of old Korea, evolves around the love story of Sukhyang and Yi Sŏn, which takes place in heaven and again on earth. It deals with stories from Sukhyang’s ordeals of being separated from her parents during a bandit riot to her … [Read More]
Hail, Che! [forthcoming]
An explosive collection of revolutionary poems that make the case that only poetry can save humanity. Korean poet Pak Jeong-de envisioned Hail, Che! as a textual performance that sings and dreams of revolution. In these poems, he invokes the names of more than 200 artists— writers, musicians, filmmakers, and painters—whom he considers comrades capable of saving humanity. … [Read More]
The above booklist includes recent updates to books which might have been uploaded some time ago (eg an update to reflect a release of cover art, or a new review). A chronological listing of all books uploaded, most recent first, can be found here.