You can rely on a professional writer to come up with some well-honed soundbites, and the 10 authors who came to the London Book Fair were no exception. Even when delivered through an interpreter, they retained their impact. You might have got the impression that some of them were well-rehearsed. But a quote is a … [Read More]
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Five from the archive
London Korean Film Festival round-up and Ryu Seung-wan’s The Unjust
The 2011 London Korean Film Festival gave the London audience a chance to assess, and in my case reassess, the work of Ryu Seung-wan. Ryu has had several of his films released in the UK on DVD, but he is not as well-known to the viewing public as the likes of Park Chan-wook and Bong … [Read More]
Festival visit: Jasmine Gwangju
Gwangju seems an event from the distant past, but in fact was only 31 years ago. This year, the archives which document the history of that brief uprising were listed by UNESCO in their Memory of the World register. With perfect timing, bearing in mind the democratic uprisings in the Arab world this year, the … [Read More]
Video: Kingston Korean Harvest Fest 2019 ft The Move
It was glorious weather yesterday for Kingston’s Korean Harvest Fest – almost too hot for some of the energetic Kpop dancers and the visiting professionals from Korea. The ice cream sellers were doing brisk trade, as of course were the Korean food stalls that were set up down one side of the historic market place. … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #23: The pillow of eternal youth
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Wednesday 11 September, 5pm. At Korean expos, the emphasis is not on the looking. It is on the experiencing. You have to immerse yourself, to touch, to feel, to try something out. At the Sancheong International Traditional Medicine Fair and Festival, then, it was no surprise when the organisers, who had come … [Read More]
Recent Posts
July events
July is another relatively busy month with plenty to satisfy most tastes. So far, my personal priorities are the KCC’s exhibition featuring works by members of the Korean National Academy of Arts, the discussion-concert by the “Godfather of K-pop” in Oxford, and I might be tempted to re-watch the psychological thriller Sleep when it comes … [Read More]
Korean Wave or Korean Tsunami? The Next-Gen Late Night at the Korean Cultural Centre
On Friday 31st May, the Korean Cultural Centre UK hosted its inaugural networking event for young professionals and opinion leaders titled ‘Next Gen Late Night.’ The evening was aimed at bringing people together to discuss not only the explosion of global interest in Korean culture (known as Hallyu) but crucially, as the target audience of … [Read More]
Oh Myung-hee’s tribute to female spirituality and springtime
If you find yourself in the Sloane Square area over the Easter period, do pop in to the Garrison Chapel in the new Chelsea Barracks development. It’s a lovely, airy space used primarily for exhibitions, and currently there’s a group show, launched on International Women’s Day, featuring work by eighteen female artists. One of those … [Read More]
2024 Festival of Korean Dance programme details announced
Last year, the Festival of Korean Dance for the first time played to audiences in Salford, Coventry and Brighton. The year the festival extends its reach into Scotland, with its first performance in Glasgow. Salford, Newcastle and Bournemouth will also get to experience one of the productions. The full press release follows, with links at … [Read More]
Review: Hera Hyesang Park’s stunning London debut
When faced with the choice of attending a recital by an opera singer I usually politely decline, whatever the reputation of the singer. The prospect of what is usually a selection of operatic arias performed outside of their dramatic context holds little appeal for me, particularly if the recital is accompanied by a piano reduction … [Read More]
Youngsun Yoon’s Kiss: a minimalist study in the difficulty of communicating
Over the years, Londoners have had a few, but not many, opportunities to see the work of a Korean playwright on stage. The count increases if you include musicals or performances in provincial theatres or at the Edinburgh fringe, where each year you can normally find at least one 50-minute Korean stage production, but if … [Read More]
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Recent Event updates
SuHo “Welcome to Su:Home” tour in London
Suho, the leader of boy band Exo and its sub-unit Exo-K, is coming to London as part of a five-country European tour. He came to London in the summer of 2022 to participate in Southwark’s “Made in Korea” K-pop and Hip-hop festival, but this is his first headline appearance here. Ticket details have yet to … [External Link]
Ambiguous Dance Company: The Belt
The Coronet Theatre’s first ever site-specific performance. This September Korea’s highest-profile dance company will make a series of world premieres – a fully staged performance and a series of site-specific pieces – created specially for the atmospheric backstage corners of this 19th century theatre. High octane and daring, Ambiguous Dance Company‘s CV includes collaborations with … [External Link]
Seoul Manner, by Bek Hyunjin
Korean legend and innovator, Bek Hyunjin – actor, contemporary artist, installation artist, performance artist, and musician – presents an exhilarating evening of entertaining, meaningful performance that draws you into the enigmatic beauty and drama of Korean lyrics and art. [External Link]
2024 Kpop UK National Competition: applications now open
The Kpop UK National Competition 2024 has officially launched. The finals will be in Kingston’s Rose Theatre on Sunday 20 October – full details to be announced. In the meanwhile, the important thing is to get your application forms in. As usual, the competition’s Instagram account, @kpopuknationalcompetition, is the official source of information, and updates … [Read More]
Madmans Esprit European tour in London
Madmans Esprit, the five-piece South Korean black metal band formed by vocalist Kyuho Lee, is coming to London as part of a six-country European tour – “The world as collective reflections”. Emerging from the vibrant underground music scene of Seoul, Madmans Esprit is the brainchild of enigmatic artist Kyuho. With a lineup of session musicians, … [Read More]
XG “The first HOWL” tour in Manchester and London
XG is a 7-member HIPHOP/R&B-inspired Japanese girl group based in South Korea. The band consists of JURIN, CHISA, HINATA, HARVEY, JURIA, MAYA, and COCONA. They debuted in March 2022 with their 1st Single “Tippy Toes” under the global entertainment production company “XGALX,” known for creating artist groups with a unique worldview and broadcasting a “BOLD” … [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
The Eyes Are The Best Part
My Sister, the Serial Killer meets Boy Parts, this literary feminist howl-of-a-debut is going to crawl right under your skin… Ji-won’s life is in disarray. Her father’s affair has ripped her family to shreds, leaving her to piece their crappy lives back together. So, when her mother’s obnoxious new white boyfriend enters the scene, bragging … [Read More]
Painter of the Wind
A heart-wrenching and gripping novel with over a million copies sold! Painter of the Wind is a masterful novel that was adapted into a popular, award winning South Korean TV series. This gem of a book also delights readers with a rare collection of thirty-four colour paintings, including Shin Yun-bok’s Portrait of a Beauty and Kim Hong-do’s Wrestling. Set … [Read More]
Cursed Bunny
Cursed Bunny is a genre-defying collection of short stories by Korean author Bora Chung. Blurring the lines between magical realism, horror, and science-fiction, Chung uses elements of the fantastic and surreal to address the very real horrors and cruelties of patriarchy and capitalism in modern society. Anton Hur’s translation skilfully captures the way Chung’s prose … [Read More]
Your Utopia
By the internationally acclaimed author of Cursed Bunny, in another thrilling translation from the Korean by Anton Hur, Your Utopia is full of tales of loss and discovery, idealism and dystopia, death and immortality. “Nothing concentrates the mind like Chung’s terrors, which will shrivel you to a bouillon cube of your most primal instincts” (Vulture), yet these stories … [Read More]
Saha
In a country called ‘Town’, Su is found dead in an abandoned car. The suspected killer is presumed to come from the Saha Estates. Town is a privatised country, controlled by a secretive organisation known as the Seven Premiers. It is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots and those who have the … [Read More]
I’m Waiting for You: And Other Stories
A stunning collection of short fiction by one of South Korea’s most treasured writers, available in English for the first time. ‘Her fiction is a breath-taking piece of a cinematic art itself. Reminiscent of the world we experienced in The Matrix, Inception, and Dark City, still it leads us to this entirely original structure, which … [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.