London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Five from the archive

Recent Posts

December events

After the hectic activity of the last two months, be grateful for a slightly quieter December, enabling you to get some Christmas shopping done. The highlight of the month is the continuation of the BFI’s Echoes in Time season, with some cracking films from the turn of the millennium, as well as some restored classics. … [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]

K-Music Festival 2024: an introduction

The programme for the 2024 K-Music Festival is quite possibly the best yet. For LKL, the real gems are the opening and closing events. We hear that the National Changgeuk Company‘s Lear, which opens the festival, is every bit as good as their Trojan Women, which we raved about; and for the closing event pretty … [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]

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Recent Event updates

Squid Game Season 2: preview screening

Three years after the huge global success of Squid Game we are delighted to unveil the first episode of the second series following a screening of Series 1’s gripping finale ‘One Lucky Day’. Player 456 remains determined to find the people behind the game and put an end to their vicious sport. Using this fortune … [Read More]

Yong Min Cho dance performance: The Art of Painting

Enjoy a Poetry and Dance Performance in the Georgian Eating Room to accompany Antoni Malinowski’s work in Pigments and Photons with Martin Crimp, Kristin Winters and Yong Min Cho The Art of Painting event begins with a sardonic text by playwright Martin Crimp originally written for the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna where Vermeer’s The Art of Painting hangs. At … [Read More]

Dragons, by Eun-Me Ahn: 8-city UK tour

Dance Consortium presents the multi-media dance spectacular Dragons, from iconic South Korean dance artist Eun-Me Ahn, “…bursting with vivid strangeness and hope” (The Stage). An eight-venue tour opens at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton on 24 & 25 February In Asia, dragons represent resilience, joy and optimism. They are the inspiration for this latest work by avant-garde … [Read More]

K-Women: Celebrating Korean Female Artists

Korean art group 4482 (SASAPARI) showcases inspirational artworks by 17 Korean female artists in Kingston, home of the largest Korean community in Europe. In collaboration with Kingston Museum, Korean art group 4482 (SASAPARI) presents an exhibition showcasing inspirational artworks by 17 Korean women artists in Kingston, home of the largest Korean community in Europe. This … [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

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Counterattacks at Thirty [forthcoming]

From the bestselling author of ALMOND, The Devil Wears Prada meets The Office in this witty, humane, and ultimately transformative story of a group of young workers who rebel against the status quo. Jihye is an ordinary woman who has never been extraordinary. In her administrative job at the Academy, she silently tolerates office politics … [Read More]

Late Industrialization, Tradition, and Social Change in South Korea

Examines how primary social ties fueled economic growth South Korea’s rapid industrialization occurred with the rise of powerful chaebǒl (family-owned business conglomerates) that controlled vast swaths of the nation’s economy. Leader Park Chung Hee’s sense of backwardness and urgency led him to rely on familial, school, and regional ties to expedite the economic transformation. Late … [Read More]

Korean Pop Culture beyond Asia: Race and Reception

Showcases the dynamism of cross-cultural engagement with Korean media Korean media has exploded in popularity across the globe in the past decade: BTS and other K-pop groups have packed stadiums, Parasite garnered record-breaking critical success, The Masked Singer and Single’s Inferno became viral TV hits, and multiday KCON fan events have highlighted not only media but Korean food, cosmetics, and fashion. … [Read More]

Lapwing: The Life Of Bishop Richard Rutt

Richard Rutt led an extraordinary life. He was Bishop of Daejeon in South Korea from 1968 – 1974 and first moved to South Korea to work as a priest a year after the end of the Korean War, in 1954. After he and his wife, Joan, returned to the UK in 1974, he served as … [Read More]

Forever Girls: Necro-cinematics and South Korean Girlhood [forthcoming]

Forever Girls explores girlhood manifest in contemporary South Korean cinema within the conflicting socio-political forces that shaped the nation: coloniality, postcolonial and postwar traumas, modernity, and democracy. Author Jinhee Choi reorients the direction of current scholarship on contemporary South Korean cinema from patriarchy, masculinity and violence, to instead consider girls as a social imaginary. Drawing on … [Read More]

The Trunk

Meet Noh Inji: thirty years old, five wedding rings so far, and she’s never once been in love. When Inji takes a job at Wedding & Life, the popular matchmaking service, she never imagines her role will be with NM, their secretive marriage division that rents out ‘field spouses’ for a fixed period to their … [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.