Aashish Gadhvi reviews the rollercoaster World Cup campaigns from the Asian sides. Before the World Cup started I pictured myself sitting in front of a typewriter like Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote penning conspiracy theories and plans of deception at how South Korea were knocked out of the group stage yet again by the … [Read More]
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Five from the archive
2016 travel diary 5: An introduction to the Baekje Historic Areas
Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, 16 May 2016 The kingdom of Baekje had its beginnings as a small state founded on the south banks of the Han River in 18 BCE by King Onjo. The people were largely of Buyeo origins – an early kingdom absorbed into Goguryeo. The kingdom gradually grew, absorbing the small Mahan states to … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Masquerade deserved all the awards it got
It swept the board at the recent Grand Bell awards – best film, best director and best leading actor among them. And for all-round entertainment, the closing film of the London Korean Film Festival 2012 deserved all those awards. Was a uniquely reformist tax policy set by a pantomime performer who was pretending to be … [Read More]
Review: JM Lee — Broken Summer
A seemingly ideal partnership between a successful artist and a doting wife who is also his manager suddenly dissolves when the wife walks out without warning, leaving behind a surprise which the artist knows will shortly destroy his reputation and career. The artist had clearly been living a lie, with his wife plotting his destruction … [Read More]
In pictures: Korean crafts and design at Collect 2014
On the front cover of the catalogue for Collect 2014, the annual fair organised by the Crafts Council, is an intriguing shell-shaped metal sculpture – part Slinky, part oil-lamp, and very beautiful. Wandering around to gallery number 3 on the ground floor, you come to the stall hosted by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation. … [Read More]
Recent Posts
Spontaneous improvisation, exhilarating energy: Won Il prepares Dionysus Robot for London
LKL meets Won Il, who arrives in London this week to direct what we are expecting to be one of the highlights of the Korean cultural year. The work, Dionysus Robot, is inspired by Nietzsche’s philosophy of Dionysus and pays homage to the legendary media artist Nam June Paik. It brings together traditional Korean and … [Read More]
Two Korean restaurants earn TimeOut accolades
Congratulations to two Korean restaurants for winning some serious recognition from online listings magazine TimeOut. First, in a list published this week (Monday 3 November 2025), Miga in Hackney wins TimeOut Best Restaurant in London 2025. Yes, that’s not best Korean restaurant, it’s the best restaurant, period. Their detailed review can be found here. Miga’s … [Read More]
November events 2025
The Autumn diary congestion reached its peak in October, but November is still busy, and there’s plenty to keep us engaged. The London Korean Film Festival has its two-week run, bringing director Kim Jong-kwan to London for two screenings (including a world premiere) and Q&A sessions, among the customary varied programme of indie and mainstream … [Read More]
Rejina Pyo in fashion collaboration with John Lewis
It’s over ten years since Rejina Pyo came to our attention at a fashion exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre. By that time, having received her MA at Central Saint Martins in 2011, she had already launched her own fashion brand (2013) and had some of her designs collected by a Belgian museum. She opened … [Read More]
London Hallyu Festival: the Symposium’s culture panel takes a look at UK Hallyu trends
Seeing that I invested a bit of time in pulling together some discussion material for the culture panel at the Korea Symposium on 29 September I thought I’d share some of the slides together with the gist of what I was trying to say. I was trying to trace, as objectively as possible, what one … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival Announces 2025 Programme
Here’s the official press release for this year’s London Korean Film Festival, released today. This year’s festival is the 20th organised by the KCCUK. You can find the detailed schedule here. London Korean Film Festival announces programme for special 20th anniversary edition Opening Gala (World Premiere) – Frosted Window by acclaimed director Kim Jong-kwan, followed … [Read More]
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Recent Event updates
Short Film Festival Ttang – with Kollab & Kulture
Short Film Festival Ttang (땅) is a new film programme presented as part of Kollab & Kulture, a monthly event series at Poplar Union (E14 6TL) introducing contemporary Korean art and culture through music, dance, performance, and hanbok. This festival explores the theme of “Ttang” (meaning ground or earth), tracing how memories, identities, and places … [Read More]
The Power of the Clan: Contesting Kinship and the Making of South Korea’s Fifteenth President
Clans have played a significant role in Korean society for centuries. Even in contemporary times, they maintain their relevance by affording people social, political, and economic capital. Despite their emphasis on legitimate bloodlines, however, clans are also imagined communities as kinship in Korea is more often than not based on claims of spurious nature. Thus, … [Read More]
KINO “Free Kino” tour in London
KINO, from the 9-member boy band Pentagon, is coming to London as part of a solo tour in early 2026. He will be visiting Paris, Frankfurt and Berlin before arriving in London for his concert on 8 February. Venue and ticket details have yet to be announced.
KCC Exhibition: NEW GEN – The Emerging Voices
The Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK) is delighted to present the exhibition NEW GEN: The Emerging Voices, the latest edition of its annual open call programme supporting Korean artists based in the UK. This year’s exhibition introduces eight artists whose practices span painting, sculpture, moving image, and installation, exploring how identity, materiality, and technology shape contemporary … [Read More]
SOAS Kimchi Festival
Kimchi is Korea’s most iconic traditional dish, made from fermented vegetables and a variety of spices. With its distinctive flavour and deep cultural roots, kimchi is not only a symbol of Korean cuisine but also an important part of everyday life in Korea. To recognise the cultural and nutritional value of this unique food, Kimchi … [Read More]
An introduction to North Korean art — and challenges in assembling a collection
North Korean art is tied to the genre of socialist realism, producing works of blatant propaganda as well as those with more subtle allegorical story lines. All artists work for the DPRK state, producing artworks which typically portray loyal citizens marching in the vanguard of the revolution, vanquishing enemies and fulfilling quotas. However, within 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
Brutal Fantasies: Imagining North Korea in the Long Cold War
In Brutal Fantasies, Christine Kim examines how Western cultural representations of North Korea depend on fantasies of the inhuman. Drawing on films, fiction, and defectors’ life writings from the last two decades, Kim analyzes how these representations construct North Korea as a site of brutality and inhumanity. She recasts these stories through Asian American and … [Read More]
Hakuda Photo Studio
Have you ever been on a summer holiday so good you never want to go home again? Jebi is tired of noisy, crowded Seoul and her dull job at a photography studio in the city. When she sees a billboard on her commute showing beautiful Jeju Island, she decides to quit her job and spend … [Read More]
Seopyeonje, the Southerners’ Songs
Sopyonje is a disturbing and haunting novel set in Korea s southern provinces and among the pansori singers, practitioners of the ancient storytelling art where blindness is seen to be an aid to creating pure art, being free of sensory distraction and temptation. A Song man causes his daughter blindness in order to keep her … [Read More]
Korean Temples: The Weird and Wonderful
There are over 12,000 temples that dot the Korean peninsula. Having traveled extensively throughout South Korea, Dale Quarrington selects thirty of the most unique Korean Buddhist temples. Whether it’s the artwork, architecture, or geography that makes the temple either weird or wonderful, Dale Quarrington helps to shed some light on these amazingly eccentric locations. Source: … [Read More]
No Hand Held Mine
An elderly Korean woman talking about being forced into sexual slavery during World War II. A modern Korean woman extricating herself from a failing relationship with an artist. Award-winning South Korean writer Kim Soom presents us with portraits of two women who couldn’t be more different but who both show resilience and compassion. No Hand Held … [Read More]
Flashlight
The astonishing story of one family swept up in the tides of the twentieth century, ranging from post-war Japan to suburban America and the North Korean regime One evening, ten-year-old Louisa and her father take a walk out on the breakwater. They are spending the summer in a coastal Japanese town while her father Serk, … [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.