The last few years have been an exciting time for Korean food in London, seeing a real expansion in the depth and choice of dining and shopping experiences available. Despite the lockdown, the opportunities to try traditional and experimental Korean flavours in London have never been better. Lockdown has encouraged the main food retailers such […]
Exhibition visit: Swimming Backwards, at Sid Motion Gallery
Artist Sunyoung Hwang had her works on display at Sid Motion gallery, London, between 21 June and 16 July 2021 as part of the group show ‘Swimming Backwards’ with fellow artists Emily Stollery and Henry Ward. The exhibition title itself has been inspired by Hwang’s homonymous painting, also displayed at the exhibition. The London-based artist […]
Two recent resources on Korean literature in translation
First, very hot off the press — uploaded to the Taylor & Francis website yesterday — is the Translation Review Korea special. As with most academic publications, this title is phenomenally expensive, so best to consult it via your university library online resources. Here’s the table of contents: Introduction: They Like to Sing and Dance […]
July events 2021
Lockdown is beginning to ease, but we are now beginning to enter into the traditional summer lull in events. But it’s nice that there’s a special Korean day in York this month. Hope that is a huge success. Exhibitions The KCC exhibition featuring the Royal Palaces of Joseon continues all month Haegyu Yang’s solo show […]
Dan Gordon’s North Korean documentaries now available on Vimeo
If you think that progressing beyond the group stages of the Euros is worth celebrating, maybe you’re right. But the success of the North Korean football team in the 1966 World Cup, in which they reached the quarter finals, was a much bigger achievement. They were the first Asian team to have proceeded beyond the […]
June events 2021
Gradually more real-life events are appearing in the calendar, but while we wait for things to catch up with the improved Covid situation, let’s get out and enjoy the weather after such a dismal May. Special Events The British Korean Society is arranging an event to honour British veterans of the Korean War on Thursday […]
When a PowerPoint presentation can hold your attention for almost two hours…
How long is it since the time when we could go in person to a talk given by a real person in an actual physical room? I reckon it’s around 15 months. Since the beginning of March last year, Zoom has been the norm. Online talks do have advantages over a traditional lecture theatre: you can […]
May events 2021
Despite the gradual easing of the lockdown, things are still mostly online. Only Han Collection seems to be welcoming real-life visitors (do pay them a visit, and while you’re in the area pop into the contemporary ceramics showroom at 63 Great Russell Street – you’ll usually find work by at least one Korean potter in […]
London and Seoul unite with giant Hockney video screening
CIRCA, a new platform showcasing digital art both online and in a public space in the heart of London, has commissioned a digital artwork from David Hockney which will be on show in London and Seoul, plus LA, New York and Tokyo, during May. In London, the display will be on the big screen at […]
Book review: Kim Soom – One Left
When the issue of comfort women has been with us since the Pacific War, to re-emerge in 1991 when Kim Haksun came forward as the first to announce herself as victim, it is astonishing that we had to wait until 2016 for what is, according to Bonnie Oh’s introduction (p ix), “the first Korean novel […]
April events 2021
Exhibitions Han Collection will be exhibiting the ceramics from Icheon that it featured online for Collect earlier this year, from 12 April The KCC is hosting a season of artist videos, with a limited online viewing window, starting 6 April Pontone Gallery is hosting an online exhibition featuring the work of Lee Jeonglok Screenings Minari […]
Gallery: Jewyo Rhii’s “Love Your Depot”
The 2020 KCC Artist of the Year exhibition featuring Jewyo Rhii was of course a victim of the intermittent Covid lockdown. Even though the exhibition was, at various times that I can no longer remember, theoretically open to the public, there wasn’t much public around in Central London to visit it. I managed to pay […]
Cliff Richard in Seoul, 1969
OK, here goes… possibly LKL’s first ever Cliff Richard post. While searching for vintage Korean vinyl records sold in the UK on the Discogs record collectors website (they do crop up now and then, but if you’re a fan of Songolmae or Lee Mija, forget it: you’re too late!), I found this intriguing item – […]
Mari Kim’s new projects
Here’s a nice introduction to the multi-faceted work of Seoul Based artist Mari Kim, with English subtitles, just released on her YouTube channel. In the video she announces her plan to post a series of tutorials to help those learning to paint at home. Her work is always accessible, but in 2011 reached a wider […]
Son Heung-min reaches another milestone
The 2020/21 season isn’t over yet, but Tottenham’s Son Heung Min and Harry Kane have just become the top goal-scoring partnership in the history of the English Premiere League. The milestone was reached in Spurs’s 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace yesterday, when Son assisted the final goal from Kane. Son scored his 100th goal for […]
Michael Gibb’s Korean Odyssey: a great way to enjoy Korea without the the visa and quarantine
If I were to win an insane amount of money on the lottery, here’s how I might spend it. I’d charter a boat (and crew – I’m no sailor), and maybe a guide / interpreter, and go on a slow sea voyage for a couple of months from Busan to Mokpo, taking in some of […]