This month is absolutely crammed with events, as all organisers arrange things to coincide with the run-up to the Olympics. I challenge you to get to even half of them. Possibly the highlight is the series of concerts on the South Bank as part of the All Eyes on Korea festival.
Keep your eyes peeled for last-minute publicity for events we haven’t heard about yet. Last month one of the highlights was the musical Gumok, which didn’t make the monthly events list because the PR didn’t come out till much later.
Music and Dance
- Minjung Baek celebrates Debussy’s 150th birthday with lunchtime recitals on 3, 10 and 11 July.
- Sparks will fly at pianist HJ Lim’s Wigmore debut, 20 July. I’ve booked my seat in the front row to witness it.
- Pianist Grace Yeo has a solo recital on 5 July at St Vedast Foster Lane.
- A dance version of Korea’s folk story Chunhyang appears at the Peacock on 19 July. More details soon.
- The big All Eyes on Korea music programme hits the South Bank at the end of the month with
- Be-being on 23 July
- Gong Myoung on 28 July *RECOMMENDED*
- Baramgot on 29 July **HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**
- Pansori Project ZA on 30 July
- Sumi Jo and Sarah Chang on 31 July
Art and Exhibitions
- Meekyoung Shin unveils her big equestrian soap statue in Cavendish Square on 23 July
- Choi Jeong-hwa’s installation continues under the Hayward Gallery, though most of the balloons on the tree have burst by now.
- Hyun Jeung’s highly recommended exhibition of affordable woodcuts (Underneath the Persimmon Tree) continues at Mokspace until 16 July
- Mokspace then move on to an exhibition of Korean art on a sporting theme, from 20 July
- Haegue Yang, famous for her installations with Venetian blinds, fans (of the kind that cause fan death), hair scrunchies, and clothes driers with knitted covers, gives an all-day talk on knitting and origami at the Hayward Gallery on 7 July.
- Kim Beom has an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery project space from 17 July, entitled School of Inversion. No details yet.
- Jukhee Kwon’s solo show, Being, continues all month at La Scatola gallery
- Mikhail Karikis’s audio and visual tribute to Jeju-do’s diving women finishes in Wapping on 7 July. Well worth a visit.
- Daehun Kwon’s solo show, Chalna, continues at Rachmaninoffs till 14 July.
- Hong Songchul’s solo show, Solid but Fluid, is at HADA Vyner Street 5 – 25 July
- There’s an evening of Korean video art entitled Irrepressible Seoul at the Hackney Picturehouse on 5 July
- An exhibition of Korean Funerary Figures opens at the KCC on 11 July
- The big Korean Eye show starts at the Saatchi Gallery on 26 July
Film
- This month’s director at the KCC is Lee Hyun-seung. Screenings on successive Thursdays are The Blue in You (1992), Sunset into Neon Lights (1994), his most famous film (starring Jeon Ji-hyun) Il Mare (2000), plus Hindsight (with Q&A) (2011). As usual, Otherwhere previews the screenings well.
Everything else
- The KCC hosts a talk on Pansori on 3 July
- Further KCC lectures this month are Kokdu and Me (on arts management, 11 July), Eyes on Korea (13 July), Introducing Korean cuisine (18 July) and Korean Music, Tradition, Innovation and Identity (20 July)
- Kiejo’s cookery classes are 14, 21 and 28 July. Contact kiejosarsfield at hotmail dot co dot uk for details
- I’m betting that there will be some last-minute Olympics-related events which we haven’t heard about yet.