August is the time to turn the attention to Edinburgh for the Fringe and to Kingston for the festival, but there’s still plenty of stuff going on in Central London
Exhibitions
- Sung Hwan Kim’s massive installation comprising short films, mirrors continues in the new Tate Modern tanks all month
- Francesca Cho’s solo show is at Riverside Studios, 12 – 31 August
- Kim Beom’s humorous exhibition School of Inversion is at the Hayward Gallery. Learn how to create an abstract expressionist painting, with detailed instructions.
- In the open air, Meekyoung Shin’s soapy Duke of Cumberland will have started to erode in Cavendish Square, and all Choi Jeong-hwa’s balloons have now burst, but his green baskets still adorn the pillars under the Queen Elizabeth Hall
- The Saatchi Gallery hosts the massive Korean Eye show all month. Some big name artists enjoying lots of space.
- Jukhee Kwon’s solo show at La Scatola gallery continues until 10 August.
- The exhibition of Korean Funerary figures continues all month at the KCC
- The exhibition of Korean sports artists continues at Mokspace
- HADA Contemporary presents Lee Kangwook at Asia House until 11 August and Je Baak at Vyner Street from 2 August
Festivals
- The Summer Breeze festival is in Kingston’s Cranbury Gardens on 4 August
- The big annual Korean festival is in Kingston’s Fairfield Recreation Ground on 11 Aug
Olympic tie-ins
- Team Korea House hosts performances by Dulsori, dancing robots, hand acupuncture and more
- The KTO will be delighted if you spot one of the London double-decker buses painted in their livery. They have also rented space underneath the Samsung ad at Piccadilly Circus
- KOTRA have rented space in Harrods, at the South Ken end of the Brompton Road frontage, displaying the latest Korean technology
Film
- Korea’s earliest surviving silent film, Crossroads of Youth, screens at the Barbican with live music and narrator, 2 August
- This month’s director at the KCC is Lee Yoon-ki, master of delicate understatement. As ever, Otherwhere has done the legwork. First screening is on 9 August. This Charming Girl | Love Talk | My Dear Enemy | Come Rain Come Shine (+ Director Q&A). First three screenings Thursdays at 7pm at the KCC; final one on 30 August at the Apollo Piccadilly at 6:30pm
Music
- Joo Yeon Sir performs in Winchester Cathedral, 28 August
- K-pop classes continue in Chelsea Town Hall. Visit the KTO website for details
- The K-pop team’s Wondergirls special is on 18 August, and there’s another all-nighter on 26 August
Edinburgh
- After last year’s splash in the main festival, and the big budget events in London this year, Korean performances this month are focused on the Fringe. Probably the headline Korean act is football-related physical theatre Hi-kick, but there’s plenty more.
Food
- Kiejo’s cookery classes are on 18th and 25th August. The usual contact details apply
- Welcome London’s latest Korean restaurant, the new Bibigo in Great Marlborough Street, which opened this week.
There are a few Korean film screenings on Film 4 as part of the Film4 Fright Fest – Aug 16: 박쥐 (Bakjwi/Thirst, South Korea, 2009); Aug 18: 헨젤과 그레텔 (Henjelgwa Geulete/Hansel & Gretel, South Korea, 2007) and Aug 23: 마더 (Madeo/Mother, South Korea, 2009).
And now 쩨쩨한 로맨스 (Jjejjehan Lomaenseu/Petty Romance, South Korea, 2011) at the Genesis Cinema, London, UK on August 30, 2012.