Summer’s over, Chuseok approaches. Everyone’s now bored with Gangnam Style. So what does September hold?
Film
- This month’s director of the month at the KCCUK is Jeon Kyu-hwan. Otherwhere has her usual very useful focus on the director. The films on successive Thursdays are Mozart Town (2008), Animal Town (2009), Dance Town (2010) and From Seoul to Varanasi (2011). As usual, the last one is at the Apollo Piccadilly with director Q&A.
- For those with no homes to go to, September 15-16 is an all-night screening of Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy at the Prince Charles Cinema.
Lectures and educational
- Charlotte Horlyck talks about the kokdu funeral dolls at the KCC, 3 September. I’m sure she’ll have lots more to say than Kim Ock Rang (the Kokdu Museum director) did at the exhibition’s opening talk.
- The Anglo Korean Society has a members-only guided tour of Korean Eye 2012 at the Saatchi Gallery, 5 September
- There’s a study day entitled Korean Art: Narratives and Displays in Museum Contexts at the British Museum on 29 September. This is a must-see event unless (like me) you’re out of town on that day.
- Kiejo Sarsfield’s cookery classes are on 1, 8, 15 and 22 September
Music
- CN Blue appear at the indigO2 on 22 September
- A concert of classical music, Beautiful Concert, Beautiful World, will be held at the Senate House on 5 September and in Kingston on 6 September, marking the paralympics
- If you’re inclined to be a bit sniffy about Classic FM, don’t be. For those not into K-pop, the musical event of the month will be HJ Lim playing Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto at the Albert Hall on 24 Sepember, sponsored by Classic FM.
Outdoors
- The KCCUK rounds off the All Eyes on Korea season with a programme of events in front of Tate Modern as part of the Thames Festival, 8-9 September. Babbling Comedy, a wedding ceremony, taekwondo, traditional music, K-pop covers, and this year, a special focus on art: Meekyoung Shin reconstructs the Cheomseongdae observatory out of soapy bricks with visitor participation, and Hong Sang-sik creates artwork out of dried noodles. Lee Lee-nam’s video art will be periodically displaying on the big screen.
- The protest against the Gangjeong naval base in Jeju-do will come to Trafalgar Square on 8 September.
Visual Arts
- Surround yourself with clothes horses in the Tate Modern Tanks, courtesy of Haegue Yang, 11-16 September
- Immerse yourself in Kim Sung-hwan’s amazing installation – a mix of modern Korean history, autobiography, fable, and a little bit of weirdness – with atmospheric musical soundtracks from dogr, in the Tate Modern tanks. Did YOU know that Park Chung-hee engineered power cuts so that he could slip off to see his mistress – a famous actress – under cover of darkness in the recently built Hyundai apartment complex? Pop in while you’re visiting the Thames Festival. On all month. I’ve already spent 6 hours there, and will be back for more.
- If you haven’t been to Kim Beom’s humorous show at the Hayward yet, go this weekend. It closes 2 September.
- Kim Ha-young’s All You Can Eat is at Hoxton Art Gallery all month.
- The big Korean Eye show at the Saatchi closes on 23 September. Visit it for Cho Duck-hyun’s feature on fashion designer Nora Noh.
- Choi Jeong-hwa’s green baskets will be uninstalled from underneath the Hayward Gallery shortly after the Thames Festival
- A reminder if you’re in the Oxford Street area to see how Meekyoung Shin’s soap statue of the Duke of Cumberland is eroding.
- Je Baak, who is featured in Korean Eye, has a solo show at HADA Vyner Street till 28 September
- Mokspace’s design exhibition Symposium closes on 3 September. No doubt they’ll have a quick turnaround and have their next show opening later that week.
- The exhibition of Korean funerary figurines at the KCC wraps up on 8 September
- Further afield, at Manchester’s Holden Gallery, Kimsooja, Yeondoo Jung and Kyungwoo Chun are presenting new work as part of the Abandon Normal Devices festival, till 20 September
- And at the Liverpool Biennale there’s Incheon – Terra Galaxia, from 15 September
Social
- The Anglo Korean Society celebrates Chuseok on 28 September
- The Korean Language meetup group will get together on 7 September and 20 September and no doubt other occasions too.
- The Kpop team have their late night parties on 8 September and29 September