This article was written for London Jazz News, where it appeared in a slightly different version on 20 May. Think Korean music in 2013 is all about tubby rappers and manufactured girl bands? Think again. Coming up in June is K-Music – a festival of Korean traditional, fusion and rock music which may appeal to … [Read More]
Month: May 2013
Jieun Jung plays work for gayageum and orchestra
Jieun Jung will be performing Roh Tae-hwan’s “Far East Calm” Suite for Gayageum and Orchestra with Thames Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Byung-yun Yu. Date: Saturday, 15th June 2013, 7.30pm Venue: Landmark Arts Centre, Ferry Road, Teddington, TW11 9NN Ticket: £12, Concession £8 Box Office: 0208 977 7558 Links: http://landmarkartscentre.org Buy tickets online [Read More]
Moon Jar – Contemporary Translations in Britain
News of the upcoming exhibition at the KCC, whose centrepiece is the Moon Jar that Bernard Leach bought on a visit to Korea in 1935, on loan from the British Museum for the occasion. On a related note, if you happen to be in Seoul in the next couple of months, this exhibition exploring the … [Read More]
Who is Alice? – MMCA’s Biennale Collateral event
The Venice Biennale always has some Korean artists participating in collateral events, but this is the first time I can think of that there has been a major government-sponsored initiative. This special exhibition features works from the permanent collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Exhibition announcement courtesy of the MMCA. Who … [Read More]
Art Basel launches in Hong Kong
The Guardian has been covering Art Basel’s first fair in Hong Kong (23-26 May) in both its print edition (the Sunday Observer) and online. There are around 170 galleries represented, including eleven Korean galleries, and the picture which goes with the Guardian‘s main article is Arario’s stall featuring work by Gwon Osang. London’s Atlas Gallery … [Read More]
The Cool Beat of Korea – a concert by the SOAS Korean Drumming Society
Samulnori, daegeum sanjo and more at an early summer recital at SOAS: The Cool Beat of Korea Date: Monday 3 June 2013, 7:30-8:30 pm. Venue: Lucas Lecture Theatre [formerly G2], SOAS Main Building. Tickets: Free admission. Guests are admitted from 7 pm to be seated for 7.30pm This is an attractive and dynamic drumming concert … [Read More]
Young Gun in the Time (영건 탐정사무소, 2012) review: love, loss, laughter, and lo-fi time travel
Young Gun in the Time uses classic Korean cinema genre merging to be at once science fiction, mystery thriller, action, romance and comedy. Though it is low budget through-and-through, that is in fact one of the many charms of this warm, engaging and gently funny film. [Read More]
Chung Heeseung and Je Baak at HADA Contemporary
New of HADA Contemporary’s exhibition for June and July: Chung Heeseung, Je Baak: Group exhibition 6 JUNE – 28 JULY 2013 HADA Contemporary | 21 Vyner Street | London | E2 9DG Wednesday – Friday: 11am – 6pm | Saturday – Sunday: 11am – 4pm www.hadacontemporary.com HADA Contemporary is please to showcase photographs and video … [Read More]
Artist Terry Ryu Kim wins Catlin Art Prize 2013
A London-based Korean artist – a 2012 Slade MA graduate – has won a prize sponsored by insurance group Catlin: Artist Terry Ryu Kim named winner of the Catlin Art Prize 2013 The winner of the Catlin Art Prize 2013 has been announced as Terry Ryu Kim. Terry was awarded the £5,000 prize for her … [Read More]
Kiejo’s Cambridge feast
Kiejo Sarsfield tells how a housewife from Masan ended up supervising dinner for 60 in a Cambridge college. In March I had e-mail from Dr Michael Shin, Lecturer in Korea Studies and fellow at Robinson College Cambridge, about a Korean food event he was planning to organise in a couple of months. He was asking me whether I would be interested … [Read More]
New Songdo City and South Korea’s Green Economy: An Uncertain Future
The previous presidency continued, in more ambitious scale, the green contruction initiatives that Lee Myung-bak promoted while mayor of Seoul. The Four Rivers project received much criticism before, during and after its construction. What of the even bigger project, Songdo? An afternoon seminar at SOAS considers the new city that will be the home of … [Read More]
Engage Korea conference – a welcome perspective on North Korea
When is a good time to hold a conference on engaging with North Korea? When the organisers set the date for the 4 May conference they couldn’t possibly have known the heightened level of tension that the peninsula was going to go through in the early months of 2013. Mainstream press coverage has veered from … [Read More]
Miscellaneous Writings by Autumn Lamplight – John Frankl on Yi Sang at SOAS
On his way through London after the Alternative Modernisms conference at Cardiff, John Frankl tackles Yi Sang at SOAS: This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land: Negotiating between Physical Geography and Political State in Yi Sang’s “Miscellaneous Writings by Autumn Lamplight” John Frankl (Associate Professor of Korean and Comparative Literature, Yonsei University) … [Read More]
March For The Beloved – in memory of Gwangju
On the anniversary of the 18 May 1980 uprising in Gwangju, here is song which became its unofficial anthem. It was written in 1982 by Kim Jong-ryul for his friends, a couple who were murdered in the uprising. The title is 임을 위한 행진곡 or “March for the beloved”, sometimes translated as “March for the … [Read More]
The Duke of Cumberland is legless
OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. He is now missing one foot, exposing the metal armature which has been keeping the soapy statue in one piece. And the left foreleg of his horse looks like it is not long for this world. On the way to see Krys Lee in the global literary salon … [Read More]
K-music focus forum at the KCC
To warm you up for the festival of Korean music coming up during June, a panel of speakers will talk about Korean music at the KCC on 21 March at 7pm. It’s particularly nice to see Songlines on the panel. John Lusk from that magazine did a great article on Kim Duk-soo and other Korean … [Read More]