There’s almost too much to look forward to in June, of which the highlight is probably Wednesday 11th: Bae Suah in conversation at SOAS in the early evening, followed by Kim Hyelim with Byron Wallen and others at Wilton’s Music Hall later on. A similar performance last year was one of the LKL highlights of 2013. Also highly recommended is the culmination of Yong Min Cho’s residency at Asia House on 13 June.
It’s also the start of the City of London Festival, which has a Korean strand in it this year. And there’s also a Korea strand in the Taste of London show at the end of the month.
Music, dance and performance
- Don’t miss Hyelim Kim with Byron Wallen and others at Wilton’s Music Hall on 11 June.
- Catherine Lee (cello) with Minjung Baek (piano) perform Brahms and Rachmaninov in Blackheath on 9 June
- Yong Min Cho’s residency at Asia House reaches its climax with Bridging Colours – White on 13 June
- The Thames Philharmonia (cond Yu Byung-yun) with pianist Cathy Park play Mozart piano concerto #20 plus Elgar’s Symphony #2 on 14 June
- The City of London Festival’s Korean focus has the following events this month, with more to follow in July:
- Sunwook Kim at the Stationer’s Hall on 25 June
- Top B-boys Gamblerz Crew perform on the Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s steps, 28 and 30 June
- Kyung-ok Lee’s Physical Theatre performs at the Mermaid on 28 June
Film
- The season of films featuring cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon comes to an end at the KCC with Lee Joon-ik’s Blades of Blood (12 June) and Park Chan-wook’s Thirst (26 June)
- Pluto (dir Shin Su-won, 2012) gets a theatrical release at the ICA and elsewhere from 6 June.
Exhibitions
- The exhibition of North Korean photographs by Nick Danziger continues at the British Council. LKL’s review is here.
- Ahn Jinkyun’s solo show at HADA Contemporary opens on 5 June
- The KCC’s printing exhibition continues until 14 June; a new exhibition exploring the philosophy of science starts on 25 June.
- If you’re in Paris in the second half of the month, pop down to the 16th arrondissement for Choi & Lager’s summer show, 82-33-44, from 13 June.
Conferences, talks
- Bae Suah talks to Kate Griffin and Deborah Smith at SOAS on 11 June.
- The 2014 Korean Screen Culture Conference is at Sheffield Hallam University, 13-14 June
- The KCC’s Korean literature night on 25 June focuses on Yi Mun-yol’s Our Twisted Hero
- Sir Tom Harris talks on Britain’s relations with Korea on 27 June at Gresham College as part of the City of London Festival
Selected social and other events
- The World Cup kicks off, and South Korea’s group stage matches will be screened in a bar in Haymarket
- The British Korean Society has a guided walk of Bloomsbury followed by dinner on 10 June. More details on the BKS website, www.anglokoreansociety.org.uk
- Korea Foods has curated a Taste of Korea in the Taste of London festival in Regent’s Park, 18 – 22 June
And those of you who remember Sena Lee, please be thinking of her family on Sunday 8 June, when her final memorial ceremony takes place down in Sancheong county.