Congratulations to Ben Ansah and Sue Youn, the couple behind street food and Korean sauce company Yogiyo! who secured £50,000 of funding from one of the investors in TV show Dragons’ Den in the episode screened on Sunday 16 August. You can watch their TV pitch on the BBC website here (43’10” into episode 6 … [Read More]
Month: August 2015 (page 2)
A year of Korea-France cultural events starts in September
The official website opens at the end of this month; the year of Korean events in France starts on 18 September, lasting until August 2016; and the year of France in Korea runs from March till December 2016. The celebrations mark 130 years since diplomatic relations were established in 1886. Looks like the Eurostar might … [Read More]
London Korean restaurants – the scores on the doors
When chosing a Korean (or any other) restaurant you might want to consider their food hygiene rating. The score (0-5) can be found by searching www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk. Full reports are not made public but can, if you’re that curious, be obtained through a freedom of information request to the relevant council. The idea of the ratings … [Read More]
Understatement of the year: Joint concert “not quite a success”
There’s a delightful and very detailed account of the grand Independence Day North-South musical collaboration in the Korea Joongang Daily. The headline reads “DMZ concert not quite a success, but not a failure”. Less politely put, the affair sounds like it was a bit of a fiasco: Only “13 musicians … turned up: one violin, … [Read More]
Conference news: Writing North Korean social history, at SOAS, 11 Sept
Registration is now open for a one-day conference at SOAS on Friday 11 Sept, hosted in collaboration with the British Association for Korean Studies. I’m always amazed that these conferences are available to the public for so little outlay. Come along, and then let your hair down with punk band No Brain later that evening. … [Read More]
Found in London’s Japan Centre: kimchi lemonade
Kimchi flavoured lemonade is down in price – can’t imagine why. But according to Rocket News, who have also sampled curry, octopus and chili pepper Ramune sodas: “It’s damn good!” [Read More]
Event report: the 2015 Trafalgar Square Korean Festival
Trafalgar Square is one of London’s premier venues for free open-air events, and Korea is ideally situated to take advantage of the space to showcase its culture, given that the Cultural Centre is a stone’s throw away. The square had already hosted two Korean festivals in the summer of 2007 and 2008, presenting a mixture of … [Read More]
Event news: Chuseok family day at the V+A, 13 Sept
The V+A is building up a nice track record of engaging, family-oriented events with a Korean angle. Their next one has a Chuseok theme: Chuseok Festival Family Event Sun 13 September 2015 11:00–17:00 The John Madejski Garden, Victoria and Albert Museum Admission free – just drop in. FAMILY EVENT: Join us to celebrate Chuseok, the … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2015 — Korean National Gugak Centre, 30 Sept
The final concert in K-music 2015. And the programme ends with a lively sinawi. Good choice. K-Music: Korean National Gugak Centre Wednesday 30 September | 7:30PM LONDON Lilian Baylis Studio | Sadler’s Wells | Rosebery Avenue | London EC1R 4TN £15 + Booking fee The Korean National Gugak Centre is one of the great arts … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2015 — Pansori Night, 23 Sept
This could be the highlight of the 2015 K-music series, and it’s free – to help celebrate Chuseok: K-Music: The Pansori Night Wednesday 23 September | 7:30PM LONDON Cadogan Hall | 5 Sloane Terrace | London SW1X 9DQ FREE but ticketed The Pansori Night will bring together six talented performers for an evening of music, … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2015 — Noreum Machi, 20 Sept
A fun evening of percussion with plenty of visual excitement too: K-Music: Noreum Machi Sunday 20 September | 8:00PM LONDON Kings Place (Hall Two) | 90 York Way | London N1 9AG £10 + Booking fee There’s a theatrical strand to a lot of Korean music and, for more than 20 years, Noreum Machi have … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2015 — Jambinai, 16 Sept
We’ve been wanting to see Jambinai live for years, but never made it down to Womad or any other of their gigs. So we’ll definitely be at the Rich Mix for this. K-Music: Jambinai Wednesday 16 September | 8:00PM LONDON Rich Mix | 35-47 Bethnal Green Road | London E1 6LA £10 + Booking fee … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2015 — No Brain, 11 Sept
This one will definitely be worth checking out: K-Music: No Brain + support Friday 11 September | 7:00PM LONDON Scala | 275 Pentonville Road | Kings Cross | London N1 9NL £10 + Booking fee In England, we know a bit about Korean art music and hold some preconceptions about K-Pop – but we don’t … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2015 — The Barberettes, 4+5 Sept
Two appearances from The Barberettes will be a really fun highlight of K-music 2015. K-Music: The Barberettes Friday 4 September | 8:00PM Saturday 5 September | 8:00PM LONDON Forge | 3-7 Delancey St | London NW1 7NL £15 + Booking fee The Barberettes are a spectacular vocal harmony trio, a timeslip girl group who turn … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2015 — SU:M + special guest, 1 Sept
2015’s K-music festival opens on the South Bank on 1 September with SU:M. K-Music: SU:M + special guest Arthur Jeffes from Penguin Cafe Tuesday 1 September | 7:45PM LONDON Southbank Centre | Purcell Room | Belvedere Road | London SE1 8XX £15 + Booking fee | Book here SU:M’s name (pronounced “soom”) translates as “breath” … [Read More]
Event news: Topp Dogg appears at the Troxy, 4 Sept
Among all the other music events this month we also have hip-hop boy band 탑독 battling for our attention. Their appearance clashes with the Barberettes, but you can also catch the latter the following night – so if your tastes are wide-ranging you can get to both. Topp Dogg Friday 4th September 2015 Troxy | … [Read More]