Film maker and academic Kim Soyoung was in town last week for a screening of her documentary Heart of Snow, Heart of Blood (2014) in an evening hosted by Chris Berry. She apologised in advance that we were about to see the director’s cut – slightly longer than what will be the theatrical version, and … [Read More]
Month: September 2015
Concert notes: Jambinai at Rich Mix
The somewhat spartan surroundings of the main performance space in Shoreditch’s Rich Mix was an ideal place in which to enjoy one of the most interesting fusion bands to have come out of Korea. For LKL, it was the highlight of the K-Music festival so far, and it more than lived up to my extremely high … [Read More]
Exhibition news: elsewhere, at the Royal College of Art
A brief show at the RCA features work by Soonhak Kwon and Suhee Kim, among others. Note that despite the poster and what it says on the RCA website, one of the exhibitors tells me the exhibition closes on 4 October, not 11 October. elsewhere 30 September 2015 to 4 October 2015 | 10am – … [Read More]
Embeddedness: synopses of the films shown
The following is the text from the programme for the series of three screenings of Korean artists’ films which took place at Tate Modern’s Starr Auditorium, 18-19 September 2015. Embeddednes: Artist Films and Videos from Korea, 1960s to Now 18 — 19 September 2015 Tate Modern, Starr Auditorium £5 / £4 per screening The first … [Read More]
October’s K-drama pilot screenings
October’s pilot episode screenings, which are showing on 1 October at 7pm at the KCC, are set out below. Registration is required via [email protected]. As always, thanks to daehandrama.com for working with the KCC on these. Three Days (쓰리데이즈) First Broadcast: SBS (2014), 16 episodes Produced by: Goldenthumb Pictures Cast: Park Yoo-chun, Son Hyun-joo, Park … [Read More]
Yeonmi Park’s DPRK refugee memoir out next week
Yeonmi Park’s defector memoir In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom comes out in a couple of days. It is trailed in this weekend’s Telegraph and her testimony has also been examined in The Diplomat. Italian and German editions will be coming out later this year. According to Aidan Foster Carter, … [Read More]
Event news: Korean design at 100% Design London 2015
LKL probably won’t make it to 100% Design this year – too much else in the diary – but for the record here are the exhibitors with Korean connections: 100% Design London 2015 23 – 26 Sept 2015 Olympia London www.100percentdesign.co.uk Studio EJ www.studio-ej.com | Stand number EB761 Studio EJ is a design studio based … [Read More]
Book review: Giacomo Lee — Funereal
Giacomo Lee: Funereal Signal 8 Press, 2015, 230pp Giacomo Lee’s debut Funereal is fast-moving novel set very much in contemporary Seoul, and referencing so many contemporary issues in South Korea’s high-pressure society. Soobin, a marketing graduate whose genuine smile endears her to her customers in the doughnut takeaway store which is the only place she … [Read More]
In Korea, historical grievances last down the generations
Today’s Korea Times article, Man fined for obstructing ancestral rite, is nicely timed to ensure good behaviour over the Chuseok period. But the ancestral rite Mr Kim disrupted was not any old rite. This is a family grievance that goes back to 1453 and the reign of King Sejo: The court said Kim got into … [Read More]
Hangul Celluloid joins the KOFICE ‘Korea Joa Project’
Hangul Celluloid has been selected by KOFICE to join the 2015 Korea Joa Project, taking part in a two-week cultural immersion in Korea. Coverage will include BIFF, film and drama sites, K-Pop events, and Korean culture, shared through written reports, videos, and interviews. Follow the travelogue here. [Read More]
Welcome to the London East Asia Film Festival
A new Film Fest is coming to town. Slotting neatly in between the BFI London Film Festival and the KCCUK’s London Korean Film Festival, the initial edition of the London East Asian Film Festival runs 23-25 October. It is organised by Ms Jeon Hye-jung, who this year moved on from the KCCUK where among other … [Read More]
Event news: Sarah Chang recital (and dinner) in aid of British Red Cross
Sarah Chang will be performing an interesting programme in aid of the British Red Cross. There’s a super-deluxe upgrade option available if you want to have dinner in a nearby ambassadorial residence. We’re not told which one. An evening of classical music with Sarah Chang in aid of the British Red Cross 12 October 2015, … [Read More]
Free short story by Heinz Insu Fenkl
Five Arrows, a short story by writer and translator Heinz Insu Fenkl is available in the August issue of New Yorker magazine. If you’re lazy there’s an audio version on Soundcloud available here. And at the bottom of the New Yorker webpage you’ll find a link to his translation of the Yi Mun-yol story which … [Read More]
Bae Doo-na interview: “I think I’m good at acting silently”
Bae Doo-na discusses A Girl at My Door as a critique of social prejudice, isolation, and marginalisation. She reflects on supporting challenging Korean films, choosing directors over scale, working across Korean and international cinema, her preference for expressive, non-verbal acting, and formative projects from Barking Dogs Never Bite to Sense8. [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2015 – the press release
Here’s the initial press release of the tenth London Korean Film Festival organised by the KCCUK. Looking forward to it already. Visit the official website, koreanfilm.co.uk for the latest details. The 10th London Korean Film Festival Announces 2015 Programme 21 September 2015. The London Korean Film Festival (LKFF), which runs from 2-14 November and this … [Read More]
Yi Mun-yol on plagiarism and the publishing industry
A good interview with Yi Mun-yol in the Korea JoongAng Daily. A couple of quotes. On recovering from an operation to remove a kidney cancer: It would be so unfortunate to not be able to drink for the rest of my life. I remember how he enjoyed a drink at the London Book Fair… A … [Read More]