Saving My Hubby (2002) follows Geum-sun as she navigates parenthood, marriage, and a frantic night rescuing her husband. Blending madcap comedy with New Korean Cinema trends, the film highlights modern female strength, role reversals, and the rise of light-hearted, relatable stories reflecting young adults’ evolving attitudes toward family and relationships. [Read More]
Year: 2016 (page 8)
British artist at sea with Hanjin Shipping
Winning a residency programme is often a milestone in a young artist’s career. When Royal College of Art MA sculpture student Rebecca Moss won a residency programme from Vancouver’s Access Gallery, that sounded like a huge opportunity. The residency, entitled 23 Days at Sea, involves sailing in a container ship from Vancouver to Shanghai – … [Read More]
Kang Ik-joong’s Floating Dreams for Korean reunification
Kang Ik-joong’s installation entitled Floating Dreams is a symbol of hope for the unification of Korea. Moored on the Thames outside Tate Modern, the installation is an assembly of 500 drawings in the shape of a cube – four square sides and a flat upper surface each featuring a grid of 10 x 10 pictures … [Read More]
Beth McKillop reports from the 2016 Culture Communication Forum in Seoul
Senior Research Fellow and former Deputy Director at the Victoria and Albert Museum Beth McKillop was the UK’s representative at Korea’s annual Culture Communication Forum hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute. Since 1990 when I first visited Korea to collect ceramics, outfits and furniture for a planned Victoria and Albert Museum Korea gallery, I’ve … [Read More]
The Lovers and the Despot comes online and to theatres 23 Sept
It’s been very tantalising knowing that this film has been in the making. LKL met with the directors of this project back in early 2012 and made a few introductions which may or may not have been of assistance. It sounded like an interesting angle on a familiar topic – the sojourn of Shin Sang-ok … [Read More]
Exhibition news: Korean artists at Start Art Fair
START Art Fair runs for four days from 15 September at the Saatchi Gallery. Korean artists will be strongly represented, firstly by London-based Skipwiths, by five Korean galleries and finally one Parisian gallery. START provides international galleries with a global platform on which to show their artists in London, one of the most important cities … [Read More]
Event news: South Korea at London Design Biennale 2016
The first London Design Biennale opened yesterday at Somerset House with over 30 countries and territories participating. Nations from six continents present newly commissioned works that explore the theme Utopia by Design. South Korea is present with a project which explores the famous 1447 AD painting by An Gyeong, Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom … [Read More]
Exhibition news: Baek Kyung-sook’s donated Haenyeo photographs, at Jeju Stone Park
What has an exhibition in Jeju Stone Park got to do with the normal remit of London Korean Links? Above everything else, friendship. On my first trip to Korea back in 2001 I met the future director of Jeju Stone Park, Baek Un-cheol, who at the time was in charge of his private museum of … [Read More]
Exhibition news: Valerie Beston Artists’ Trust: First Decade, at Marlborough Fine Arts
Korean artist Seung Ae Lee, a 2016 MA graduate from the Royal College of Art, was winner of the Valerie Beston Artists’ Trust award for this year. The VBAT prize is made up of four main elements, which are a SPACE studio for one year, a cash prize of £2,500 towards materials, an exhibition at the end … [Read More]
The World of Us (우리들, 2016) review: cruelty and quiet empathy in childhood
A gently moving story of the tumultuous relationship of two young girls, Yoon Ga-eun’s debut feature – ‘The World of Us’ – is exemplary in every respect. Highlighting both Yoon Ga-eun’s talent as a writer and director, and introducing the superlative natural acting skill of young newcomer Choi Soo-in. [Read More]
Film review: Tunnel – will it be a hit outside Korea?
Tunnel (dir: Kim Sung-hoon, whose Hard Day put him on the map) has been topping the Korean box office since it was released less than four weeks ago, and amazingly now has a one-week release in the UK, until 8 September. What has contributed to its popularity in Korea? And could it attain the same … [Read More]
Event news: Park Chan-wook retrospective @LEAFF 2016
The London East Asia Film Festival, in its first full outing (20-30 October), hosts a Park Chan-wook retrospective, including a screening of his 2016 movie Handmaiden. The director will be present for that screening, and to introduce a remastering of his Lady Vengeance. It’s nice that a few of his shorts will be screened as … [Read More]
Event news: UK-Korea business seminar
Notice of a seminar arranged jointly by the British Korean Society and the Lord Mayor’s office: UK-Korea Business Seminar Mansion House, 23 September 2016 As follow-up to the Lord Mayor of London’s visit to the Republic of Korea in July, the British Korean Society, jointly with the Lord Mayor’s Office, have arranged a business seminar … [Read More]
Exhibition news: Ceramics by Oh Man-chul, at Han Collection
News of a ceramics exhibition opening later this month at Han Collection Oh Man-chul Han Collection London 33 Museum Street | Bloomsbury | London WC1A 1LH | www.hancollection.co.uk 22nd Sep – 5th Oct 2016 This autumn, Han Collection will present solo exhibition of important contemporary Korean pottery painter Oh Man-Chul. The exhibition will feature his … [Read More]
Korean films at the 2016 BFI London Film Festival
If I were to draw up a list of feature films that I simply *had* to see this year, the following three would be on it. Thanks to the BFI selectors for securing them for the festival. There’s also a short film showing. Text below is from the BFI website. Tickets go on sale to … [Read More]
Film news: Tunnel gets a lightning-quick UK release
So unusual that a movie that was topping the Korean box office less than a month ago (and still is) gets a theatrical release in the UK. Tunnel (터널) Director: Kim Seong-Hun, 2016, 127 minutes Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Doona Bae, Oh Dal-Su Based on the novel “Tunnel” by So Jae-Won (2013) Jung-soo, the manager of … [Read More]