This is probably the most congested month since LKL’s records began in 2006. Three film festivals take out much of the end of the month; the K-music festival has some very enticing gigs; the unmissable Ahn Eun-me comes to London for two days; and far too much else besides. And then there’s this very tempting conference in Sheffield on Chinese gardens too…
Film
- Four Korean movies in the BFI London Film Festival, of which my priority will be Won Shin-yeon’s adaptation of Kim Young-ha’s novel Memoir of a Murderer. Korean interest 6 – 15 Oct.
- Eighteen Korean movies in the London East Asia Film Festival, including a focus on films from the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. 19 – 29 Oct.
- Around sixty films in the London Korean Film Festival, which starts on 26 October.
- Breathing Underwater, on the subject of Jeju’s haenyeo, screens at SOAS on 14 Oct
Live music and performance
- The remaining K-music concerts are as follows
- Hyelim Kim and Alice Zawadzki play the Vortex on 2 Oct
- Woojae Park, Soumik Datta and Shogo Yoshii play the Rich Mix on 9 Oct
- Korean Sounds presents a mix of pansori and opera arias at King’s Place on 11 Oct
- “Psychedelic pansori-rock from Korea crashlands in Shoreditch” – AUX play Rich Mix on 15 Oct
- Kingston Rudieska play the Borderline on 23 Oct
- Park Jiha plays King’s Place on 25 Oct
- Ahn Eun-me’s production Let Me Change Your Name is at The Place, 24 – 25 Oct
- Factory Girls by Yangson Project comes to London on 13 Oct after appearances in Peterborough (4 Oct) Portsmouth (6 Oct) Poole (7 Oct) and Warwick (10-11 Oct).
- Zadie Xa and Jihye Kim perform in Guest Ghost Host Machine! on 7 Oct;
- Joo Yeon Sir has a lunchtime recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 20 Oct. She also has recitals in Bideford (4 Oct), Birmingham (21 Oct), the Caledonian Club (24 Oct) and Oswestry (28 Oct)
Exhibitions
- Jeong Geumhyung is in the Tate Modern Tanks 2 – 8 Oct, with live performances on 3 and 5 Oct. Her exhibition Private Collection – Unperformed Objects is at Delfina Foundation all month;
- Kim Yong-ik’s solo shows run in parallel at the KCCUK and Spike Island, Bristol, all month;
- Pontone Gallery’s October show features Bae Joonsung, Chun Kwang-young, Lee Jaehyo, Lee Jinyong and Lee Jungwoong, 6 – 29 Oct;
- Frieze London hosts a special commission from Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho, 5 – 8 Oct;
- The British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke on Trent has plenty of Korean interest, throughout October;
- The V+A’s exhibition of Contemporary Korean Ceramics continues. If you’re lucky, you might catch one of Kim Juree’s pieces in mid-melt.;
- Han Collection has two exhibitions this month: Oh Man-chul’s How brilliant is the love of clay and fire (5-21 Oct) and Anna Paik’s Invocation (24-31 Oct)
Talks, seminars, everything else
- Han Collection’s series of art history talks by Prof Pak Youngsook run 2 – 18 Oct;
- Kim Yong-ik talks to Yang Haegue at the KCC on 3 Oct;
- SOAS Centre on Conflicts Rights and Justice hosts Professor Daryl Press talking on North Korean nukes, 5 Oct. As far as I can see there’s nothing on the SOAS website yet, but according to a Facebook post it’s 5pm in room 4429;
- The SOAS Centre of Korean Studies events this month include Dr. Diana Yuksel on The Confucian (Im)perfection of Renunciation (6 Oct) and a Sejong Institute cultural event on 27 Oct
- The KCC’s literature night on 25 Oct discusses Lee Seung-u’s Private Lives of Plants.
- New Malden Farmers Market will be celebrating Chuseok on 7 Oct, 9 – 2pm.