A concert of both Korean and Western songs and choruses with piano and orchestra, performed by the London Korean Choral Society with soloist Vittoria Kim: Date: Saturday, 9th December 2017 Time: 7pm Venue: St James Church, Bodley Road, New Malden, KT3 5QD Tickets: £10 [Read More]
Month: November 2017
Festival film review: Bae Chang-ho’s The Dream
Bae Chang-ho’s The Dream is based on a story from the Samguk Yusa, a story that Yi Kwang-su worked up into a short novel. Although the tale is set in the late Silla dynasty, its message is timeless. The story starts with a weary and impoverished traveller (played by Ahn Sung-ki) trudging through the snow … [Read More]
Jewyo Rhii and Jihyun Jung: Dawn Breaks
News of the next exhibition in the Korea/UK Season 2017-2018: Jewyo Rhii and Jihyun Jung: Dawn Breaks Friday 8 December 2017 – Saturday 27 January 2018 Preview: Thursday 7 December 2017, 6.30–8.30pm, with a series of performances introducing the project The Showroom | 63 Penfold Street | London NW8 8PQ | www.theshowroom.org Wednesday – Saturday, … [Read More]
American Hwangap by Lloyd Suh at Typhoon 2017
A staged play reading presented by Yellow Earth Theatre: American Hwangap – by Lloyd Suh Sun 26th Nov 3:00pm Typhoon EAST Rich Mix | 35 Bethnal Green Rd | London E1 6LA Tickets from Rich Mix website Directed by Louise Mai Newberry Hwangap /huːæŋɡæp/ noun – a milestone signifying the completion of the Eastern Zodiac … [Read More]
Jewyo Rhii & Jihyun Jung in conversation with Je Yun Moon
In advance of the exhibition Dawn Breaks, Jewyo Rhii and Jihyun Jung will be in conversation with curator Je Yun Moon (Korean Cultural Centre UK) at the ArtReview Bar. This talk is organised in collaboration with Amanda Wilkinson Gallery which is presenting Jewyo Rhii’s solo exhibition The Day 3, Walls and Barbed from 18 November … [Read More]
Jewyo Rhii: The Day 3, Walls and Barbed – at Amanda Wilkinson Gallery
News of a solo show by Jewyo Rhii for Amanda Wilkinson Gallery: Jewyo Rhii: The Day 3, Walls and Barbed Opening: 18 November 2017, 6 – 8 pm 21 November 2017 – 21 January 2018 Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 6pm Amanda Wilkinson Gallery | 1st Floor, 18 Brewer Street | Soho | London W1F 0SH | amandawilkinsongallery.com … [Read More]
Festival film review: Bae Chang-ho’s Whale Hunting
Based on a story by long-standing collaborator Choe In-ho, Whale Hunting is one of Korea’s seminal road movies. Hunting the whale, in the dark days of the dictatorship, was symbolic for yearning for things beyond the day-to-day. In Bae Chang-ho’s 1984 movie it represented the search for the things that give life meaning; in a … [Read More]
Festival film review double bill: Two Doors / The Remnants
As part of the Documentary strand of the 2017 London Korean Film Festival Lee Hyuk-sang of the activist documentary makers PINKS presented a pair of films on the Yongsan tragedy. The context of the tragedy was the plan to redevelop the Yongsan area as the US army prepared to move to their new base in … [Read More]
Seminar: Queer Korean Trans & Diaspora Dissident Identity
News of a student-organised seminar at SOAS: Seminar: Queer Korean Trans & Diaspora Dissident Identity 1 December at 17:00–19:00 SOAS, S113 of the Senate House (Paul Webley Wing) building Hosted by Queer Asia and SOAS North Korea Society Registration required via Eventbrite Check the event’s Facebook page for updates How do bodies, borders, queer, and … [Read More]
OB seem to be getting their money’s worth
Who knows how much Gordon Ramsay is getting paid to be brand ambassador for Oriental Brewery’s Cass lager. But he’s certainly getting their brand into the news, at least in the English language press, both in the UK and Korea. His current promotional tour to Korea, coinciding with his filming of an episode of Please Take … [Read More]
Festival film review: Bae Chang-ho’s People of the Slum
Bae Chang-ho’s debut feature, People of the Slum (1982), is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Lee Dong-chul. The film tells the story of a complicated love triangle. Myeong-sook, played by Kim Bo-yeon, lives with her second husband, the idle and dissolute Tae-seop (played by Kim Hui-ra). Living in the same house in the run-down … [Read More]
BAKS / SOAS conference: North Korea and North-East Asian security
Notice of a conference on North East Asian security in the Paul Webley Wing of the Senate House, which will be followed by the BAKS AGM in Room 4426 of the SOAS main building. North Korea and North-East Asian security: Reconciling conflicting national interests Saturday, 2 December 2017, 2:00 – 5:00 PM SOAS, Paul Webley … [Read More]
Book review: Frontier Contact Between Chosŏn Korea and Tokugawa Japan
James B. Lewis: Frontier Contact Between Chosŏn Korea and Tokugawa Japan Routledge, 2003, 340pp What a relief to return to some non-fiction. And although at LKL we are wholly unqualified to review academic works, we don’t mind saying why we it is that we like a particular book. Frontier Contact paints a fascinating picture of … [Read More]
On reading Han Kang’s White Book by the pool
In general, I tend not to read much literary fiction. If I’m reading stuff which is unrelated to Korea, it’s likely to be either non-fiction or easy reading – a detective story or something reasonably lightweight. When it comes to Korea-related reading, until relatively recently the balance has again been in favour of non-fiction. But … [Read More]
Review: Eun Me Ahn’s Let Me Change Your Name
Often when I go along to an event which I suspect will be good, I try to manage my expectations downwards. If I succeed in persuading myself that the thing may be quite mediocre then at worst I won’t be disappointed and at best I will be delighted when the event surpasses expectation. With Eun … [Read More]
Babbling Comedy comes to Soho Theatre for the festive season
Team Ongals comes to the West End to keep us entertained throughout the festive season. Ongals: Babbling Comedy Mon 4 Dec 2017 – Sat 6 Jan 2018, 6.30pm. Matinees Saturdays 9, 16, 23, 30 Dec, and 6 Jan & Thu 21, Fri 22, Wed 27, Thu 28 and Fri 29 Dec, 2pm Soho Theatre | … [Read More]