Harmonica legend Jeduk Jeon is one of the great figures of Korean music today. Blind since birth, he’s been compared to Toots Thielemans for his formidably virtuosic style. Guitarist Juwon Park’s band has been influenced by flamenco and gypsy jazz, but their range goes even wider. Expect a soulful celebration from this special collaboration: Jeduk … [Read More]
Year: 2017 (page 11)
Event news: K-music 2017 — Heemoon Lee & Prelude, 24 Sept
Last year’s K-music gig in the Albert Hall’s Elgar Room was a great success. This year’s blend of jazz and Korean traditional folk music looks to be equally as promising. Heemoon Lee & Prelude Sunday 24 September 2017, 8pm LONDON Royal Albert Hall Elgar Room | Kensington Gore | London SW7 2AP £15 + booking … [Read More]
Event news: K-music 2017 — Black String & Kathryn Tickell, 15 Sept
The 2017 K-Music festival opens with an interesting collaboration between fusion band Black String and Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell: Black String & Kathryn Tickell Friday 15 Sept 2017, 7:30pm Union Chapel | Compton Terrace | London N1 2UN Book tickets London’s Festival of Korean Music opens with Black String + special guest Kathryn Tickell This … [Read More]
Event news: the final three screenings in the Unwrapping My Korean Cinema series
The second half of the “Patchworks: Unwrapping My Korean Cinema” season of screenings focuses on youth film and in particular the impact that the Ha Gil-jong movie The March of Fools had on film-maker Kim Hong-joon. Kim will be there for a Q+A after his La Vie en Rose, and he will also be giving … [Read More]
Okja (옥자, 2017) review: a topical and eccentric critique of corporate lunacy
Accomplished, quirky, eccentric and wholly memorable, Okja is not only a David & Goliath tale for the 21st century but also a hugely entertaining and insightful story of the ordinary pushed to extraordinary lengths by corporate lunacy, albeit with a couple of minor caveats. [Read More]
Event news: Hwang Sok-yong introduces Familiar Things at Asia House
Hwang Sok-yong will be heading down to London from the Edinburgh International Book Festival to talk about his latest novel to be translated into English: Hwang Sok-yong: A Modern Tale of Poverty Asia House | 63 New Cavendish Street | London W1G 7LP August 17, 2017, 18:45 – 20:00 £10, Conc £8, Members £5 | … [Read More]
An introduction to the July / August season of films at the KCC
Kim Hong-joon’s My Korean Cinema, which screened as part of the documentary strand of the 2016 London Korean Film Festival, provides the inspiration and structure for the July / August season of films at the KCC, curated by students from the MA Film Programming and Curating course at Birkbeck. They provide the background below: Patchworks … [Read More]
Event news: The Knitting Club screens at the KCC, 3 August
The third in the current season of film screenings at the KCC is a 2016 documentary that presents Korean women as everything from victims of circumstance through to creators of their own destiny. The Knitting Club (야근 대신 뜨개질) Director: Park So-hyun (2016) 98 mins Event Date: 3 August, 7:00pm Location: KCCUK Booking: Free admission, … [Read More]
Film review: Hur Jin-ho’s Season of Good Rain
How reassuring it is, after the disappointment that was Bong Joon-ho’s Okja, to find that there are still directors out there who can serve up what you expect. Maybe that’s a bad thing: maybe you need to be surprised every now and then. On the other hand, there’s no shame in wanting a dose of … [Read More]
Korea – The Antifragile Kingdom
Editor’s note: every now and then Matthew Jackson submits a cracking article from out of nowhere. Here’s one such article which, if I may paraphrase, wonders whether maybe han is healthy. I hope it’s not too long before the next one! The author and philosopher Nicholas Nassim Taleb (of ‘Black Swan’ fame) developed a concept … [Read More]
K-music 2017: full programme announced
It seems wrong to be posting details of events in the Autumn when summer has only just started, but I’m a great believer in being able to plan your diary a couple of months in advance, and there’s lots here that you will want to come along to. K-Music 2017: Full Programme Announced 15 September … [Read More]
Through Their Eyes exhibition opens in Kingston Museum
Kingston Museum’s exhibition devoted to Korean viewpoints on the UK and foreigner’s views on Korea opened last night with speeches from the Mayor, the Ambassador and the curator Seoyoung Kim (who bravely hosted the event despite being on crutches from a recent injury). Hyelim Kim endured the intense heat in the upstairs exhibition space to … [Read More]
Film review: Okja — It’s really rather disappointing
“Our super-pigs will not only be big and beautiful; they will also leave a minimal footprint on the environment, consume less feed, and produce less [sic] excretions.” Don’t you just hate it when you’re really looking forward to a movie, really hoping and expecting to enjoy it, and it turns out to be a big … [Read More]
Exhibition news: Lee Jeonglok and Lee Jinyong at Pontone Gallery
A double solo show at Pontone Gallery in July: Lee Jeonglok — Parallel Worlds: Tree of Life & Nabi Lee Jinyong — The Weight of Thought 30 June – 23 July 2017 Monday – Friday 10-7pm | Saturday 11-7pm | Sunday 11-6pm Pontone Gallery | 43 Cadogan Gardens | London SW3 2TB Tel: +44 (0)20 … [Read More]
Event news: Korean Sounds – East Meet West: Space
The third of this year’s Korean Sounds series is on the theme of Space. Korean Sounds East Meets West: Space Wednesday, 2 August 2017 – 7:30pm King’s Place Hall One Online Price: £16.50 – £12.50 | Savers £9.50 | Book tickets Hyeonak Yeongsanhoesang: Sangnyeongsan, Jungnyeongsan, Seryeongsan, Garakdeori, Sanghyeondodeuri, Hahyeondodeuri, Yeombuldeuri, Taryeong, Gunak Liszt 2 Elegies, S130 & … [Read More]
Event news: Sun Ju Lee in Arthill Gallery Summer Group Show
News of a group exhibition in a converted church in West Kensington. Summer Group Show Arthill Gallery | Ground Floor | Lourdes Apartments | North End Road | London W14 9NU | www.arthillgallery.com 6 July 2017 – 3 September 2017 Artists: Cyrus Mahboubian | Sun Ju Lee | Shaoyan Li Arthill Gallery is pleased to … [Read More]