A busy month this month, both in London and further afield. And, if you happen to be passing a newsagents, you might want to pick up this month’s Monocle which has a 48-page section devoted to South Korea, and interviews with President Moon, the First Lady and the Mayor of Seoul. Their travel guide to Seoul is out later this month. Plus, don’t miss the documentary Earth’s Hidden Wilderness, available on iPlayer for the next couple of weeks.
Literature
- Brother Anthony of Taize hosts a poetry translation workshop on 13 March and gives a poetry translation talk at SOAS on 16 March. Ko Un’s appearance at St Andrew’s poetry festival has been cancelled due to ill health, but Br Anthony is talking there on 10 March.
- The KCC’s literature night on 28 March features Hwang Sun-won’s Descendants of Cain
- The Kim Aeran Essay Contest closes on 31 March.
- The KCC starts a series of film adaptations of Korean novels, starting with Kim Ki-young / Yi Kwang-su The Soil (흙) on 29 March.
Film
- My Heart is Not Broken Yet screens at Birkbeck on 10 March
- The British-made documentary After the Sewol becomes available on iTunes on 26th March
- Comrade Kim Goes Flying gets a screening at the Barbican on 28 March
- SOAS North Korea Society should be showing The Propaganda Game later in the month. Check their Facebook page for details.
- The KCC will be starting a series of film adaptations of Korean novels, starting with Kim Ki-young’s adaptation of Yi Kwang-su’s The Soil (pictured above), on 29 March
- There will be a screening of Bamseom Pirates, Seoul Inferno on 29 March at DIY Space for London.
- In Edinburgh, the KCC will be screening some of the Korean Noir movies from last year’s festival at the Filmhouse, Tuesdays from 13 March.
Exhibitions
- Han Collection’s exhibition of handicrafts from the boudoir opens on 1 March
- In Exeter, Young In Hong’s The Moon’s Trick opens at the Phoenix Arts Centre on 2 March
- Juree Kim marks the end of her residency at the V&A by participating in Exhibit A at Anise Gallery from 8 March
- She will be holding open studio at the V&A on 14 and 24 March.
- Seung Ae Lee has a solo exhibition at the KCC from 8 March
- Nick Bonner’s Made in North Korea continues all month at the House of Illustration.
- The Hills are High continues at Durham’s Oriental Museum until September
- Lee Ufan’s Relatum – Stage is outside the Serpentine Gallery until the end of July
- Lee Jeongwoong’s Laputa – the Fall closes at Pontone Gallery on 4 March.
- Minjung Kim’s Memory of Process closes at White Cube on 10 March.
Performance
- Berlin based Korean DJ Peggy Gou has an instore set at Phonica Records in Soho on 1 March
- DEAN, 2xxx!, Juseon, Rad Museum, & Reone play the Islington Academy on 18 March.
- Joo Yeon Sir plays the Sibelius violin concerto in Greenwich on 16 March
- 229 The Venue in Great Portland St hosts HALO on 11 March
- In Manchester, In-sook Chappell’s play Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok opens on 22 March, before touring across England.
- The Great Wave, a thriller set in Japan and North Korea, stages at the National Theatre from 10 March
- Grizzly plays at The Water Rats on 23 March
- Rookie boy band VAV (Very Awesome Voice) are turning up in London on 25 March for a meet-and-greet, though whether they will actually be performing is unclear.
- The KCC House Concert on 27 March features Sooyeon Lee (cello) and Milo Harper (harp)
Talks
- Mike Glendenning and Jihyun Park give a talk entitled Inside North Korea in Manchester, 18 March
- In Preston, the University of Central Lancashire hosts a roundtable entitled Whose Olympics: Pyeongchang or Pyongyang? on 21 March. Details in attached pdf
- The LSE Students Union hosts a North Korea forum on 24 March
- Talks at SOAS feature Pavel Em (Peculiarities of Urbanization in Juche Country) on 9 March and Br Anthony (Translating Korean Poetry) on 16 March.
Other
- The 47th “Stay Put” Sewol silent protest is on 17 March
- The Velvet Music Rooms in Birmingham host a K-pop/hop-hop party on 2 March
- A similar event takes place in London on 17 March and 24 March.
- There is a Korea Night in Nottingham on 9 March, and a Korea Day in Sheffield two days later.
- The British Korean Society celebrates Seollal on 16 March, giving members the chance to see the refurbishment work inside the Embassy
- The BKS’s AGM is on 26 March
- LKL celebrates its 12th birthday today