July’s House Concert at the KCC features Yoonseo Sally Lee (violin): Yoonseo Sally Lee (violin), Kumi Matsuo (piano) Tuesday 28 August 2018, 7pm Korean Cultural Centre | Grand Buildings | 1-3 Strand | London WC2N 5BW (Entrance in Northumberland Avenue) Register via [email protected] Programme Beethoven Sonata No.1, Op.12: I. Allegro con brio | II. Tema con variazioni: … [Read More]
Month: July 2018
LKFF Teaser #5: Gonjiam – Haunted Asylum
The last LKFF teaser screening of the summer dovetails nicely with Frightfest (which this year occurs 23-27 August): the found footage horror movie Gonjiam by director Jeong Beom-sik, who also brought us the horror movie Epitaph (2007). Note that the London screening is at a later time than usual. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (곤지암) Director: Jeong … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Lee Bul – Crashing. Pt 1 – Heaven and Earth
I thought I had come across most of Lee Bul’s work before, either physically (at Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, 2014 and various gallery visits in Seoul) or through articles and books. But one work in the Hayward Gallery’s solo show caught me by surprise. Heaven and Earth (2007) is a larger-than-life reconstruction of the type … [Read More]
Little Forest (리틀 포레스트, 2018) review: hungry for home
In a beautiful film that encapsulates a rural downshifting trend, Little Forest is a visual gourmet feast for the eyes and sumptuous cinematic food for the modern-day soul too. Yim Soon-rye takes what was originally a Japanese manga and transplants it to Korea, speaking directly to Korean cinema audiences in the process. [Read More]
August literature night: Eun Hee-kyung’s Beauty Looks Down On Me
August’s literature night features a short story collection by Eun Hee-kyung, published last year by Dalkey Archive: Eun Hee-kyung: Beauty Looks Down on Me 29 August, 19.00-21.00 Venue: Korean Cultural Centre UK Entrance Free – Booking Essential. Apply to [email protected] or call 020 7004 2600 with your name and contact details by Friday 10th August. … [Read More]
BAKS Call for Papers: the Agency of Korean Women
The British Association for Korean Studies has published details of their 2018 workshop and Annual General Meeting in Oxford, and invites proposals for papers and panels: BAKS Workshop: The Agency of Korean Women and BAKS Annual General Meeting 29 September 2018 Wolfson College | Linton Road | Oxford OX2 6UD The British Association for Korean … [Read More]
The Mimic (장산범, 2017) review: Korean horror makes a welcome comeback
The Mimic is at times genuinely scary, at others deeply creepy, but it is the phenomenal performances of veteran actress Yum Jung-ah and eight-year-old newcomer Shin Rin-ah – and indeed the sheer, palpable chemistry within their interactions – that will ultimately stay with viewers long after the credits roll. [Read More]
KCC Screening: Black Republic
The final screening in the Rebels with a Cause season: Black Republic (그들도 우리처럼) Director: Park Kwang-Su (1990, 102 mins) Cast: Moon Sung-keun, Park Joong-hoon, Shim Hye-jin, Hwang Hae Thursday 23 August 2018 7:00 pm @KCCUK | Book tickets Opening on a pitch black screen, we begin to hear a voice: it is the words … [Read More]
Call for Papers: The 6th Yun Posun Memorial Symposium
Just received into my inbox, a call for papers for the 6th Yun Posun Memorial Symposium at the University of Edinburgh: Inequality in Global Cities, Seoul in Comparative Perspective Date: 8th – 9th October 2018 Venue: University of Edinburgh, Playfair Library Seoul, as any global mega cities, inequality persists, as marginalised individuals and communities include … [Read More]
I wonder how many people actually saw the full Halo…
As part of the Korea/UK season of cultural collaboration, Kimchi and Chips, a Seoul-based art studio founded by Elliot Woods (UK) and Mimi Son (South Korea) installed a large work entitled Halo in the public space of the Somerset House courtyard for the month of June. In perfect conditions (full sun, no cloud, no breeze), … [Read More]
Theatre visit: a changgeuk Trojan Women
An adaptation of a Greek play more than 2400 years old interpreted through the medium of an early 20th century Korean performing practice does not immediately sound a promising theatrical experience, except perhaps to the handful of people who appreciate both Euripides’s take on Homer and Changgeuk’s adaptation of Pansori. Nevertheless, the Purcell Room had … [Read More]
Joonhong Min: Urban Camouflage
Hot on the heels of his exhibition in South Hackney, Joonhong Min has a solo show in Leytonstone: Joonhong Min: Urban Camouflage The Stone Space | 6 Church Lane | Leytonstone | London E11 1HG 26 July to 19 August 2018 Private view: Thursday 26th July 18:30 – 20:30 Artist talk: Saturday 8th August 2-4 … [Read More]
Park Neung-saeng: Travelling through the seasons
A brief exhibition in Bermondsey: Park Neung-saeng: Travelling through the seasons Friday 27th July 2018 Drinks reception 6:30pm 8:30pm Public Viewing 28th – August 4th 2018 10am to 6pm The Space Station Gallery | 159 Bermondsey St | London SE1 3UX We cordially invite you to a private view of the solo exhibition of painted … [Read More]
KCC Screening: Mandala
The fifth screening in the Rebels with a Cause season: Mandala (만다라) Director: Im Kwon-taek (1981, 112 mins) Cast: Ahn Sung-Ki, Jeon Moo-song, Bang Hee, Gi Jeong-su Thursday, 16 August 2018 7:00 pm @KCCUK | Book tickets Set in contemporary Korea, Mandala follows two rather different characters: Pob-un, a young Buddhist monk who has decided … [Read More]
Kimsooja’s London Olympics project lives on
Surfing the web recently, following a link related to UK based Korean artist / photographer Bae Chan-hyo, I came across this article in the New York Times on the subject of thirteen artists dealing with the subject of migration. Apart from the piece on Bae, which highlighted some new work of his from 2018 (which … [Read More]
RIP Bill Speakman VC
The funeral was held this week for Bill Speakman, the so-called Beer Bottle VC. The ceremony was held on 19 July in the Wren Chapel at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where Speakman was a pensioner. He died peacefully at the Hospital on 20 June 2018, aged 90, surrounded by members of his family. Obituaries can be … [Read More]