Somehow, I managed to miss last year’s fantasy blockbuster Along with the Gods. I didn’t spot that it got a brief UK release until it was too late, and the movie didn’t make to any of the UK festivals to my knowledge. I didn’t even read any reviews. But it registered in my brain as … [Read More]
Month: August 2018 (page 2)
BIGONE @ The Fiddler’s Elbow
Kim Daeil aka Bigone will be at the intimate Fidler’s Elbow at the end of this month – up against the horror movie Gonjiam. The structure of these events is always a bit of a mystery to me, with doors opening (maybe only for some) at 5pm. There are no clues online as to what … [Read More]
Event news: the 2018 Independence Day Korean Festival
The big Korean festival on Kingston’s Fairfield Recreation Ground seems to have run its course. Instead, this year we have a slightly smaller celebration in the heart of Koreatown: The 73rd Independence Day Ceremony and Festival Saturday 18 August 2018, 11:00am – 4:30pm Glasshouse Pub Courtyard | 14 Coombe Road | New Malden KT3 4QE … [Read More]
New Malden hosts Arirang Concert
Your chance to hear the sohaegeum, the North Korean four-stringed haegeum. More information in Korean on the event’s Facebook page. Arirang Concert 22 Performances with South & North Korean, Chinese Artists Sunday 12 August 2018, 6:30pm St James Church Bodley Rd, New Malden KT3 5QD Ticket Price is 10 Pounds (Including Dinner Buffet) You Can … [Read More]
Along with the Gods: Last 49 Days gets UK release
The London East Asia Film Festival presents a special screening of the biggest box office hit in Korea, Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days as a UK premiere. The pre-fest screening will be presenting a double bill of Along With The Gods – Part 1 and 2. Along with the Gods: The Last … [Read More]
K-music 2018: Youn Sun Nah + Hyelim Kim & Alice Zawadzki, 20 November @QEH
The final concert of K-music 2018 is a double bill. After their amazing debut collaboration at K-music 2017, Hyelim Kim and Alice Zawadzki have a well-deserved reunion. Youn Sun Nah opened K-music 2016 with her regular on-stage partner Ulf Wakenius, and we look forward to her return this year. Youn Sun Nah + Hyelim Kim … [Read More]
K-music: Near East Quartet + Kyungso Park
The penultimate concert of the 2018 K-music festival is a collaboration between composer / kayageum player Kyungso Park – who performed with Andy Sheppard during K-music 2016 – and jazz / fusion band Near East Quartet: Near East Quartet + Kyungso Park Monday 19 November 2018, 7:45pm | Buy tickets Purcell Room | Belvedere Road … [Read More]
K-music 2018: Ahn Sook-sun, 3 November @Purcell Room
Event of the year so far has been the Changgeuk Trojan Women, in which Ahn Sook-sun played a significant part. I’m thinking this fourth concert in the 2018 K-music festival could be even better. Note the early start time. The event is preceded by a free talk. Ahn Sook-sun: Heungbuga (흥부가) Saturday 3 November 2018, … [Read More]
K-music 2018: Urban Sound, 19 October @Kings Place
The third gig in this year’s K-music festival features the new group Urban Sound who this year have been performing in interesting spaces such as Brunel’s Tunnel in Rotherhithe: Urban Sound Friday 19 October, 8pm | Buy tickets Kings Place (Hall Two) | 90 York Way | London N1 9AG Urban Sound is a collaboration … [Read More]
K-music 2018: Ensemble E-DO, 9 October @Rich Mix
E-DO were the musicians behind the 2017 LKL Performance of the Year (together with choreographer / dancer Yoo Sun-hoo in an Edinburgh Fringe show entitled After 4 – Over the Moon), and their 2015 album Yeominrok got a well-deserved rave review from World Music Central. So don’t miss their London debut as the second act … [Read More]
K-music 2018: SsingSsing, 2 October @Purcell Room
The 2018 K-Music festival opens with Lee Heemoon’s amazing glam-fusion band SsingSsing at the South Bank: SsingSsing Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX Tuesday 2 October 2018, 7:45pm Buy tickets SsingSsing have been making waves across the globe, bringing glam rock and funk elements together with a charismatic theatrical twist that takes inspiration from … [Read More]
Book review: Mary Lynn Bracht — White Chrysanthemum
Mary Lynn Bracht: White Chrysanthemum Penguin Random House 2018, 320pp White Chrysanthemum, the debut novel from Mary Lynn Bracht, tells the story of two sisters, brought up on Jeju Island, who were tragically separated in the last years of the Second World War. The elder sister, Hana, is abducted into sexual slavery by a Japanese … [Read More]
The DMZ (데스트랩, 2018) review: how to create a gripping action thriller without moving…
With The DMZ, director Oh In-chun has created a highly engaging, even gripping action thriller, but it is his success in bringing ‘cat and mouse’ elements to a narrative wholly centred on one character forced to stand stationary for the vast majority of the running time that is truly deserving of accolades. [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Lee Bul – Crashing. Pt 2 – Scale of Tongue
The most eye-catching work in Lee Bul’s Hayward Gallery exhibition is the giant inflatable zeppelin, its grid of rectangular silver panels echoing the grid of skylights in the Hayward’s newly refurbished upper floor. The work, entitled Willing to be Vulnerable, memorialises the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, when the giant airship, representing a possible future of … [Read More]
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (곤지암, 2018) review: a chilling found footage horror
“I shouldn’t have written my name on the wall. I’m cursed now… Did you see? The words under my name changed from ‘Let’s live’ to ‘Let’s die’. Am I going to die?…” Synopsis After two youths go missing while breaking and entering into Gonjiam asylum – a mental institution that closed more than 20 years … [Read More]
SOAS conference: Visualising Asia
An upcoming conference organised by the SOAS Japan Research Centre and Centre of Korean Studies: Visualising Asia: Deciphering ‘Otherness’ in Visual and Material Cultures Thursday 20 September 2018 12:45 pm – Friday 21 September 2018 7:00 pm SOAS Brunei Gallery room B202 (10 Thornhaugh Street | Russell Square | London WC1H 0XG) Register free via … [Read More]