Probably the event of the year is the appearance of Ahn Sook-sun in London to perform Heungboga. Not to be missed. It’s also the busiest time of the year for Korean film, and if you haven’t seen enough of BTS yet you might be able to see them in a cinema near you. In fact this is possibly the peak month for Korean events outside of London. Thanks to those of you who have told me about them so that I can list them here.
On screen
- The London Korean Film Festival kicks off on 1 November, with regional screenings in Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester.
- The London East Asia Film Festival is in its last few days, with plenty of Korean interest.
- Burn The Stage – the BTS movie is in cinemas briefly 15-18 November
- Park Chan-wook’s adaptation of John Le Carre’s Little Drummer Girl is on BBC1 and iPlayer Sunday evenings. First episode last Sunday was difficult to start with but had me hooked by the end.
- In Derry, there’s the premiere of Douglas Gordon’s Portrait of Janus: Divided States on 9 November
Performance
K-music Festival
- Ahn Sook-sun performs Heungboga in the Purcell Room on 3 November
- Kyungso Park and the Near East Quartet are in the Purcell Room on 19 November
- The festival finishes with Hyelim Kim, Alice Zawadzki and Youn Sun Nah in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 20 November.
Other music
- RAVI of VIXX is in London, 9 November
- DPR Live performs in London on Pepero Day, 11 November.
- Say Sue Me play the Windmill Brixton on 14 November
- Jessi is in London on 16 November
- The KCC’s House Concert on 27 November features Julia Hwang (violin)
Stage
- In Birmingham, the UK/Korean collaboration Hanyong Theatre Company perform Orange Polar Bear, 1 – 10 November
Exhibitions
- Make sure you catch Kim Yunchul’s Dawns, Mine, Crystal at the KCC – closing on 3 November. The most intriguing exhibition there this year, which includes an installation comprising home-made “three-dimensional colloidal photonic crystals, a mixture of aluminium, copper particles, and paramagnetic nanoparticles suspended in fluids.” As it sounds, it looks as if it comes straight from an episode of Star Trek. And it also looks stunning.
- Lee Leenam and Hwang Seontae are at Pontone Gallery until 4 November
- Paul and Teresa Song’s collection of fine North Korean paintings is at Mall Galleries, 6 – 11 November.
- Asian Art in London runs 1 – 10 November. To celebrate, Han Collection is having a special exhibition of Joseon Dynasty porcelain and participates in Asia Week at the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour.
- Suh Do-ho’s and Lee Ufan’s installations are in the City and Hyde Park respectively.
- The KCC’s winter exhibition is Taste of Korea — Jeonju, opening on 22 November
Talks, seminars and literature
- Korean Culture Month is at Foyles until mid-November, including an opportunity to meet Jeong You-jeong (The Good Son) on 3 November. (LKL review of The Good Son here)
- The film festivals have related seminar / round-table events, including a focus on “A Slice of Everyday Life” on 3 November and, at the British Museum on 5 November, “Exploring Female Body Politics On Screen” (details in pdf download)
- The ROK – UK forum on the peaceful unification of the peninsula is on 5 November.
- The KCC’s Literature night on 28 November features Mary Lynn Bracht talking about her White Chysanthemum (LKL review here)
- In Cambridge, Clare Hall hosts a seminar on the Sunshine Policy and its relevance today.
- SOAS seminars this month announced so far are
- 16 November: Dr Youngmi Kim (University of Edinburgh): Piketty in Hell Joseon
- 23 November: John Lee (Manchester) on the Joseon dynasty state forestry system
- 30 November: Dr JongMi Kim (Coventry University) (topic tba)
Special events
- In Preston, UCLan host a two-day Korean Festival, 5-6 November
- There’s a K-beauty pop-up store at Westfield Shepherd’s Bush until 4 November.
- The Radio Kimchi K-pop fair is on 25 November
Keep an eye on the upcoming events page and the Google calendar for the complete picture, while the sidebar on the home page shows the most recent event updates. Feel free to send updates via the Contact form.