There’s no let-up in the schedule this month after last month’s hectic pace. This month sees the BFI London Film Festival, the London East Asia Film Festival – both of which have strong Korean showings – and the start of the K-music festival.
Music and performance
- The 2022 K-music Festival opens with:
- Dal:um & ReMidas at Milton Court, 5 Oct
- Jaram Lee at the Purcell Room, 9 Oct
- PAKK + EERU at the Rich Mix, 13 Oct
- Dongyang Gozupa on tour in Coventry, Liverpool, Norwich and London from 29 Oct
- Kyo Choi’s The Apology continues at the Arcola Theatre until 8 October
- Dolpagu, the last performance in the Coronet Theatre’s excellent Tiger is Coming festival, is on 1 Oct
- K-pop related events include
- Trandee Rock’s dance workshop on 1 Oct
- Jessi’s European tour at the Troxy, 10 Oct
- W24’s UK tour in London, Birmingham and Manchester, 10 – 12 Oct
- Pixy’s European tour at the Islington Academy, 17 Oct
- Sunwook Kim performs Tchaikovsky with the Seoul Phil (in a programme also containing some Unsuk Chin) at the Cadogan Hall on 27 Oct
- Foyles hosts two music performances as part of their Korean Culture Month, on 1 Oct (ReMidas) and 22 Oct (K-Pop meets Classical with MOO)
Films and screenings
- The BFI London Film Festival has a decent Korean line-up this year, 5 – 16 Oct
- If you don’t catch it at the LFF, you should find Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave at an arthouse cinema near you from 15 Oct
- You can find the 4K restoration of Park’s Oldboy, plus The Handmaiden, at selected cinemas prior to that, and some of his other movies on All 4.
- The London East Asia Film Festival has eleven Korean movies, including Lee Jung-jae’s directorial debut, 19-31 Oct
Exhibitions
- The V+A’s Hallyu exhibition continues until next year
- Transcending Time: Traditional and Contemporary Interpretations of the Moon Jar continues at Han Collection until 5 Oct
- Our Friendly Neighbours, the KCC’s video art showcase, continues all month
- StART Art Fair is 12 – 16 Oct at Saatchi Gallery, with some hallyu artists represented.
- Sasapari makes a welcome return at OXO Tower Wharf, 19 – 24 Oct
Talks
- There’s a series of talks and events marking Lee Hyemi’s Unexpected Vanilla‘s inclusion in the shortlist for the 2021 National Translation Prize in Poetry, 3 – 7 Oct
- Fiona Bae talks with Na Kim about her new book Make, Break, Remix: The Rise of K-Style, at Foyles on 18 Oct
- British Korean Society members can expect a special event in the House of Lords on 19 October
Everything else
- It’s Korean Culture Month at Foyles
- Hallyu Con 2022 – Where Korea Meets You – is online and at Samsung’s building in Coal Drops Yard, 1 Oct
- There’s a K-pop night at Tiger Tiger on 1 Oct and a K-pop and hip-hop night at Fire London on 7 Oct
Books expected this month
- An Seonjae’s translation of Lee Geum-yi’s Picture Bride, plus Stella Kim’s translation of Bae Myung-hoon’s Launch Something!
- Hyunseon Lee’s Korean Film and Festivals: Global Transcultural Flows