As expected, December is a quiet month. When you’re not preparing for the holiday season, you can catch up with all those TV dramas you’ve been meaning to watch for ages (I’m currently bingeing on 100 Days My Prince). Or you can sample Alexander Armstrong’s Channel 5 Korean Travelogue, or (with a more tenuous Korean connection) join Scary Spice, Ruby Wax and Emily Atack as they retrace Isabella Bird Bishop’s journey in the Rocky Mountains on BBC2 (Guardian feature here).
For those who can afford it, the highlight of the month will be BlackPink at the O2 on 1 Dec. But I’m looking forward to a repeat of Joo Yeon Sir’s solo violin recital across the river from me in Hammersmith on 14 December – and of course to SOAS’s final seminar of the year (George Kallander on Animals, Hunting, and Falconry in Premodern Korea) followed by BAKS AGM on 8 Dec.
The V+A’s Hallyu Exhibition is still going strong, as is the Zadie Xa solo show in the Whitechapel Gallery. The KCC’s video art exhibition at Lux featuring Yun Choi finishes on 10 December, and their winter open call exhibition in 1-3 Strand will be open until early February.
There’s a Korean unification concert in Kingston on 4 December, and a fully subscribed Jindo Buk-chum workshop at the KCC on 15 Dec.
Of the books expected in December, the only one I’m aware of is Isabelle Sancho’s translation of the Prose Writings of Hwadam, Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk. Do let me know what books and events I’ve missed.