Normally at this time of year Korean events in London take a bit of a break and the focus switches to Edinburgh for the Fringe. And yes, there’s plenty to justify a trip to Edinburgh if you can find affordable accommodation, not least the retrospective of Do Ho Suh’s work at NGS Modern One, which gets a five-star review in the Guardian. But this year Camden’s answer to Edinburgh’s fringe has two productions by Korean theatremakers; and if the summer weather persists, lovers of open-air music-making can enjoy Peggy Gou performing a stone’s throw from the North Korean embassy. And if you’re heading off on a summer break, there’s plenty of new books for your poolside reading.
Edinburgh Festival and Fringe
- In the main Festival, Seongjin Cho gives a solo piano recital, and Hera Hyesang Park plays Despina in Così fan tutte
- The Fringe hosts at least eight Korean productions, from child-friendly shows via musicals and dance acts, to more grown-up fare dealing with North Korean escapees and the torture of prisoners by the dictatorship in the South. LKL’s pick is Black and White Tea Room.
Also in Scotland
- Do Ho Suh’s Tracing Time is at Edinburgh’s NGS Modern One all month
- Kim Bohie’s Beyond is at the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art all month
In London
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Performance
- Woori Han’s Musical Housemates is at the Camden Fringe, 1 – 3 August
- Moon Kim’s The Waiting Room is at the Camden Fringe, 14 – 18 August
- Peggy Gou performs in Gunnersbury Park on 17 August
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Exhibitions and installations
- Archipelagic Void – Minsuk Cho’s Pavilion at Serpentine Gallery – is in place all summer
- Pulse: Beyond Delight the Seoul-inspired immersive video experience is in Borough Market until the end of September
- Across the Decades – an exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of the National Academy of Arts – is at the KCC until 24 August
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Discussions and demonstrations
- Dr Jaeseung Jeong explains How the Human Brain Experiences Beauty at the KCC, 7 August
- A KCC colloquium explores the Past, Present, and Future of Hallyu on 9 August
- Venerable Beop Song demonstrates some Korean Temple Food recipes on 14 August
- Anton Hur talks about his debut novel, Toward Eternity, on 16 August
Publications expected and recently released
- Park Yuha’s controversial Comfort Women of the Japanese Empire has been translated into English by the Cambridge Translation Team for Routledge
- Just published by Kaya, a little bit earlier than I was expecting:
- Everything Good Dies Here: Tales from the Linker Universe and Beyond by Djuna tr Adrian Thieret
- Song of Arirang: The Story of a Korean Rebel Revolutionary in China by Kim San and Nym Wales tr Dongyoun Hwang
- Three novels in English by authors of Korean descent have just been published:
- Minsoo Kang’s The Melancholy of Untold History,
- Anton Hur’s Toward Eternity and
- Monika Kim’s The Eyes Are The Best Part.
- Three new novels in translation should be available in August:
- The Black Orb, by Kim Ewhan tr Sean Lin Hilbert (pub Serpent’s Tail);
- Romancing on Jeju, by Park Hyun-joo tr Paige Aniyah Morris (pub Amazon Crossing); and
- Yeonnam-Dong’s Smiley Laundromat, by Kim Jiyun tr Shanna Tan (pub MacLehose Press)
- Finally, at least four new academic titles are expected this month:
- Being Korean, Becoming Japanese? Nationhood, Citizenship, and Resistance in Japan, by Hwaji Shin pub University of Hawai’i Press
- Modernization of Korean Theatre in the 20th Century, by Meewon Lee pub Routledge
- The South Korean Film Industry, ed Sangjoon Lee, Dal Yong Jin and Junhyung Cho pub University of Michigan Press
- The Emergence of the Korean Art Collector and the Korean Art Market, by Charlotte Horlyck pub Routledge