There’s something for everyone this month, from intimate responses to Yun Dong-ju’s poetry to the barnstorming K-pop roadshow that is SM Town; the KCCUK is particularly busy with talks and workshops (including talks by Charlotte Horlyck and Jieun Kiaer linked to their recent book publications); plus there look to be some good movie screenings at SXSW, and there’s the UK premiere of Jason Verney’s long-awaited SEWOL film.
Screenings
- SXSW London has a small but enticing line-up of Korean films (and Korean co-productions) including The Old Woman with the Knife and Winter in Sokcho. What pickings will be left for the festivals later in the year? 2 – 7 June in Shoreditch
- Jason Verney’s SEWOL: Sealed Eternally With Our Love screens at Kingston International Film Festival on 7 June
- Lee Hae-young’s The Silenced screens at the Garden Cinema on 12 June, celebrating the launch of Jinhee Choi’s book Forever Girls
- You might find screenings of Holy Night: Demon Hunters extending into early June
Music and performance
- Korean / Japanese trio Tengger’s UK tour takes in Belfast, Glasgow, Coventry, Bethesda, Shrewsbury and Glastonbury
- SXSW has a night of Korean club music in Brick Lane, 3 June
- The TRENDZ GLOW tour comes to London’s 229 on 4 June
- Antoine Boyer (guitar) & Yeore Kim (harmonica) perform at the Bull’s Head in Barnes, 7 June
- Michelle Choi (flute) performs at St James’s Piccadilly, 11 June
- Kollab hosts Edith x Yun Dong-ju at Poplar Union, 13 June
- The Rose’s Once Upon A WRLD Tour comes to Indigo at the o2, 17 and 19 June
- Yonglee & the DOLTANG play at Ronnie Scotts, 19 June
- There’s an evening with Danny Koo at the Marylebone Music Festival, 20 June
- SMTOWN LIVE comes to Twickenham Stadium on 28 June
- Japanese Breakfast’s UK tour takes in Glastonbury, the Manchester Academy and Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom 28-30 June prior to dates in Bristol and London in July
- The Kim’s Convenience nationwide theatre tour is drawing to a close, with performances in Ipswich, Bromley, York and Darlington
Talks, conferences, learning and literature
- Jieun Kiaer celebrates the publication of her new book with a talk on Seoul Mothers and the Poetry of Rice at the KCCUK on 2 June
- The Royal Society of Arts hosts Celebrating Creativity: Digitally, Boldly, Korean on 9 June
- Newnham College hosts the 2025 Ra Jong-Yil Lecture: Baby Shark Swims in the Korean Wave on 10 June
- SJ Kim introduces her memoir This Part Is Silent: A Life Between Cultures at Brixton Library, 12 June
- Charlotte Horlyck talk on The Emergence of the Korean Art Collector and the Korean Art Market at the KCCUK, 17 June
- There are cooking classes at South Ken’s Divertimenti on 19 June led by visiting chefs from Korea
- Kim Hyesoon discusses her Autobiography of Death with Will Harris, 19 June
- The University of Edinburgh hosts the AKSE Conference 19 – 22 June
- Heuijung Hur talks about Failed Summer Vacation with Barry Pierce, 26 June
- The KCCUK has craft and culture workshops ranging from stone seal carving to the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, 5-13 June
Exhibitions
- The KCCUK’s early summer exhibition Soundwaves of Science: Exploring the Science of Korean Music continues until 27 June
- The London College of Fashion hosts a Korean showcase, 17 – 19 June
- Do Ho Suh’s Walk the House continues at Tate Modern until the Autumn
- Soyoung Hyun’s Invitation to a Ritual continues at at IMT Gallery until 29 June
- Han Ji-min’s Time Alone continues at JD Malat Gallery until 7 June
- London College of Fashion showcases the work of its Korean students, 17-19 June
Books expected
- Failed Summer Vacation by Heuijung Hur, tr Paige Aniyah Morris pub Scratch Books
- Broccoli Punch by Lee Yuri, tr Amber Hyun Jung Kim pub Heloise Press
- The Second Chance Convenience Store by Ho-Yeon Kim, tr Janet Hong pub Pan Macmillan
- Hunger by Choi Jin-young, tr Soje pub Brazen
- Against Abandonment: Repertoires of Solidarity in South Korean Protest by Jennifer Jihye Chun and Ju Hui Judy Han pub Stanford University Press