The 2025 Festival of Korean Dance visits three venues outside of London: the double bill Kontemporary Korea visits Bournemouth (9 May) and Newcastle (15 May), while Ham:beth by Modern Table visits Salford (20 May). Modern Table’s programme is identical to their performance at the Place (programme details here), but the Kontemporary Korea programme is different … [Read More]
Year: 2025 (page 21)
K-Dance 2025: Ham:beth by Modern Table
Boy-band meets Shakespearean drama in this energetic all-male show by Modern Table. Seven dancers in slick suits battle against the pressure to conform. Claiming their right to desire, their quests push them into becoming lone heroes. Loosely inspired by depictions of madness in Hamlet and Macbeth, Ham:beth combines traditional Korean songs with a live rock … [Read More]
K-Dance 2025: Kontemporary Korea: A Double Bill of K:Dance
Kontemporary Korea is a showcase of two of the freshest new voices in K-dance, each finding inspiration and play in the balance between the mundane and the virtuosic. The event will be followed by a post-show discussion. 0g (zero grams) by Melancholy Dance Company Inspired by the repetitive and seemingly pointless actions of the mythical figure Sisyphus, 0g utilises the … [Read More]
K-Dance Seminar – Choreographic Humour: Korean-British Connections and Divergences
How does humour function in contemporary choreography? What comic affinities might there be between Korean and British choreographers, and how do their approaches differ? This seminar brings together artists featured in A Festival of Korean Dancein recent years with UK-based artists affiliated with The Place, for a discussion around dance’s potential to transform the conventions … [Read More]
K-Dance 2025: Jungle by Korea National Contemporary Dance Company
Amid the chaos we create order. Jungle is our life. A seventeen-strong company gathers onstage for an extraordinary spectacle of vitality. Based on ‘Process Init’, an unconventional movement research method developed by Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s artistic director Sung-young Kim, Jungle is full of wildly instinctive movements which expand and unfurl, rich with the energy of survival. The dancers embody … [Read More]
SOAS seminar: Recording memories of human rights violations in North Korea
The human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea or DPRK) is exceptionally challenging to address externally, as the population remains isolated from the international community and lacks an independent civil society to advocate for people’s rights. Despite these difficulties, the situation has been captured and documented primarily through the ‘voices’ … [Read More]
Kollab – an evening of Korean music and culture
Experience the rich sounds of Korea in a spectacular live performance. From the deep resonance of tradition to the energy of modern sound, our stage has something for everyone. Lets Kollab! Gayageum: Jung Ji-Eun Korean Traditional Percussion: Lee Kangsan Piri: SEAYOOL Piano: Yoo Ka Youn [Read More]
SOAS seminar: The techno-sublime of media spectacle – Screen and space in Seoul’s DDP
The contemporary city increasingly manifests as an urbanscape where digital screen and architectural space converge to create new forms of cultural experience. Seoul, with its high degree of media saturation, exemplifies a city interwoven with advanced digital technology that articulates distinct combinations of corporeal, emotional, and spatial perceptions. Within the context of the convergence of … [Read More]
SOAS seminar: Bestselling and beloved – Korean literary treasures
The SOAS Centre of Korean Studies is delighted and honoured to welcome Dr Seunghye Sun and Jaemin Cha, the two minds behind the “Bestselling and Beloved: Korean Literary Treasures” exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) UK. They will speak about this special exhibition that delves into the heart of Korean literature, showcasing both its … [Read More]
KCC screening: A Resistance
Though set almost entirely within the confines of the notorious Seodaemun Prison, this mostly monochrome feature from writer/director Joe Min-ho (A Million, 2009) uses the incarceration of real-life freedom fighter Yu Gwan-sun (Ko A-sung) to crystallise the ordeals of Korea’s occupation by the Japanese. Arrested, along with 47,000 others, for participating in a non-violent national … [Read More]
KCCUK International Women’s Day historical talks
Exploring the Political and Social Roles of Women in Joseon Korea: KCCUK presents an International Women’s Day Special “K-History Unlock”, a lecture series on women’s roles and influence in Joseon Korea. 1. Governance from Behind the Bamboo Curtain: Joseon’s Queen Dowager Regencies Date: Wednesday, 5th March 2025 | Time: 6:30 PM Speaker: Lucy Waugh (PhD … [Read More]
Korean films at BFI Flare 2025
This year at BFI Flare we have three films by Korean directors and one by a Korean American. The latter – The Wedding Banquet by director Andrew Ahn – has been chosen to open the festival and includes Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung among the cast. Londoners were introduced to Andrew Ahn’s work at Queer East last … [Read More]
Snowy Day – a new collection of Lee Chang-dong short stories
I’ve been following Korean literature in translation now for around 25 years. Back in the day, I’d buy everything I could lay my hands on – after all, there wasn’t much of it around, so there wasn’t much financial commitment involved. At the time, most of the literature available was originally written more than thirty … [Read More]
Understanding South Korea’s Political Crisis: Martial Law, Impeachment and Populist Politics
A Roundtable on Contemporary South Korean Politics Speakers: Jang Kyung-tae (Democratic Party of Korea), Kim Jaesub (People Power Party), Lee Jaeyoung (People Power Party). Chair: Dr John Nilsson-Wright Following President Yoon Suk-Yeol’s surprise announcement of martial law on December 3, 2024, South Korean politics has been plunged into a period of great political uncertainty and … [Read More]
February events 2025
The best of wishes for the new lunar year. Like January, February is currently looking to be pretty quiet. But keep checking our Facebook group or sign up for email updates in the sidebar of LKL’s front page – we only find out about some things pretty late in the day and those events don’t … [Read More]
Korean crafts at Collect 2025
As spring approaches, Collect — the leading international art fair for contemporary craft and design — looks forward to welcoming visitors to the stunning neo-classical rooms of Somerset House in central London, for a five-day celebration of international contemporary craft and design. Presented by Crafts Council, and recognised as being at the forefront of the … [Read More]