Welcome to 2026! And congratulations to Martin Uden for his OBE in the New Year Honours 2026 Overseas and International List for services to British Veterans of the Korean War, and to UK/Korea relations.
As is usually the case, I’m anticipating that January will be quiet – though if you’re a K-pop fan there are two concerts to keep you entertained. This month will also see what could be the last public engagement for the current KCCUK director, who will be holding a discussion event in collaboration with the BKS at the end of the month.
Exhibitions
- JaeJun Lee’s solo show RUACH: Breath, Wind, Spirit is at Flow Gallery until 10 January
- Minjung Kim is in Dusk to Dawn at Patrick Heide Contemporary Art also until 10 January
- The KCCUK’s winter exhibition NEW GEN – The Emerging Voices is on all month
Screenings
- Arum Nam’s documentary K Family Affairs screens at Queen Mary University of London on 11 January
Concerts
- ARTMS’s Grand Club Icarus tour comes to the Kentish Town Forum on 13 January
- P1Harmony’s European tour comes to Wembley Arena on 30 January
Talks and seminars
- Director Sun Seunghye of the Korean Cultural Centre will be discussing K Soft Power on 28 January. Full details tba
- Professor Niki Alsford and Dr Sojin Lim will be giving a talk entitled Haenyeo Voices: Merging Tradition and Science to Monitor Reef Changes at SOAS on 30 January
Publications expected
- Fallout: The Inside Story of America’s Failure to Disarm North Korea, by Joel Wit pub Yale
- Two Women Living Together, by Hwang Sunwoo and Kim Hana, tr Gene Png pub Doubleday
- Lyrical Translation: The Creation of Modern Poetry in Colonial Korea, by David Krolikoski pub University of Hawai’i Press