The KCCUK has been adapting its activities to fit the constraints of a Covid-19 world. Together with the Birkbeck Film Programming and Curating MA course they have curated a new season of four film nights on a suitable theme. The movies are all available on the Korean Film Archive YouTube Channel (LKL’s index here), but … [Read More]
Artist: Choi Jeong-hwa (최정화)
2019 Travel Diary #1: Seoul
This year I decided to ease myself into the Korea trip gently: an evening plus a half-day in Seoul before heading off to visit friends elsewhere on the peninsula. I didn’t know how much energy I’d have when I landed, but had made tentative arrangements to meet up with London-based artist Bongsu Park, possibly with … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Korean artists at APT8
The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) has been hosting the Asia Pacific Triennial since 1993. The exhibition features artists from all over the region, and Korea has been represented from the start. The triennial is spread over two buildings (the QAG itself and the nearby Gallery of Modern Art which opened in 2006) which collectively are … [Read More]
Choi Jeong-hwa in Paris
If you can’t wait for the start of L’Année France-Corée later this month, you can catch an installation of one of Choi Jeong-hwa’s inflatable Lotus Flowers in La Villette Park in Paris until 13 September. Source: Korea Joongang Daily [Read More]
A brief tour of the Korean galleries at Art 14
Korean artists and galleries put on a good show at Art14, and got plenty of attention from the press. Time Out spotted (they were hard to miss) Choi Jeong-hwa’s huge collection of colourful pieces which looked like giant hubble-bubbles, installed at Hong Kong’s Pearl Lam Galleries. Also recommended in the same article was 43 Inverness … [Read More]
A Soldier’s Tale at Asia House
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, a new exhibition opens next week at Asia House: A Soldier’s Tale Exhibition – 130 Years of Friendship, 60 Years of Memories Presented by ISKAI Contemporary Art, at Asia House 8 – 20 July 2013 10.00-18.00 Mon – Sat A Soldier’s Tale is an … [Read More]
Bankable and emerging Korean artists at Art13: London’s latest international art fair
To a casual observer, there might already seem to be a wide range of art fairs in London. The season starts with the London Art Fair in January and finishes with the Frieze in October. In between there’s plenty of smaller shows to keep various parts of the market satisfied. So launching a completely new … [Read More]
Choi Jeong-hwa: a summer on the South Bank
The summer is over, and Chuseok approaches. The gay green baskets and balloons which adorned the drab concrete pillars beneath the Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabth Hall during the Olympics period have been packed away. Here’s a reminder of what was there. Choi Jeong-hwa supervises the inflation of the spiral balloons for his installation Life-Life … [Read More]
Can you tell what it is yet? Choi Jeong-hwa installation takes shape on the South Bank
If it’s plastic baskets, it’s got to be a Choi Jeong-hwa installation. The outside of the Korean Pavilion at Venice, a chandelier in the centre of the Asia House staircase, or even a crazy space helmet for the band members (which included his son) playing at the first anniversary party of the opening of London’s … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #5: National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon
Saturday 1 May 2010. It’s the weekend, and Seoul Grand Park is busy. The funfair rides are full of fun-seekers, and there’s a queue to get in. There’s even a queue to get in to the car park of the National Museum of Contemporary Art: not, I would have thought, the most popular destination. But … [Read More]
Surprise and a sense of fun: the UK’s gateway to Korean culture
Jennifer Barclay visits the Korean Cultural Centre on its first birthday, experiences Choi Jeong-hwa’s exhibition, and meets the KCC’s director, Kyuhak Choi. It’s been a few months since I visited the Korean Cultural Centre, so I’m pleasantly surprised to be surprised by it again. I arrive to find stern armed guards in helmets staring at … [Read More]
Shine a Light on KCC’s first birthday
It’s coming up to Seollal, the start of the year of the Ox, and it’s also the KCC’s first birthday. It is a Korean tradition for the babe to dress up in a birthday hanbok and select symbolic items from a table laden with food and symbolic objects – the object that the infant selects … [Read More]
Good Morning, Mr Choi
Congratulations to Choi Kyuhak and all at the Korean Cultural Centre UK on the opening of their very splendid new premises off Trafalgar Square. The formal opening ceremony took place on 30 January – a report is coming soon from Jennifer – and there was another party last night to launch their first cultural event, … [Read More]
Good morning Mr. Nam June Paik: the KCC’s inaugural exhibition
Celebrating the opening of the Korean Cultural Centre in Northumberland Avenue, their opening exhibition has some high-profile works by Nam June Paik along with works by more contemporary artists. Good morning Mr. Nam June Paik 1 February – 7 March 2008 Korean Cultural Centre | Grand Buildings | 1 – 3 Strand | London WC2N … [Read More]
Long-awaited London Korean Cultural Centre nearly ready
When I walked past the new Korean Cultural Centre the day before yesterday the windows were still covered up, and, through the gaps in the covers, you could see the builders inside racing to finish before the grand opening day. The Centre officially opens at the end of the month, at a ceremony to be … [Read More]
Book review: J Scott Burgeson — Korea Bug
J Scott Burgeson: Korea Bug Eunhaeng Namu, Seoul, 2005 A recent article in the JoongAng daily about a foreigner in Seoul who hasn’t made himself popular with hypersensitive and volatile Korean netizens introduced me to a gem. Burgeson, a foreigner who has been in Seoul since 1996 is one of the more unusual expats out … [Read More]