The stage is black, preparing you for sleep; the floor slightly mirrored. The space is empty apart from a curtain of transparent silvery organza fabric whose flowing folds represent the peaks and troughs of a typical sleep brainwave, and between which the dancer will move like a ghost. The dancer enters, pulling a another fabric […]
Author: Philip Gowman
Nine Confucian academies listed at UNESCO
For visitors to Korea (such as myself) who like to try to get round all the UNESCO-listed world heritage sites, the list just got longer. On Saturday 6 July, the World Heritage Committee included nine Seowon, or Neo-Confucian Academies, in the list. The nine seowon are dotted around the central and southern parts of the […]
Review triple bill: the 2019 Festival of Korean Dance
When Kim Jae-Duk’s Modern Table last performed at The Place, it was to close the 2016 K-Music Festival. This year the eight-strong all-male troupe was selected to open the 2019 Festival of Korean Dance at the same venue. With a piece entitled Sok-do (Velocity) the audience perhaps had a hint of what to expect. And […]
Nayeong Jeong: Repeat after “The End of the World”
Nayeong Jeong celebrated the successful completion of her Slade PhD viva the day before with a performance at the opening of the group exhibition “A Dance of Scales”, at Assembly Point in Peckham. Jeong’s work often involves a performative element, and also often involves the use of clay not only as a creative medium but […]
July events 2019
The highlight of the month is the Dream Ritual performance at the Coronet Theatre. But two musical collaborations could run it close: Hyelim Kim at LSO St Luke’s and SaaWee at Albany Red Room. Continuing this year’s trend, there’s also plenty of K-pop and rock too at various venues – including Idiotape. The KCC’s film […]
Yu Ho-jin in The Illusionists – at Shaftesbury Theatre
A fun way to spend a summer evening. Afternoon and even morning performances are available on some days throughout the season. The Illusionists Shaftesbury Theatre | 210 Shaftesbury Avenue | London WC2H 8DP | www.shaftesburytheatre.com 6 July – 1 September 2019 | Buy tickets THIS MIND BLOWING SPECTACULAR SHOWCASES THE JAW DROPPING TALENTS OF SEVEN […]
Concert notes: Byron Wallen, Jihye Kim and Pouya Ehsaei at Redon
It was hard to believe that Byron Wallen, Jihye Kim and Pouya Ehsaei had not performed together as a trio before – there seemed be such respect and understanding between the musicians, as if they were totally familiar with each other’s ways of playing. The three had shared ideas with each other in advance – […]
BKS / Chatham House Korean Ambassadors talk: the podcast
For those, such as myself, who couldn’t make it to the recent talk on the Diplomatic Outlook on the Korean Peninsula, Chatham House has kindly uploaded a recording of the event, which you can find on the Chatham House website and embedded below. The Guardian picked up one of the earlier soundbites in the on-the-record […]
The many ways in which you can support Bongsu Park’s Dream Auction project
OK friends, wherever you are, this is what I want you to do. Any or all of the following: Buy one or more tickets and come along to the Dream Ritual performance at the Coronet Theatre, 3-6 July. Bring a friend. I have so much faith that this is going to be a great experience […]
An introduction to the Love Without Boundaries season of screenings
The KCC have provided the following press release that introduces the second season of screenings this year. The first season this year, Home Truths, was a great selection of movies, and if possible Love without Boundaries is even better: Love Without Boundaries Korean Film Nights continue with a second season for 2019 ‘Love Without Boundaries’ […]
Exhibition visit: Kimsooja at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
LKL had a mini-break in the Derbyshire Dales last week. And, because the Yorkshire Sculpture Park was but an hour’s drive away from where we were staying, we decided to pay a visit to see the installations by Kimsooja. The weather app promised that the rain was likely to hold off for at least half […]
Liverpool Biennial seeks emerging Korean curator
An interesting opportunity for an emerging Korean curator to work on the 2020 Liverpool Biennial: Curatorial Fellowship Dates: October 2019 – 2020 Location: Liverpool Hours: 37.5 per week Total fee: £22,000 Application deadline: 1 July 2019 Liverpool Biennial, working in collaboration with Arts Council England and Arts Council Korea, is offering an exciting opportunity for […]
Don Mee Choi and Kim Hyesoon win 2019 Griffin Poetry Prize
Congratulations to Don Mee Choi and Kim Hyesoon for winning the 2019 International Griffin Poetry Prize with Autobiography of Death. In an interesting way of recognising the relationship between the creators of the original text and the translated work, the collection is credited as being “by Don Mee Choi, translated from the Korean written by […]
Paul Smith retrospective opens in DDP
A retrospective of designer Paul Smith’s work opened at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza yesterday. A good friend of LKL went along to the opening and took a few pictures. The exhibition is hosted by the Seoul Design Foundation and the Design Museum in London. The Korea Times describes it as “like walking into the renowned […]
June events 2019
It’s another big month for music and performance, and don’t forget to plan ahead for Bongsu Park’s Dream Ritual featuring Jinyeob Cha and haihm in early July. Arts and exhibitions The KCC’s new exhibition, Ways to Experience, opens on 11 June. Art Night is on 22 June, with one-off appearances from Christine Sun Kim and […]
BTS perform on Britain’s Got Talent
Last time they were in town for a gig it their chosen UK TV appearance was the BBC’s Graham Norton Show. A small TV studio was not the best place to showcase their talents, but they made the best of circumstances and turned in a good performance despite injuries. This time round the stage was […]
Sharing Dreams: Bongsu Park talks about her upcoming DREAM RITUAL performance
Dreams. Freud made a whole career out of them. We are supposed to have them every night, but most of the time we can’t remember them. Cultures around the world have myths and legends in which dreams are laden with symbolic and predictive power. And in Korea, in a quaint folk custom, dreams are bought […]