London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

July House Concert: Korea x Taiwan Classical Collaboration

Seunghye Park, Yu-Chieh Li & Chih-Jung Lai (piano) Programme Seunghye Park F. Liszt: Totentanz for Solo Piano S.525 Arr. Seunghye Park: Arirang Variations (Korean Traditional Folk Song) Yu-Chieh Lin A. Scriabin: Valse Op.38 Chih-Jung Lai A. Scriabin: Vers La Flamme, Op.72 Yu-Chieh Lin & Chih-Jung Lai F. Schubert: Fantasie In F Minor, D.940 Yu-Chieh Lin … [Read More]

Book review: Concerning My Daughter

Kim Hye-jin’s Concerning My Daughter is set in a world of agency workers, where no-one has enough money, still less any job security; a world in which a university lecturer gets fired for being gay; a world in which a nursing home asks their staff to cut down on basic hygiene tasks and neglect their … [Read More]

June events 2022

Things are getting busy again. The KCC’s in-house film screenings now seem to have got into their stride with five great movies this month; there are Platinum Jubilee and Dano Festival celebrations in New Malden on two consecutive weekends (including participation from the North Korean community); the Festival of Korean Dance returns to The Place, … [Read More]

Wanted: K-Pop banners for V&A Hallyu exhibition

Help the Victoria and Albert Museum showcase K-Pop banners in their upcoming exhibition Hallyu! The Korean Wave – and your creation could end up in their permanent collection! The V&A are launching a public call-out for K-Pop banners, to help highlight the vital role that fandoms play in the phenomenon of K-Pop. The chosen banners … [Read More]

May events 2022

I’m beginning to feel that the volume of events is returning to pre-pandemic norms. Nevertheless, I’m sure there are things I’ve managed inadvertently to omit. Exhibitions The KCC’s group show Drifting Terrain continues until 21 May There’s a group show – 엄마, Mother – by UK-based Korean artsts, at Han Collection 20 – 28 May … [Read More]

April events 2022

It’s looking like a relatively quiet month this month… Film The KCC is screening a documentary double bill on 7 April. Hopefully a second double bill will follow later in the month. You might find Umma featuring Sandra Oh in a cinema somewhere, though screening times in the West and Southwest London area at least … [Read More]

And in other Apple news…

With all the excitement about the launch of the adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko on Apple TV, and Apple’s Oscar win, something that might once have been big news – the appearance of a free-to-view Park Chan-wook short film on YouTube – has not really had much airtime. Back in 2011, brothers Park Chan-wook … [Read More]

A Festival of Korean Dance 2022

The Festival of Korean Dance is back. The programme is pretty much what we were going to see in the 2020 festival, which of course got cancelled. I’m glad we haven’t missed out, and I’m really looking forward to this. So, here’s the official press release. A Festival of Korean Dance returns to The Place … [Read More]

Gallery visit: Jukhee Kwon in Expanding Horizons

October Gallery has represented Korean artist Jukhee Kwon for almost ten years now, and it was natural that when planning an exhibition in memory of their trustee Pamela Kember they should include work by the Korean artist as she exhibited in Asia House when Kember was director of Arts and Learning there. Somehow, during the … [Read More]

Soon Yul Kang’s recent and upcoming exhibitions

Congratulations to London-based artist Soon Yul Kang, who has had a nice write-up for her Washington duo show from the Washington Post: Striking a canny balance between the simple and the complex, Kang’s artworks can be grasped in a second yet reward minutes of close inspection. Kang’s exhibition at the Washington KCC closes on 23 … [Read More]

Book review: Kim Won-il – The Scorpion

Kim Won-il looks at 80 years of Korean modern history, presenting us with the less glamorous side of the story in a novel that spans three generations of a Milyang-based family who are swept along in the political and economic tides of the colonial period and Korea’s subsequent reconstruction. [Read More]

March events 2022

This month’s highlight in London is undoubtedly Park Jiha’s residency at Cafe OTO, timed to coincide with the release of her new album, The Gleam. Outside of the capital there’s a play at Bristol Old Vic focusing on Korean divided families; and in Sheffield look out for the return of the annual Korea Day. The … [Read More]