Friday 17 July Today I elect to revisit the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon (국립 현대 미술관). Very easy to get to: Seoul Grand Park subway stop on Line 4. Get out at exit 4 and get the free shuttle bus which leaves every 20 minutes. There’s a great Manhwa exhibition on at … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 177)
The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 2: Suwon and Prince Sado’s tomb
Thursday 16 July Today the plan is to get a few UNESCO world heritage points: the Hwaseong Fortress at Suwon, followed maybe by the nearby folk village. From my base in Insadong, a one-hour tube journey direct from Jonggak station on Line 1 takes me to Suwon, armed with my guide books. A moment of … [Read More]
The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 1: Arrival
Wednesday 15 July 2009 Unaccustomed to long-distance standard class travel, I arrive in Seoul a little tired. All the previous times I’ve been to Korea, I’ve been in the area on company business, and this is the first time I’ve had to pay my own way: hence the downgrade in comfort. The evening bibimbap is … [Read More]
Gen Paik Sun Yup Interview: Remembering the Forgotten War
Seoul, Friday 17 July 2009 “Freedom is not Free”, we are reminded by the inscription on the monument commemorating the Korean War. In the bustle of our daily lives, we can forget the sacrifices made by previous generations to secure our freedoms. I have come to the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul to meet … [Read More]
Getting acquainted with some of Korea’s traditional crafts
This week presents the opportunity to catch two exhibitions at the Korean Cultural Centre: the Living Heritage exhibition is just about to close (on 21 July), while the ceramics from Gangjin will be here until 23 July. In an era of mass productions what has been assembled in the Cultural Centre is a collection of … [Read More]
Blog Korea! Visit Korea!
LKL’s new content may become a bit sporadic over the next 10 days. I’m taking a quick break in Korea in between jobs. And, seeing that I’m likely to write a blog article or two about my trip, I thought I’d register LKL with the KTO’s Blog Korea competition. You too can join the fun. … [Read More]
A celebration of food, fashion and music
Outside the Banqueting House, two Choson dynasty guards in colourful robes stood to attention to welcome the hundreds of guests. Inside, Han Style and Korean hospitality was waiting. It was in this prestigious venue that the Embassy and Cultural Centre had chosen to launch the Korean food offensive in the UK, in an evening entitled … [Read More]
Sesame and Saatchi – two contemporary Korean art exhibitions
The first hanging of the Moon Generation exhibition, for all the fanfares which went with it, was disappointing. Single works by different artists can work in a room together – Christie’s showed us how with their recent photography sale – but the Moon Generation curator’s first shot at doing so failed. In part, this was … [Read More]
Suh Do-ho doubles estimate in Christie’s London sale
The Christie’s sales of Korean artworks – and photography in particular – which took place on 1 July had mixed results. While the more expensive pieces made their estimates – and in the case of Suh Do-ho’s Some / One the hammer price came in at twice the estimate – some of the more entry-level … [Read More]
Fallen heroes – two contrasting Korean war films
June last year at the KCC saw the screening of two contrasting Korean War films from the 21st century. This year we saw two contrasting films from the last century, with very different perspectives. Lee Man-hee’s The Marines who Never returned takes a heroic look at the South Korean forces as the allied troops move … [Read More]
July events 2009
Here are the events for July: Exhibitions and sales The Christie’s sales of Korean work is on 1 July The Ideal Worlds exhibition at Sesame closes on 3 July (sorry for missing this off last month’s listings) The Phillips de Pury / Korean Eye Moon Generation exhibition at the Saatchi gallery closes on 5 July … [Read More]
Guerrilla artists take on the establishment
In the north-east extremities of the City, on the fringes of bohemian Hoxton, is I-MYU, a small gallery on the first floor of a shared block. You need to ring the doorbell to gain admittance. Since its opening nearly two years ago, I-MYU has been championing the cause of Korean artists. Im Jeongae and Yu … [Read More]
A manhwa artist at war
The Manhwa exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre finished this week, in preparation for the new Living Heritage exhibition. It was an interesting exhibition, giving some of the history of manhwa from its beginnings in early twentieth century newspapers, to the graphic novels which are avidly consumed today and which form a major part of … [Read More]
Max Hastings: The Korean War
Pan Macmillan, 1987 There are so many books on the Korean War, which commenced 59 years ago today, that it’s difficult to know where to start. One history which has stood the test of time is by Max Hastings. Clocking in at 35% fewer pages than David Halberstam’s recent well-received account, Max Hastings’s The Korean … [Read More]
London salerooms get Korean bug
Two of London’s main art dealers and auction houses are majoring in Korean art at the moment. Phillips de Pury, tucked in behind the old Army & Navy store in Victoria, has an exhibition and sale of major contemporary artists which it hopes will become an annual event, while Christie’s is preparing for an auction … [Read More]
Global Korea Lecture: When whisky could buy you a jeep
Two days before the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1874, the second of the Global Korea lectures at the Cultural Centre looked at another time, nearly 60 years ago, when the Korean Peninsula was at the top of the UN’s agenda. It was a shame that a transport strike resulted in a reduced turnout … [Read More]