A slightly belated start to the year for the KCC’s regular film screenings, but their first season promises well. Here are the details, kindly provided by the KCC. Home Truths 2 May – 20 June Now in its 11th year, Korean Film Nights open for 2019 with ‘Home Truths’ – a season exploring how Korean … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 27)
2018 travel diary 3 – The Smile of Baekje
10 – 11 November 2018. My trips to Korea are usually preceded by a hurried piece of research on the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) website trying to find out what notable items of tangible or intangible heritage, or what other historic or scenic sites there might be, to attract an inquisitive traveller to the places … [Read More]
Why I’m beginning to warm to Netflix
After a rocky start with Netflix, I’m now coming round to it. I started subscribing to the online service in order to watch Okja, the Netflix-only feature film by director Bong Joon-ho. Although that particular experience was a big disappointment, I continued the subscription in case I was tempted by any of the other movies … [Read More]
Book review: Hwang Sok-yong – At Dusk
Hwang Sok-yong: At Dusk Translated by Sora Kim-Russell Scribe, 2018, 188pp Originally published as 해질 무렵, Munhakdongne, 2015 What a relief it is when a novel is both thought-provoking and a pleasure to read. Hwang Sok-yong’s At Dusk made me look forward to my daily commute (pretty much the only time I get to read). … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Jukhee Kwon in Present Moment, at October Gallery
It was nice to see Jukhee Kwon’s work again in London, after too long a break. The most eye-catching work was one of her extended cascades of paper from a single book: Dipping into Darkness (2013) was hung from the top of the wall, its black-tinted lower end trailing on the floor, making the whole … [Read More]
LKL chats with Tiffany Kwok, organiser of the Easter K-pop party at Scala
LKL doesn’t generally post articles about the plethora of all-night K-pop parties that seem to be a regular feature of the London calendar nowadays – and increasingly in other cities too. Why? Well, it’s partly because there are so many of them (we have limited writing hours in the evening and limited storage space at … [Read More]
Bongsu Park’s Internal Library / Playground collaboration now online
Bongsu Park’s collaboration with Liam Francis is now available online on the BBC website and also on the Rambert Live site. The live event is presented by Simone Damberg Würtz – Rambert dancer, choreographer and founder of The Playground – and involves artists and performers from all backgrounds who come together to use dance to … [Read More]
Kim Chi spices up BBC make-up reality TV show
One of the more fun programmes on UK terrestrial TV right now is the reality show Glow Up, in which would-be professional make-up artists compete against each other. Every week a different guest celebrity make-up artist joins the show to critique the work of the contestants. This week, Episode 5, the show was graced by … [Read More]
Bongsu Park and Liam Francis in Ballet Rambert’s The Playground
Once a month, professional artists from all backgrounds can visit the Ballet Rambert Studios to explore, create, collaborate and play in The Playground – a place where you may share space and ideas with other creative minds. This month, Bongsu Park has been selected to join the programme, working with dancer Liam Francis, alongside other … [Read More]
April events 2019
It’s looking like a slightly quieter month this month, though things have a habit of springing up at the last minute. Look out for events related to the 5th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, of which there are a few in the planning but not yet finalised. Exhibitions Haegue Yang’s Tracing Movement is at … [Read More]
Welcome to LKL v6
Earlier this year, my brain decided that sometime during 2019 it would rebuild the LKL website from the ground up. The rest of me didn’t have a choice in the matter. The decision was made. Then the brain took over completely and started work. I could not control it. Most of the day, and often … [Read More]
Book notes: Hwang Jung-eun — I’ll Go On
Hwang Jungeun: I’ll Go On Translated by Emily Yae Won Tilted Axis Press, 2018 Serialised as 소라나나나기, 2012-2013, and published as 계속해보겠습니다, 2014, by Changbi After not really warming to Hwang Jungeun’s One Hundred Shadows, I nevertheless invested in the second translation of her work by Tilted Axis Press firstly because the press deserves our … [Read More]
Colette Balmain and Paul Quinn on women in the Korean film industry
For those of you who, like me, were unable to make it up to Harrow for the talk on Women in Korean film by Colette Balmain and Paul Quinn on 4 March, Colette has posted a recording of her talk on Korean female directors on Soundcloud, while Paul has uploaded the text of his talk, … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Korean crafts at Collect 2019
Collect at the Saatchi Gallery can always be relied upon to bring together a wide range of high quality crafts, and is a fair where I spend as much time looking at the non-Korean objects as I do the Korean ones. And it’s always wise to keep an eye open, in the non-Korean galleries, because … [Read More]
Kingston School of Art and Royal School of Needlework collaborate with Hanbok Advancement Centre
The first stage of an innovative collaboration between the Hanbok Advancement Centre, Kingston School of Art and the Royal School of Needlework had its first public exhibition last week at Kingston University’s Stanley Picker Gallery. The collaboration was the brainchild of Justina Jang, who through Korean British Cultural Exchange shares Korean culture with London and … [Read More]
Zadie Xa: A Sojourn Through Saturn and Across the Southern Sea
Browsing the Kingston School of Art and Stanley Picker Gallery websites today for background on their recent exhibition of Korean-inspired fashion and embroidery, I came across something I wasn’t expecting. In a zone of Kingston University’s website called Cold Protein is a series of podcasts of artists’ sound works, conceived to be experienced in specific … [Read More]