I was sorry to have missed the opening of the current exhibition by Oh Man-chul at Han Collection. I made up for it by spending some time at the gallery a couple of days later. Park Jinsu kindly provided a photo of Master Oh’s opening performance, a painting on a 2 metre square canvas executed … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 39)
Kingston Korean Festival 2017: the photos
Here is a collection of photos from the Korean Festival held in Kingston’s ancient market place on Saturday 16 September 2017. 16,706 people attended the festival and 526 people enjoyed the audience participation programmes on the day! LKL, unfortunately, wasn’t one of them, and these photos are taken with permission from the organisers’ Facebook page … [Read More]
Sad news from the South coast
Kim Hyewon, a 22 year-old student who was studying English here fell to her death after jumping in the air to pose for a photo at the edge of the Seven Sisters. According to the Telegraph: A statement by witness Young Choi, 24, said: “I went to the Seven Sisters for tourism. Another Korean girl, … [Read More]
Film review: Memoir of a Murderer
Memoir of a Murderer asks us to step inside the mind of someone who is losing his memory, a sufferer of Alzheimer’s disease. The movie opens with a scene focusing on the face of a gaunt and aged-looking Sol Kyung-gu as single dad Kim Byung-soo. As we watch, his face begins to twitch. At first … [Read More]
Gig review: Kim Hyelim + Alice Zawadzki
I have to confess: I was a little nervous as I set off for Dalston on a dark Monday evening. If I had a minor gripe with the opening gig of the K-music festival at the Union Chapel, billed as a collaboration between East and West, it was that there was not enough collaboration: Kathryn … [Read More]
Gig review: Jeon Jeduk and Park Juwon at Pizza Express
What can one say about a pair of such flawless musicians? Jeon Jeduk, blind since birth, has been compared with Toots Thielemans and Stevie Wonder; Park Juwon… I’m not sure who he’s been compared with, but as I listened to his set I was reminded of the stunning album Passion Grace and Fire by guitarists … [Read More]
Gig review: Heemoon Lee + Prelude
Last Sunday night we had the choice between two Korean performers, both known for their unusual dress sense and unique stage presence and more importantly both leaders in their respective fields. With one, the price tag was upwards of £60, for which you had to queue up at a large North London venue, submit to … [Read More]
Film review double bill: Bamseom Pirates and Criminal Conspiracy
This weekend gave us the opportunity to watch two very different documentaries which cast their critical eye over contemporary Korean society and recent political history. Part of the fascination of both of them for UK-based Korea-watchers is the way they resonate: they provide, in the one case, a laser-like dissection of an issue of which … [Read More]
Jeju teachers in Kingston exchange
I do like receiving these occasional press releases from Kingston Council as I wouldn’t normally get to hear about things like this: Kingston schools welcome teachers from Korea in cultural exchange programme Seven teachers from Jeju in South Korea, Kingston’s partner town, are working in local schools and staying with local families as part of … [Read More]
LEAFF, LKFF and the battle for our diaries
The film festival season is upon us, and this requires some serious diary planning. Fortunately the BFI London Film Festival remains serenely distant from the ignominious tangle caused by the collision of LEAFF and LKFF. With four titles scheduled earlier in the month, including the movie that I’ve been most looking forward to all year … [Read More]
October events 2017
This is probably the most congested month since LKL’s records began in 2006. Three film festivals take out much of the end of the month; the K-music festival has some very enticing gigs; the unmissable Ahn Eun-me comes to London for two days; and far too much else besides. And then there’s this very tempting … [Read More]
BBC Korea goes live
The BBC Korean language service started broadcasting today (Korea time / 4:30pm UK time yesterday). According to the press release, BBC News Korean features a daily 30-minute radio news programme broadcast at 15.30 GMT on Shortwave (SW) and 16.30 GMT Medium wave (MW). The service will also feature a digital offer with written stories, videos … [Read More]
Korean ceramics at the British Ceramics Biennial
This year the British Ceramics Biennial has two major strands with a Korean interest: first, a continuation of the Made in Korea project curated by Kay Aplin of Brighton’s Ceramic House, with output from a residency programme in which Korean potters Kim Jin and Baek Kyung-won produced work that responds to the ceramics produced by Wedgwood. … [Read More]
Korean designers at London Design Fair
Am I the only one confused about the branding of the design shows held in London at the end of September, and dismayed at the uselessness of their web designers? The branders seem to have decided that bunch of shows that have been around for a while should be gathered together under the heading of … [Read More]
Kim Juree’s work at the V+A is melting …
An integral and intended feature of Kim Juree’s work is that it self-destructs. As I said a couple of months ago when first reporting on the V+A’s Contemporary Korean Ceramics exhibition: “Kim makes models of 1980s-1990s houses being demolished in her naighbourhood. The houses are characterised by a unique combination of western and Korean architectural … [Read More]
Lee Kang-hyo in Making Futures at Plymouth College of Art
Doh! Things are so busy at the moment that I’m having difficulty keeping up with everything. I popped into the V+A this afternoon to check out the Korean jewellery designers who are here for the London Design Festival, and bumped into Rosalie Kim. We started chatting about the British Ceramics Biennial which starts in Stoke-on-Trent … [Read More]