In 2012, as part of their Globe to Globe festival, the Globe Theatre invited numerous theatre companies from around the world to perform their Shakespeare adaptations in London – and Yohangza Theatre Company from South Korea brought their Midsummer Night’s Dream [LKL review here]. For phase two of the project, the Globe Theatre is taking … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 79)
So apparently Korean spiced chicken is Great British Pub Food
A menu spotted outside a Bloomsbury pub recently. With Jubo doing well in the Hoxton area with their Korean spiced chicken wings, it looks like other pubs are trying to get in on the act. [Read More]
Beyond Taegŭm: Jason Verney’s film of the evening at Asia House
Those who were unable to make it to Asia House last year to see Kim Hyelim’s lecture-recital on the broad range of capabilities of the Korean Taegŭm can now enjoy a full-length film of the evening by Jason Verney / Native Nomad Pictures, with added extras: View more of Jason’s films on his Vimeo account. [Read More]
Koreans come 1st and 2nd in Hastings Piano comp
Congratulations to 17 year-old Lee Taek-gi on winning the first prize (and £10,000) in this year’s Hastings International Piano Competition with his performance of Rachmaninov’s 3rd piano concerto. Runner-up was Sunwoo Yekwon, winning £2,500. The final of the competition was on 8 March. Source: Hastings International Piano Competition [Read More]
A belated tour of March’s First Thursday openings
In this article we visit Chung Heeseung: Inadequate Metaphor, at HADA Contemporary, Sun Ae Kim: Quotidian, at Mokspace; Bae Joonsung: Costume of a Painter / Hwang Seon-tae: Sunlight at Albemarle Gallery / Shine Artists; and last but by no means least Hwang Jihae: miNiATURE, at the Strand Gallery It was always going to be difficult to get … [Read More]
Krys Lee wins literature award
Congratulations to Krys Lee who has won a literature award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is one of two winners of a Rome Fellowship in Literature, which involves a one-year residency (2014–2015) at the American Academy in Rome. Source [Read More]
Exhibition visit: K-Fashion Odyssey at the KCC
The K-Fashion Odyssey now in its last week marks a return by the KCC to London Fashion Week’s International Fashion Showcase event. Their participation in 2012 – A New Space Around the Body (LKL review here) – won the British Council’s and British Fashion Council’s Emerging Talent Award. This year’s participation, which has just as … [Read More]
If you’re into J-pop as well as K-pop, Japako is for you
I just received an email from Japako magazine in my inbox – a new magazine (available by preorder) that covers Korean and Japanese pop music and culture. Their 2nd issue is available for preorder now, with a special deal to get the first issue as well. Here’s what they told me: Japako Music was founded … [Read More]
A brief tour of the Korean galleries at Art 14
Korean artists and galleries put on a good show at Art14, and got plenty of attention from the press. Time Out spotted (they were hard to miss) Choi Jeong-hwa’s huge collection of colourful pieces which looked like giant hubble-bubbles, installed at Hong Kong’s Pearl Lam Galleries. Also recommended in the same article was 43 Inverness … [Read More]
March events 2014
I’d like to think that March is the calm before the April storm that will be the London Book Fair. But it seems to be just as busy as ever. Exhibitions The K-Fashion Odyssey at the KCC continues until 15 March, after which the KCC will be getting ready its printing exhibition which will coincide … [Read More]
Book Review: Hwang Sunmi — The Hen who Dreamed she could Fly
A brief fable that can delight children and adults alike, the story touches on themes of motherly love, discrimination, otherness, and belonging, while also touching on and accepting the harsh realities of life — and death. As the novel starts, we wonder if we are going to be force-fed a heavy political allegory. Sprout, the … [Read More]
No medals for the BBC’s Sochi closing ceremony coverage
As the Olympic flag was passed from Sochi to the mayor of Pyeongchang, it was time for a brief preview of the 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. The BBC voiceover was done by sports commentator Hazel Irvine, who had been handed a press briefing but no more. Helpfully, she identified that the bird characters on … [Read More]
Book Review: Gong Ji-young — Our Happy Time
Our Happy Time is not the obvious title for a novel in which a three-times attempted suicide goes reluctantly to visit a convicted murderer awaiting execution on death row. But strangely, as the relationship between the well-off former pop star and the prisoner from a poor and broken family gradually builds, the connection between them … [Read More]
London Fashion Week: the AW14 catwalk shows
Two Korean fashion designers displayed their Autumn / Winter 2014 looks on the London Fashion Week catwalk on Valentine’s day. And despite their very different inspirations, there were interesting parallels in terms of colour palette and fabric, and even some design features. Looking at the common factors between the two collections, high, roll-neck or sculpted … [Read More]
Yuna is still Queen
Regardless of the controversy, Kim Yuna bowed out with dignity: “The judges give points and I can’t do anything about that,” she is reported as saying. “I did all I wanted to do, like I wanted to do it. … I’m just glad it’s over.” A few relevant links: The Change.org petition: Open Transparent Scores … [Read More]
Seoul Philharmonic records Unsuk Chin for DG
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and Chung Myung-whun were in the recording studio for Deutsche Grammophon last month recording Unsuk Chin’s concertos for Sheng (with Wu Wei), Piano (with Sunwook Kim) and Cello (with Alban Gerhardt – who premiered the work at the BBC Proms in 2009 – LKL review here). The orchestra will be coming … [Read More]