I’m sure most of you have been in the scenario of trying to get a drink in a busy bar, with an overstretched barman (or maid) not having a clue who’s next in the unspoken queue. He looks around, and whoever shouts loudest gets served. You wonder if you will ever get your thirst quenched. … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 84)
Cloud Atlas – one Hollywood appearance of which a Korean actor can be proud
How many Hollywood films have you seen, featuring Korean actors, where you have thought “Yes, he (or she) can be proud of that?” I confess not to having seen Red 2 (Lee Byung-hun) yet, so maybe that will be one of them. But thinking back to the two GI Joe films (Lee Byung-hun), Ninja Assassin … [Read More]
December events 2013
After a hectic November, December is a little quieter. Let me know what I’ve missed. Film The Year of the Four Actors comes an end with two films starring Ha Jung-woo: Berlin File (12 December) and The Terror Live (18 December) Exhibitions Shin Meekyoung’s solo show, Unfixed, continues at the KCC Night Break, featuring photography … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: The Others, at Hanmi Gallery
The current group show at Hanmi Gallery, entitled The Others, features artists who “question the nature of individuality, solitude and the unreal in a group setting. Rather than work to a strict theme, these ʻOthersʼ present what is individual and personal to them, from dreams to questions of ontology and the fear of death.” Movie … [Read More]
MMCA Seoul’s opening show mired in controversy
It’s a shame that the opening of the Seoul branch of the National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art had to be bogged down in controversy. What should have been an interesting show, Zeitgeist Korea, one of the museum’s five concurrent exhibitions, is tainted with nepotism, as 32 out of the 39 artists featured are … [Read More]
Jieun Kim and the three Ws
Jason Verney of Native Nomad Pictures and miniminimovie.com has done a nice mini-documentary of Jieun Kim’s Serendipity exhibition and workshop at Mokspace in the early part of September this year: Check out Jason’s Vimeo channel here: http://vimeo.com/channels/jasonverney/ [Read More]
In pictures: the KAA’s 합 Collaboration exhibition at the KCC
The KAA’s excellent 합, 合, Collaboration exhibition has now been reviewed over on koreanartists.co.uk. Here are some photos from the exhibition, with text from the exhibition catalogue. Photos by LKL, except where credited otherwise. Click on the thumbnails for a bigger version of the image. Kang Soon-yul My entry for this exhibition is based on … [Read More]
NLCS Jeju featured in the Telegraph
This week the Daily Telegraph featured the Jeju campus of North London Collegiate School: a piece of Stanmore in Seogwipo. The boarding school has now been running for two years. You can’t help but be inspired by the enjoyment, enthusiasm and confidence of the students, even though they are being taught in what, to them, … [Read More]
Kim Minae’s playful disruptions, at HADA Contemporary
Kim Minae is best known for her puzzling structures: painstakingly constructed, they are concrete, purposeful-looking objects. But on second glance the objects clearly have no useful function. Thus, the strange skeletal telescope that was displayed at Futures Futures Future reflected your own eyeball back at you. In her group show at the National Museum of … [Read More]
President Park’s busy couple of days in London
A quick run-down of President Park’s activities in the UK last week. Itinerary provided by Buckingham Palace. Photos from the Blue House and the KCC. Tuesday, 5 November, 2013 Morning The President of the Republic of Korea is met privately by The Duke of York on behalf of The Queen. The Duke accompanies Her Excellency … [Read More]
The President’s City Banquet
For the last night of her State Visit to the United Kingdom, President Park attended a banquet at the Guildhall in the City of London as a guest of the Lord Mayor – in one of his last official duties before passing on his responsibilities to the new Lord Mayor two days later. Over seven … [Read More]
Expo visit: Hwang Jihae’s Hanging Garden of Billingsgate
One of the most prominent exhibits at the Korea Brand and Entertainment Expo at Billingsgate was not a hologram of Psy or an animated cartoon character, but a garden that was a full 22 metres long, dominating the space behind the main stage’s seating area. In an event designed to demonstrate the range of Korean … [Read More]
Expo visit: Crystallise and other media art at KBEE
It was a shame that there were only two days to enjoy the product of the huge amount of investment – both financial and in terms of time and effort – that went into the creation of KBEE 2013 and its associated events. The basement of Billingsate is a perfect venue for video art: huge … [Read More]
Expo visit: Korean design and cultural contents at KBEE
The Korea Brand and Entertainment Expo which coincided with President Park’s State Visit showcased contemporary Korean media art, K-pop, Korea’s premier garden designer and more. Also featured were key Korean designers: Kim Young-se (김영세) of Innodesign, whose designs reference the sleek black parallel lines of the trigrams in South Korea’s national flag, or the elegant … [Read More]
Expo visit: YG v CJ, and PSY everywhere, at Billingsate
Day 1 of the Korea Branding and Entertainment Expo, coinciding with President Park’s State Visit, was very much business-focused, with fashion and contents buyers browsing the many stalls. Day 2 was given over to the visual arts and musical entertainments. Downstairs, in the spectacular vaulted basement, was a huge exhibition of video art, celebrating the … [Read More]
The Japanese YouTube campaign on Dokdo
Wisely, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disabled comments on their Dokdo propaganda video uploaded to YouTube a few days ago. Because otherwise they’d be deluged with some pretty hostile feedback. And not just from angry Koreans. The map they provide is downright misleading. To a viewer who knows nothing, it seems perfectly reasonable … [Read More]