February’s edition of Vogue Korea has a 6-page feature on the studio space occupied by Korean artists around the world. Francesca Cho is the artist featured for London. Cho, who stepped down from leading the UK Korean Artists Association at the start of this year, is based at Palace Wharf studios in Fulham. She’s been … [Read More]
Category: Living abroad (page 13)
FT hails New Malden parakeets, and other recent London Korean stories
First up, Professor Keith Howard from SOAS got featured in the JoongAng daily in an article entitled Samulnori beats in an English heart, on the occasion of a recent trip to Seoul to attend a Samulnori symposium. Professor Howard will soon be off to sunnier climes, with a year in Sydney Australia. Howard was recently … [Read More]
Candle Night exhibition in Kilburn Art Space
A couple of years ago tea-merchant David Kilburn appeared in the Korea Times: he had organised a mini arts festival in Bukchon hanok village in Seoul – where he lives in one of the last few remaining unspoilt hanoks. The festival had artistic aims – “to place traditional performances in the intimate traditional setting of … [Read More]
100 years of the Salvation Army in Korea
By Michael Rank London isn’t exactly full of reminders of Korea, so I was surprised to discover in Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington, a newly placed plaque in memory of the man who brought the Salvation Army to Korea. The black marble plaque describes in English and Korean how “With Marching Orders from [Salvation Army … [Read More]
Learn to cook Japche with Kie-jo Sarsfield
There’s another opportunity to learn how to cook Korean food this coming Saturday, courtesy of Kei-jo Sarsfield. I had an enjoyable morning earlier this year learning the basics of making kimchi and belly-of-pork bulgogi, acting as willing guinea pig for Mrs Sarsfield’s planned cookery lessons. She’s done a couple of classes since then, and the … [Read More]
4482 2008: 40 Emerging Korean artists in one place
We all knew that there were a fair number of Korean artists living in London. But forty? Where did they all come from? And, actually, there’s more than forty, because none of the artists I know personally are participating (or if they are, they’ve kept a Korean-style vow of secrecy about it). But 40 Korean … [Read More]
Korean bookshop in New Malden
Thanks to David Gomez for writing in with an answer to a question which lots of people have asked: where to buy Korean books in London. Not books about Korea, not books about how to learn Korean, but books written in Korean. My standard answer is that I haven’t the foggiest idea, but that if … [Read More]
Westminster Council in bulgogi clampdown
When did a Korean barbeque last blow up in YOUR face? We live in dangerous times, and fortunately there are people whose job it is to protect us. A couple of weeks ago my big brother was staying with me, and I thought I’d introduce him to Korean food. So I took him to a … [Read More]
North Koreans in Britain
Every now and then a visitor to this site asks whether there are any North Koreans in the UK, apart from at the DPRK embassy. Journalist Michael Rank keeps his eyes open for evidence, particularly on the parliamentary website, and shares his findings with the BAKS list – little snippets of information such as the … [Read More]
Call for Artists
The British Council and the KCC are co-sponsoring an exhibition by artists of Korean origin working in the UK. The exhibition will be held in December 2008. A Call for artists notice has been published on the KCC website. Applications are due in by 1 August 2008. Details from the KCC. Links: Download the application … [Read More]
Kimchi in Metroland – Korean Cooking with Kie-jo Sarsfield
It was a sunny Saturday morning. Louise and I found ourselves speeding through the leafy countryside of Buckinghamshire on the way to the Chalfonts, towards the end of the Metropolitan Line. We were to be the willing guinea pigs for Kie-jo Sarsfield’s Korean Cookery classes. The taxi was waiting for us at the station, and … [Read More]
The Old Justice – the only Korean-owned pub in Central London?
In a corner of Bermondsey, right by the river, is one of many traditional East End boozers. Outside: picnic benches, barrels to put your pint glasses on, hanging baskets of flowers, and a view towards Tower Bridge (right). Inside, it’s cosy. High on the wall, a TV showing the footie (left). Oak paneled walls. In … [Read More]
Candle-lit vigil in central London
It is the weekend when Korean culture is on display in Central London: today sees the Dano Korea Summer Festival, with traditional dancing, food, fan-making and more contemporary music in Trafalgar Square. Last night another traditional Korean activity was on show – the street protest. An estimated 250 Koreans gathered in Whitehall opposite Downing Street … [Read More]
Koreans in New Zealand
I had known for a while that New Zealand is a place where Koreans have been travelling – and settling down – for a number of years. At the BFI London Film Festival in 2004 there was a short film entitled Eating Sausage (Zia Mandviwalla, 2004), about Korean immigrants in Auckland; while Bungee Jumping of … [Read More]
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon
A fun video recently posted to YouTube. As Michael Aronson says in the comment section, “Great lyrics that approach it from a foreigner’s POV without being ignorant.” Available from Amazon and iTunes. [Read More]
Cherry blossom festival in Vancouver
On the first day of Vancouver’s Cherry Blossom Festival, Jennifer Barclay reports on a recent visit to the Canadian city’s Koreatown Driving around Vancouver makes you hungry. There’s a Vietnamese restaurant next to an Indian next to a Greek next to a Korean. That’s especially on the big roads like Kingsway that lead away from … [Read More]