As promised at the end of BTS’ April streaming marathon, the boys were “back in ARMY’s rooms” this weekend, wrapping up their annual birthday celebrations with a live-streamed concert that was watched by over 750,000 viewers worldwide. ‘Bang Bang Con: The Live’ followed the end of this year’s Festa, an event of special daily content […]
Category: Event reports and reviews
Write-ups, reports and reviews of Korea-related events, exhibitions, shows etc in London and elsewhere
Rendered Reality: an interview with Joonhong Min and Shinuk Suh
New contributor Federica Ionta meets the artists behind Rendered Reality, the exhibition currently in suspended animation at the KCCUK. Thinking of Korean art, one might recall, for instance, pottery of exquisite quality, such as the iconic moon jars, or beautiful ink paintings. However, not all Korean artists stick to traditional shapes, materials and techniques. Artists […]
BTS provide virtual entertainment for fans with ‘Bang Bang Con’
Over the weekend of 18th-19th April, millions of BTS fans around the world enjoyed a 24-hour concert streaming marathon entitled ‘Bang Bang Con’. The title was derived from the first syllable of the group’s full name (방탄소년단 / Bangtan Sonyeondan) and the Korean word for ‘room’ (방 / bang) and the event was thus advertised […]
Exhibition visit: Lee Young-hee’s Stuff of Dreams, at the Guimet
With more time being spent at home, LKL has a bit of time to catch up on the writing backlog. Here’s a visit we made to Paris at the beginning of March, a couple of days before the exhibition closed. In fact, looking back, it was the last Korean cultural event we enjoyed prior to […]
A round-up of the Korean crafts at Collect 2020
Collect this year moved from the Saatchi Gallery to Somerset House. The move had both advantages and disadvantages. At Saatchi there is greater openness of space and there is the added benefit of the lively environs of Sloane Square for coffee and snacks. Somerset House, on the other hand feels like a bit of a […]
Parasite: a non-review
What can one say about a movie that has won Best Picture at Cannes and the Oscars, that has won best screenplay at the Oscars and BAFTAs, best edited drama feature at the Eddies, and best ensemble performance at the Screen Actors Guild? A movie that has been seen more widely in this country, and […]
Jeronimo Lim Kim – revolutionary father of the Korean community in Cuba
Those who have read Kim Young-ha’s Black Flower will know about the Koreans who migrated to Mexico in 1905 as farm labourers, just before Korea became a Japanese protectorate. By the time their contracts were up, Japan was about to absorb Korea into their growing empire. Now stateless, some of the migrants stayed in Mexico; […]
Concert notes: Park Jiha at LSO St Lukes
What a difference a venue makes. Uncomfortable seats, noisy air conditioning and poor sight lines meant that Park Jiha’s gig at the Rich Mix in the 2019 K-music festival was less enjoyable than it could have been. At LSO St Luke’s at the end of January everything seemed right. Yes, there was the faint hiss […]
Two days total immersion in BTS at Kingston: a report from the Global Interdisciplinary Conference Project
When I told someone at the (virtually empty) office on the first Friday of the new decade that I would be spending the weekend at a two-day conference on BTS, he at first looked blank. I had to explain to him that they’re a K-pop boy band, at which he grinned and urged me to […]
A round-up of three early January exhibitions
LKL visits three solo shows in the first two weeks of 2020: Suh Shinuk, Song Gin-young and Kang Jungsuck. Hopefully we’ll get to Tate Modern to see the big Nam June Paik exhibition before it closes. Suh Shinuk’s Man(u)fractured has been extended for a week, to 18 January. It’s well worth a trip to North […]
A review of the Korean cultural year 2019
A review of some of the highlights and trends in the Korean cultural year, primarily in London but also with half an eye to anything we might have seen elsewhere in the UK. The review is a personal one, inevitably skewed towards the events we managed to get to. Introduction This time last year I […]
Gig review: Kyungso Park, SB Circle + Hey String
Isn’t it refreshing when a band exceeds expectations? When you were expecting something pretty good, and you get something astoundingly good. When the newbie support band has the class to headline their own gig. OK, to call the gayageum trio Hey String a newbie band neglects to mention their success as prizewinners in Seoul Namsan […]
Gallery visit: Shin Meekyoung’s Weather, at Barakat Gallery
Meekyoung Shin’s current show at Barakat Gallery is the first major London exhibition to feature her new ceramic work. In the past, Shin has been known for her soap sculptures, many of which are designed to resemble Chinese or Korean ceramics. Now, having studied ceramics and glass at the RCA she is experimenting with clay, […]
Exhibition visit: Najeon and Ottchil, at Asia House
The current exhibition at Asia House, featuring exquisite work by contemporary master craftsmen and women, celebrates 70 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and the Republic of Korea. Najeon is the craft of decoration using mother of pearl, usually made from abalone shells, while Ottchil is the craft of creating objects out of lacquer. […]
Gig review: Kim Doo Soo at Cafe OTO
Kim Doo Soo’s stage set-up is simple but carefully planned. The stage hand has marked out the precise place where the music stand is to be positioned, and the chair – which offers the minimum of comforts. A table to the musician’s right has some water and a surface to keep the various harmonicas; also […]
A roundup of the early Autumn celebrations
As people return from their summer holidays and prepare for the autumn season, there’s a range of celebratory events that form part of the annaul cycle: from the Korean holiday calendar there’s Chuseok (celebrated over the full moon of the 8th lunar month – 12 -14 September this year) and National Foundation Day, also known […]
Brief review: Park Jiha at Rich Mix
Park Jiha closed K-music 2017 supported by a trio of musicians (playing bass, sax and vibes). She returned to London this year as a solo performer, presenting material from her new album, Philos, as well as older material. We also got one premiere. Park plays yanggeum (dulcimer), piri (oboe) and saenghwang (mouth organ), and when […]