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 […]
Category: Event reports and reviews
Write-ups, reports and reviews of Korea-related events, exhibitions, shows etc in London and elsewhere
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 […]
Review roundup: Korean films at the 2019 BFI London filmfest
I was particularly looking forward to the Korean screenings in the London Film Festival this year. Both LEAFF and LKFF in prior years have been championing the talent among Korea’s female directors and the trend has now spread to the BFI programme: of this year’s BFI festival, four out of the five Korean movies were […]
Event report: Kim Kulim and Jessica Hyunjin Kim at Cafe OTO
Veteran avant-garde artist Kim Kulim has been going through a resurgence of interest in his work, with re-enactments of his early work having taken place in Korea over the past couple of years. This month saw a recreation of one of his controversial performances from 1970, in which he realised Nam June Paik’s Sex on […]
Misun Won and Kyosun Jung at Goldsmiths Fair
Earlier this month LKL paid a brief visit to the second week of Goldsmiths Fair, primarily to congratulate Misun Won on her special mention in the Best New Design Award 2019. The award itself went to Patrick Davison, but Misun’s generously proportioned brooch caught the judges’ eye. While there, we also visited award-winning designer Kyosun […]
Jambinai launches K-music 2019 with explosive force
Call me a grouch, but when you need both ear plugs and a blindfold to survive a gig in any degree of comfort you have to start questioning the wisdom of some of the sound and lighting judgments. Ear plugs, handed out for free at the entrance to Jambinai’s Purcell Room gig that opened K-music […]
Review: Kokdu – a story of guardian angels
The death of a grandmother in remote, rural Jindo becomes dramatically intertwined with a stage performance by dancers, court and folk musicians from the National Gugak Centre as they portray the journey of a soul in the afterlife. The unauthorised purchase of a Jindo puppy by her two grandchildren gets them entangled in the drama […]
Concert review: BTS Love Yourself, Speak Yourself at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium had been host to many musical acts over the years, including the 1988 Live Aid concert. 31 years later and the stands and pitch are filled with fans of sensational boy group BTS, who are quite literally conquering the world. So it is no surprise that both of their dates at Wembley sold […]
Video: Kingston Korean Harvest Fest 2019 ft The Move
It was glorious weather yesterday for Kingston’s Korean Harvest Fest – almost too hot for some of the energetic Kpop dancers and the visiting professionals from Korea. The ice cream sellers were doing brisk trade, as of course were the Korean food stalls that were set up down one side of the historic market place. […]