Kim Juree’s latest work, London Terraced House, was unveiled at the opening of the current exhibition, Exhibit A, at Anise gallery in Shad Thames. As for her 2017 participation in the British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke, Kim chose a subject relevant to the location of the exhibition: this time a group of typical early Victorian … [Read More]
Category: Event reports and reviews (page 10)
Exhibition visit – Collect 2018
For the fifth year, the Korean Craft and Design Foundation put on a splendid show at Collect. As in previous years, the stall showcased a range of crafts – from jewellery and lacquer to ceramics and more – with this year the theme being “Meditative Art”. The dramatic ceramic piece entitled Sea by Lee Eun … [Read More]
Yi Han-eung remembered at BKS Seollal celebration
The British Korean Society gathered on the newly refurbished top floor of the South Korean embassy yesterday for a belated celebration of Seollal, courtesy of the Deputy Head of Mission, Minister Sun Nahmkook. Apart from the generous buffet, a splendid selection of innovative cocktails and the opportunity to socialise, the highlight of the evening was … [Read More]
Lee Ufan’s Relatum – Stage, by the Serpentine
“It is our dream come true to work with Lee Ufan in London” enthused Hans Ulrich Obrist at the KCCUK talk which marked the installation of Lee’s Relatum – Stage outside the Serpentine Gallery on 6 February. After Lee’s hugely high-profile project at Versailles in 2014, with such a dramatic backdrop, the siting in a … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Kim Minjung – The Memory of Process
Looking at the image which publicises Kim Minjung’s solo exhibition The Memory of Process at White Cube, you wonder how it is that she came to be branded as a Dansaekhwa artist. The busy, multicoloured concentric circles, like patterns made by raindrops in a psychedelic puddle, are miles away from the austere, minimalist calm that … [Read More]
Theatre visit: 1446 – The Story of King Sejong the Great
Visitors to Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, and anyone with a cursory acquaintance with Korean history, will know of the existence of King Sejong. His statue dominates the broad avenue that leads southwards from Gwanghwamun itself, gazing into the distance towards the other great hero of Joseon history, Admiral Yi Sun-shin. Are the life and achievements of … [Read More]
Javier Cha on the uses of digitised historical data
Last night at SOAS there was a choice of two early evening events to start the weekend. I only heard about the appearance of South Korean queer artist and activist Heezy Yang (aka Hurricane Kimchi) two hours before the event, and I had already prepared myself mentally for the Centre of Korean Studies seminar on … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Young In Hong – The Moon’s Trick
The Moon’s Trick, a multi-faceted show featuring recent work of Young In Hong, was the 2017 KCC’s Artist of the Year exhibition. Hong’s work is multi-disciplinary. For a long while it has involved embroidery: LKL’s first encounter with her work was as part of the KCC’s opening exhibition curated by Jiyoon Lee back in 2008, … [Read More]
A Review of London Korean cultural year 2017
It feels like it’s been an incredibly busy year, and as I come to write this review I realise that, much more so than in previous years, many of the things that have been memorable I haven’t had time to write about – and maybe won’t. I’ve written separately about the films it was possible … [Read More]
Studio visit: Kim Juree & Neil Brownsword’s open studio at the V+A
Do pay a visit to see Kim Juree and Neil Brownsword at the V+A during one of their open studios. There will be more coming in early 2018 before their joint residency ends in March. Neil will tell you about his visits to Icheon and his current project at the V+A with 19th-century ceramic pattern … [Read More]
A visit to the British Ceramics Biennial
The first work to greet you as you entered the Spode China Works – the primary venue of the British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent – is the monumental work created in situ by Lee Kang-hyo. At the opening of the exhibition Lee did one of the performances for which he has become known: the decoration … [Read More]
Gallery: Jewyo Rhii’s The Day 3, Walls and Barbed
As described in the exhibition press release, this exhibition is a response to a response: Rhii’s 2013 exhibition “Walls to Talk to” was the subject of a journal by writer Irene Veenstra, and Rhii continues the dialogue in this exhibition. [Read More]
Festival film review: Bae Chang-ho’s The Dream
Bae Chang-ho’s The Dream is based on a story from the Samguk Yusa, a story that Yi Kwang-su worked up into a short novel. Although the tale is set in the late Silla dynasty, its message is timeless. The story starts with a weary and impoverished traveller (played by Ahn Sung-ki) trudging through the snow … [Read More]
Festival film review: Bae Chang-ho’s Whale Hunting
Based on a story by long-standing collaborator Choe In-ho, Whale Hunting is one of Korea’s seminal road movies. Hunting the whale, in the dark days of the dictatorship, was symbolic for yearning for things beyond the day-to-day. In Bae Chang-ho’s 1984 movie it represented the search for the things that give life meaning; in a … [Read More]
Festival film review double bill: Two Doors / The Remnants
As part of the Documentary strand of the 2017 London Korean Film Festival Lee Hyuk-sang of the activist documentary makers PINKS presented a pair of films on the Yongsan tragedy. The context of the tragedy was the plan to redevelop the Yongsan area as the US army prepared to move to their new base in … [Read More]
Festival film review: Bae Chang-ho’s People of the Slum
Bae Chang-ho’s debut feature, People of the Slum (1982), is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Lee Dong-chul. The film tells the story of a complicated love triangle. Myeong-sook, played by Kim Bo-yeon, lives with her second husband, the idle and dissolute Tae-seop (played by Kim Hui-ra). Living in the same house in the run-down … [Read More]