This weekend’s two-day conference at SOAS (10-11 October), hosted by the Japan Research Centre, presented some fascinating papers on art history in East Asia. The question it asked – ‘Is “East Asian Art History” possible?’ – is at first sight a puzzling one (why should it not be?), until one scratches below the surface as … [Read More]
Category: Event reports and reviews (page 19)
Exhibition visit: Simple, Calm, Subtle — Korean crafts at Tent 2015
The Korea Craft and Design Foundation has recently been making its presence felt in London via its promotion of Korean crafts at major exhibitions. They have brought artisans and their work to Collect for the past three years, and this is now the second year that they have put on a spectacular show at Tent … [Read More]
Film review: I am Sun Mu, at Raindance
It’s always nice when you are rewarded for staying at the end of a movie to read the credits. Among the names credited for the soundtrack of Adam Sjöberg’s documentary film I am Sun Mu is kayagum player Jung Ji-eun, a well-known player and teacher based in New Malden. It was also nice that she … [Read More]
Concert notes: Pansori night at the Cadogan Hall
On the rare occasions that Pansori is performed in London I always get a sense of disappointment. The Pansori Night at the Cadogan Hall as part of K-Music was no exception, though there were mitigating factors. With a pansori the whole point is the story that unfolds before you. You know where the story is … [Read More]
Event report: Ambassador Hyon Hak-bong at Chatham House
Yesterday the DPRK Ambassador HE Hyon Hak-bong gave an on-the-record talk at Chatham House followed by Q&A. Fuller accounts of the talk will no doubt appear. NK News, the Guardian and the Telegraph have already posted theirs. Here are the messages that LKL registered. Obviously, this is not intended to be a transcript – more a … [Read More]
Kim Soyoung presents part one of her Exile Trilogy at King’s London
Film maker and academic Kim Soyoung was in town last week for a screening of her documentary Heart of Snow, Heart of Blood (2014) in an evening hosted by Chris Berry. She apologised in advance that we were about to see the director’s cut – slightly longer than what will be the theatrical version, and … [Read More]
Concert notes: Jambinai at Rich Mix
The somewhat spartan surroundings of the main performance space in Shoreditch’s Rich Mix was an ideal place in which to enjoy one of the most interesting fusion bands to have come out of Korea. For LKL, it was the highlight of the K-Music festival so far, and it more than lived up to my extremely high … [Read More]
Concert notes: SU:M at the Purcell Room in K-Music 2015
Kmusic 2015 got off to a haunting start at the Purcell Room on 1 September with the unusual fusion duo SU:M. I have to confess that, based on the one or two YouTube videos I had watched prior to the evening, I was expecting to be lukewarm. And having an English pianist playing some of … [Read More]
Review: Kingston Welcomes Korea performances at the Rose Theatre
Kingston Welcomes Korea is hopefully the first of several annual events at which Kingston will seek to welcome various foreign communities in a festival that combines cultural and business interaction. Korea was the obvious first choice to be welcomed in this way, given that ethnic Koreans represent around 10% of the borough’s population, and also given … [Read More]
Restaurant review: Chef Joo Won’s tasting menu at Galvin at Windows
The last time I ate in the rooftop restaurant in the London Hilton was nearly thirty years ago, and somebody else was paying. It was very good, but since then much has changed. In 2006 the space was taken over by Chris Galvin (ex Orrery, Wolseley), and the establishment got a Michelin star in 2009. … [Read More]
The KAA’s residency at the KCC – a video of the opening performance
Here is a video of the opening performance of this year’s Korean Artist Association’s residency at the KCC – entitled Arirang – by Jason Verney of Native Nomad Pictures. [Read More]
Event report: the 2015 Trafalgar Square Korean Festival
Trafalgar Square is one of London’s premier venues for free open-air events, and Korea is ideally situated to take advantage of the space to showcase its culture, given that the Cultural Centre is a stone’s throw away. The square had already hosted two Korean festivals in the summer of 2007 and 2008, presenting a mixture of … [Read More]
Kwak Kyung-taek quizzed at the first LKFF on Typhoon, filming in Russia and more
Director Kwak Kyung-taek discusses the personal and political inspiration behind Typhoon, sharing stories of filming in Thailand and Russia, near-misses with natural disasters, and the challenges of producing one of Korea’s most expensive films. He also reflects on audience reactions, international perspectives, and his plans for future projects beyond big-budget action cinema. [Read More]
Sheffield conference report – Comfort Women: Listening To Their Voices
Short of bringing some of the surviving halmonis to the UK in person, it is difficult to imagine how the organisers of this weekend’s gathering in Sheffield could have assembled a better line-up of people to discuss the Comfort Women issue. We had Byun Young-joo, director of the trilogy of documentaries focusing on the Korean … [Read More]
Photos: Daegu Hyangje Julpungyu Preservation Group at the KCCUK
We didn’t manage to make it to their performance with the Thames Philharmonia on Saturday 13 June, but we just managed to arrive in time for their solo performance at the KCC the day before. Here are some photos of the elegant performance of the Daegu Hyangje Julpungyu Preservation Group. [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Korean artists at Art 15
No matter how prepared you think you are when you go to an art fair, you’ll always be caught unawares by a gallery who is showing an artist you weren’t expecting, or by a new side to an artist you thought you knew. In the most unlikely corner of the hall you can come across … [Read More]