I’ve been really impressed by the atmosphere created by Joung Young-ju’s paintings. Villages densely populate hillsides and valleys and fickle lights evoke feelings of intimacy and warmth. Sunrise and sunset define a special time of the day which forms a connection between two separate moments: day and night. And, hence, it feels like an ethereal … [Read More]
Category: Event reports and reviews (page 2)
Bang Bang Con: The Live – a joyous celebration of BTS and ARMY
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 … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
Gallery: Joonhong Min in Rendered Reality
Here are some images of Joonhong Min’s works installed at the KCCUK as part of the Rendered Reality exhibition. (1) The main installation: The Debris from the Future Past (2019). (2) Urban methodology: the monochrome section! (3) The Past is Not Done with You … all showing a meticulous attention to detail combined with an … [Read More]
Gallery: Shinuk Suh in Rendered Reality
Here are some images of Shinuk Suh’s works installed at the KCCUK as part of the Rendered Reality exhibition. (1) The main installation: Man(u)fractured #2, based on his residency at Unit 1 Gallery | Workshop: (2) The eye-catching window display. By coincidence, while the exhibition was on, the FT ran a feature on Chinese manufacturing … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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; … [Read More]
Gallery: Joo Yeon Park’s Library of the Unword
As described in the exhibition notice, Joo Yeon Park’s Library of the Unword and its central piece Twenty Times a Thousand (2019) is inspired by Beckett’s poem Echo’s Bones. According to the artist, Echo in Beckett’s poem Echo’s Bones (1935) refers to the nymph in Ovid’s Metamorphoses who is punished by Juno so that she … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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: Man(u)fractured Suh Shinuk’s Man(u)fractured has been extended for a week, to 18 January. It’s well worth a … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]