Shamefully, I’ve never visited Wilkinson Gallery before. If I had, maybe I wouldn’t have been so bowled over by Sung Hwan Kim’s installation in the Tate Modern Tanks a couple of years ago, because Kim had already had two solo shows at Wilkinson which contained some of the work shown at the Tate. So, will … [Read More]
Category: Event reports and reviews (page 22)
The Seoul Philharmonic – a young orchestra with “an extraordinary sense of adventure”
On 27 August, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra made its Proms debut, the first Korean orchestra to play at the famous music festival. At the Pre-Prom talk earlier that evening across the road at the Royal College of Music, Michael Fine and Hyunjin Park of the Seoul Philharmonic, and Dr Haekyung Eom of Liverpool University, talked … [Read More]
Kim Ji-eun’s current exhibition at Mokspace is utterly charming
Another charming exhibition at Mokspace, Talk to me, Darling, is coming to a close: you have until 6 September to enjoy it. Kim Ji-eun’s work is quirky and enchanting while also being strangely comforting. Despite the sunny nature of the drawings they conjure up the autumnal emotions and cosy daydreams of woolly jumpers, hot chocolate … [Read More]
The 2014 Fringe – a round-up of the reviews
Now that the 2014 Fringe has come to an end, here’s a summary of the reviews of the Korean shows. I’m surprised the Taekwondo show didn’t get any professional reviews, as I heard that the BBC loved it. Show LKL rating Other ratings Brush Review Fringe Guru The List Broadway Baby ThreeWeeks Leodo: Paradise Lost … [Read More]
Edinburgh Fringe visit: two Korean monodramas and one Korean American
Korean acts coming to the Fringe have often majored on the non-verbal: percussion, taekwondo, comedy, physical theatre, music and dance. Last year, with Othello – Two Men, we discovered that more traditional theatre, heavy on text, can work well despite the language barrier – provided surtitles are visible. This year the Korean contingent was bolder … [Read More]
Edinburgh Fringe visit: A Walk in the Dust
When a play is put on for only one performance at the Fringe, you wonder what is going on. When it’s a Korean performance, and the date chosen is August 15th, National Liberation Day, the day on which Korea was freed from Japanese rule in 1945, the choice of “one day only” makes more sense. … [Read More]
Im Kwon-taek: In search of perfection
Drawing on interviews and Q&As, this piece reflects on Im Kwon-taek’s vast career, from early genre films to Seopyeonje and beyond, examining tradition, literature, Buddhism, and his lifelong pursuit of cinematic perfection. [Read More]
In pictures: Lee Seung-taek at Mot International
Lee Seung-taek’s solo show at Mot International continues until 23 August. Lee was born in 1932 and the works on show at the exhibition come from the years 1957 – 1971. His work has been collected by the Tate: a 1958 version of the 1957 Godret Stone (고드랫돌) that is on show here. Lee is still … [Read More]
The experience of North Koreans in New Malden
A panel session about the experiences of North Korean defectors in New Malden is at first sight a strange event to promote as part of an arts festival. But the 7th New Malden Arts Festival overlaps with Malden Fortnight, a celebration of New Malden’s varied community, of which Koreans are of course a significant part. … [Read More]
Edinburgh Fringe Preview: Brush – a charming piece of theatre for children
Last year at the Fringe we had Climb a Willow to the Sea God’s Palace, a lovely 45-minute performance from Kkumdongi Puppet Theatre telling a Korean fable using puppetry and painting geared towards a younger audience. This year for the younger festival-goers we will have Theatre Haddangse performing Brush. The company gave a special preview … [Read More]
Report from the KCC Artist Talk: Shakespeare interpretations in East Asia
I hadn’t been to any of the events for Seoul in the City, part of this year’s City of London festival. The symposium at London’s Korean Cultural Centre for Shakespeare’s plays in contemporary East Asian languages seemed particularly interesting to me. My previous experience of Shakespeare in East Asia was confined to Ran, Akira Kurosawa’s … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Jeehee Park — Elephant in the Room, at Hanmi Gallery
If you haven’t been to Hanmi Gallery to see Jeehee Park’s Elephant in the Room, it could well be that you are too late. Although the exhibition is due to close on 3 August, the nature of the work is not ideally suited to the hottest days of the year. The main installation in the … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: MFA Degree show at Goldsmiths
It’s not always easy to get to the degree shows of the various art colleges, but I managed to sneak away from work one lunchtime and pop down to New Cross Gate to take a few installation shots at the Goldsmiths MFA 2014 degree show. Four Korean artists were showing, and I was lucky enough … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Kwon Soonhak at UNION Gallery
This is an exhibition whose accompanying essay says it all. So often the blurb which goes with an exhibition is incomprehensible. Union has done it exactly right with this particular essay. The altarpiece which is the subject of the work Ecce Homo is from All Souls Langham Place, where the artist sings in the choir. … [Read More]
Andersen’s Gazes – an outstanding fusion of body, image and sound
Andersen’s Gazes is the second in a series of collaborations between Lee Kyung-ok Dance Company and pop artist Mari Kim. The first, The Boy in the Red Shoes, was performed at KB Haneul Youth Theatre in November 2013. The Boy in the Red Shoes was created by the National Dance Company of Korea, and choreographed … [Read More]
UK-Korea Relations – A Talk by Thomas Harris KBE
The talk on UK-Korea relations by Sir Thomas Harris KBE CMG, held at Gresham College on Friday 27th of June, was both a stimulating and ultimately uplifting account of the diplomatic and economic interactions between the two countries before and after the Korean War. Amongst his various international posts as a businessman and diplomat, Sir … [Read More]