A quick tour of the Royal College of Art degree show last weekend showed just how many Korean artists and designers there are in London. I had gone along to see the work of a handful of friends whose work I had got to know through various exhibitions over the past couple of years, and … [Read More]
Category: Event reports and reviews (page 23)
In pictures: Kim Hayoung’s degree show
Kim Hayoung’s work grows on me each time I see it. And while I enjoy seeing work exhibited in a domestic setting (such as 43 Inverness Street, where Kim has had two solo shows already), it was also good to see it in a huge, well-lit exhibition space. The big work painted in acrylic on … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Lee Jae-hyo — Grass Flower, at HADA Contemporary
“I want to make a work that does not require words… I think the greatest difference in the western and the eastern culture is the necessity for words. The key characteristic of the western visual culture is the debate, argument and attestation and to unravel the meaning carefully hidden behind the work. On the contrary, … [Read More]
Friday Late at the V&A – a fun evening of cultural collision
Are the British becoming more Korean? That was the rather silly thought that occurred to me as I walked round the energetic space of the V&A yesterday evening for the Korea Friday Late. What do I mean by that? Well, at every expo or festival in Korea the emphasis is on physical experience. You can’t … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Above the line — photographs from the DPRK at the British Council
There must have been a time when photographs of the DPRK were a rarity. But it’s now a regular occurrence for a newspaper to run a series of photographs from North Korea, normally proclaiming that these are unique, never-before seen images from “the world’s most secretive state”. It is perhaps natural for photographers to seek … [Read More]
Gong Ji-young on tuna sandwiches, Jane Eyre and manual labour
Gong Ji-young was passing through London on her way to the Hay Literary Festival. Saturday would involve dinner with Stephen Fry as president of the Festival, together with other authors. Sunday morning, hopefully without a hangover, she would be sharing the stage with British author Ned Beauman in a conversation with Granta online poetry editor … [Read More]
London Book Fair – the photo gallery
A collection of some of the photographs of three days at Earls Court (8-10 April) with related events at the Free Word Centre (7 April), British Library (8 April), BAFTA (9 April), Asia House (10 April) and the London Review Bookshop (11 April). Thanks to the organisers and in particular the British Council, LTI Korea … [Read More]
The worrisome wife and the lovechild you never knew – some quotes from London Book Fair
You can rely on a professional writer to come up with some well-honed soundbites, and the 10 authors who came to the London Book Fair were no exception. Even when delivered through an interpreter, they retained their impact. You might have got the impression that some of them were well-rehearsed. But a quote is a … [Read More]
LBF sketch: the snippets which didn’t quite make it…
Sometimes a discussion session is really interesting and you come out of it thinking you’ve get some really good material; and then when you check your notes later there’s just not enough to do a coherent write-up – or the notes don’t make a lot of sense. Or one session might cover the same ground … [Read More]
English PEN video: Hwang Sunmi in conversation with Maya Jaggi
Here is English PEN’s video of Hwang Sun-mi in conversation with Maya Jaggi on the second day of the London Book Fair. The Hen who Dreamed she could Fly is obviously one of the things discussed. Links: English PEN YouTube channel [Read More]
English PEN video: Kim Young-ha in conversation with Krys Lee
Here is English PEN’s video of Kim Young-ha in conversation with Krys Lee on the first day of the London Book Fair: Links: English PEN YouTube channel [Read More]
In pictures: Korean crafts and design at Collect 2014
On the front cover of the catalogue for Collect 2014, the annual fair organised by the Crafts Council, is an intriguing shell-shaped metal sculpture – part Slinky, part oil-lamp, and very beautiful. Wandering around to gallery number 3 on the ground floor, you come to the stall hosted by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation. … [Read More]
LBF sketch: Kim In-suk and Kim Young-ha on Migrant Literature and the motivations for writing
A write-up of a fascinating panel session at the London Book Fair with the title Writing Home: Migrant Literature. The write-up below focuses on the part of the session which focused on the work of Kim In-suk. The Long Road is Kim In-suk’s first book, and is one of the only Korean language book on … [Read More]
LBF sketch: Kim Young-ha at the London Book Fair: always adapting to a new environment
Kim Young-ha attended three London events during the this year’s London Book Fair: a conversation with writer Krys Lee on 8 April, a panel session with Kim In-suk and others on 9 April entitled Writing Home: Migrant Literature, and a discussion with Daniel Hahn at the London Review Bookshop on 11 April. The below is a digest of those sessions. Introduction, themes, … [Read More]
LBF sketch: Shin Kyung-sook on what modernity makes us forget
Shin Kyung-sook attended three London events during the this year’s London Book Fair: a conversation with Arifa Akbar on 8 April, a panel session with Han Kang on Families, Relationships and Society on 9 April, and a panel entitled Separations with Krys Lee and Quaisra Shahraz at Asia House on 10 April. The below is a digest … [Read More]
LBF sketch: Yi Mun-yol on fable and allegory in his work
Yi Mun-yol spoke at three London Book Fair events: on Korean Literature Past and Present at the British Library on 8 April; on Allegory and the Literary Imagination on 9 April; and in conversation with Claire Armitstead on 10 April. The below is a digest of those appearances. Grace Koh: Yi Mun-yol’s debut was Son … [Read More]