London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Kingston School of Art and Royal School of Needlework collaborate with Hanbok Advancement Centre

The first stage of an innovative collaboration between the Hanbok Advancement Centre, Kingston School of Art and the Royal School of Needlework had its first public exhibition last week at Kingston University’s Stanley Picker Gallery. The collaboration was the brainchild of Justina Jang, who through Korean British Cultural Exchange shares Korean culture with London and … [Read More]

Exhibition visit: Lee Jin Woo at LdM Gallery

The current interest in Korean Dansaekhwa seems to have legs, to the extent that there is an emerging wave of second generation artists to complement the established generation of Park Seo-bo and Yun Hyong-keun. Thus recently at White Cube we had Kim Min-jung’s solo show; and now at HdM Gallery there is Lee Jin-woo. Although … [Read More]

Brief review: Crossroads of Youth

Crossroads of Youth, Korea’s earliest surviving feature-length movie, was a great way to start the season of films from Korea’s colonial period. It is a season that could not have taken place 15 years ago, because these films have only recently come to light in the film archives of Beijing, Moscow and Tokyo. Crossroads of … [Read More]

In pictures: Shinuk Suh in Invisible Balance

Shinuk Suh’s first solo show at Daniel Benjamin Gallery is a product of social media: the gallery told me that they discovered Shinuk’s work on Instagram, were captivated by it, and decided to offer him a solo show. It’s amazing that such lucky breaks can happen, but based on the work on show the artist … [Read More]

The Kimjang Project is officially launched

The Kimjang Project launched yesterday in New Malden with congratulatory messages from the Mayor of Kingston Thay Thayalan and the local MP Sir Ed Davey among others. The project celebrates the various aspects of kimjang, for example the communal character of kimchi-making and its health-giving properties. New Malden, sometimes known as New Mal-dong (뉴몰동), as … [Read More]

Festival film review: This Charming Girl

Lee Yoon-ki (이윤기) This Charming Girl (여자, 정혜, 2004, 99 mins). Review by Robert Cottingham. You know how people talk about reality TV, even though there is nothing ‘real’ about it? Well, if you wanted to see actual reality, the sheer day-to-day mundane-ness of the average person’s life, then this film is the closest you … [Read More]

E-DO at Rich Mix: a second-hand review

I know I said that SsingSsing was the gig I was most sorry to miss from the K-music festival this year, but E-DO ran it a close second. Their music that supported Over the Moon at the Edinburgh Fringe last year was totally mesmerising, even in the absence of their percussionist who had to return … [Read More]