London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

August Events 2007

This month the focus is emphatically on Edinburgh. The events taking place as part of the Festival Fringe and the Film Festival are too numerous to type out again, given that I’ve listed them out in posts over the past couple of days. They are all in the events calendar, but please check with the … [Read More]

Independent Korean performances at Edinburgh Fringe

My recent post on Korean events at the Edinburgh Fringe seriously undersold the Korean involvement there. I was simply reproducing the publicity of one particular organisation – Korea@fringe. But that organisation is only responsible for the six acts I mentioned in my previous post. Thanks to Colin Bartlett for pointing this out. So here is, … [Read More]

A North Korean coup, years in the planning

Prologue The North Korean flag stirred gently in the breeze in Pall Mall, the heart of London’s clubland, a few hundred yards from Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. An elderly gentleman pottered up the steps to the Athenaeum. The blue and red flag caught his eye, but its significance did not register. A young woman … [Read More]

Last chance to see Oh Tae Seok’s masterpiece

The enigmatically titled Bicycle finishes this weekend. The play is performed by a western cast, in the English translation by Kim Ah-jeong and RB Graves, in Camden People’s Theatre, an intimate space (audience capacity around 40 I would reckon) near Euston Station. Oh Tae-Seok is known for making the audience work, skipping parts of the … [Read More]

Review: Korean traditional dance at Asia House

Peter Corbishley reports on last week’s dance event at Asia House Thanks to some unusual traffic your reviewer arrived late enough to get a front row seat for this unique performance of seven of eleven traditional Korean dances. ‘Exciting’, ‘beautiful’, ‘unexplored but most interesting’ were some of the words and phrases used to introduce this … [Read More]

Kore@Fringe performers at Edinburgh Fringe 2007

Korean artists feature in no fewer than six productions at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Something for everyone. Full details below: Dulsori Binari — The Spirit of the Beat @ The Old College Quad 3 – 27 August Don’t miss this passionate and colourful performance showcasing the unique heritage and spirited origins of traditional Korean … [Read More]

Traditional Korean dance at Asia House

An evening of traditional Korean dance at Asia House: Dance Performance An Enchanting Evening of Korean Traditional Dance Wednesday 18 July at Asia House Introduction by Jeannie-J Kim, Choreographed by Kil-Soon Yang Doors 6.45, Performance 7.00-8.30pm Followed by a drinks reception and light Korean buffet Please note the later start time! (1) Asia House presents … [Read More]

Samulnori Summer School at SOAS

The Samulnori Summer School at SOAS is next week. If you can spare five evenings you’ll have a great time. I can’t promise you’ll end up being able to drum like the fellow on the right, but you’ll be able to do a convincing imitation of being able to hit a changgo. And by the … [Read More]

Choi Jeong-hwa Welcome in Wolverhampton

In his first solo show in a UK public gallery, Choi Jeong-hwa’s exhibition, Welcome, is also one of the first shows to be held in Wolverhampton Art Gallery’s new exhibition space. Choi has celebrated by wrapping the gallery in bright-coloured ribbons (below left) – a project reminiscent of his installation as part of the Seoul … [Read More]

Fountain Pub Korean Food Festival 2007

Bastille day will give you the opportunity to sample Korean food washed down with British beer. Maybe there will be some soju available as well. Saturday 14 July sees the Korean Food Festival come to the Fountain Pub (left) in New Malden. Details as follows: 12:00~7:00 pm (Opening Ceremony 12:15 pm) at 120 Malden Road … [Read More]

Rain on the Parade — Kingston’s Mud Festival

Jennifer Barclay’s account of Kingston’s answer to the Boryeong Mud Festival Where else on a wet Saturday in June would you get classical dance, freestyle football and women arm-wrestling? But no-one I asked in Kingston-upon-Thames knew where Fairfield Recreation Ground was. Signs might even have attracted the curious. Eventually I got directions from a policewoman, … [Read More]