London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

April events 2007

Arts Francesca Cho’s show continues at the East @ West Wing festival in Slough until 6 April Sora Kim continues at the Baltic space in Gateshead until 29 April (review here) Andreas Gursky’s giant photos of the Arirang Festival continue at the White Cube (review here) Roe Kyung-jo’s show From Canvas to Ceramic opens at … [Read More]

DPRK on the BBC and elsewhere

On Radio Three, on BBC TV, and also on the National Geographic Channel. First up, what you’ve all been waiting for: the screening of Dan Gordon’s latest film, Crossing the Line. It’s on BBC4 on 22 March. Set the video, because of course most of you in London will be having some Ferrero Rocher with … [Read More]

Two free talks this Friday (16 March)

Firstly, Chatham House Korea Discussion Group: 13.15-14.30 (Lunch 12.45-13.15 – £10 charge) Keeping the Flame of Human Rights in the Korean Peninsula: The Role of an International Human Rights NGO, Amnesty International in the Two Koreas Speaker: Rajiv Narayan Chair: Jim Hoare Further details on the Chatham House website. Secondly, SOAS Centre for Korean Studies … [Read More]

Kayagum Concerto at St Johns

Byung-yun Yu conducts the Thames Philharmonia at St John’s Smith Square, 7pm, on Sunday 11 March. Mi-sun Gwon is the soloist in Hee-jo Kim’s Concerto for Sanjo Kayagum and Orchestra. Marialena Fernandes is soloist in Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto, and the programme is completed by Tchaikovsky’s fifth symphony Tickets £12, £10 and £8 from the … [Read More]

Have dinner with not one but two ambassadors

A rare opportunity for people interested in things Korean: have dinner with not one but two ambassadors. H.E. Warwick Morris, British ambassador to Seoul, will be addressing the Anglo-Korean Society and friends on 22 March, giving his perspectives on UK – ROK relations and trade links. With him will be H.E. Dr Cho Yoon-je, the … [Read More]

Loanwords in twentieth century Korean literature

The chosen specialist subject of Antonetta Bruno, from La Sapienza in Rome, is Korean shamanism. But she has an interesting sideline in linguistics. Her theme at SOAS’s Centre for Korean Studies last Friday evening (23 Feb) was the extent to which Korean has borrowed words from foreign languages, particularly in the first half of the … [Read More]

March events 2007

Music, dance and stage Keith Howard and Rowan Pease present Korean music old and new at Asia House on 6 March. Keith will be autographing copies of his recent books. Many of us will be heaving a sigh of relief at the discriminatory age-cap applied to the Korean breakdance masterclass at the Roundhouse on March … [Read More]

Francesca Cho at East @ West Wing festival

Francesca Cho‘s work will be on display at the East @ West Wing British East Asian Arts Festival in Slough from 3 March to 6 April. Cho has been established in London for more than ten years and her work has been widely shown internationally, including Seoul, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Madrid and, … [Read More]

A brief visit to the ULKS Korean night

As I wandered unchecked into the Conway Hall last night I had to negotiate several girls wearing hanbok and a chap who was steering a large stepladder into the auditorium. Inside the hall, trestle tables were arranged lengthwise, from the front to the back of the hall, lined with seated students chatting and eating as … [Read More]